Dissolvable 3D printing material for your support structures has been around for years now dramatically easing the time and labor involved in removing breakaway supports. If you’ve ever used a PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) filament for print supports, you know it is far faster and easier to remove than other material options, but it’s not without its own challenges.
Soluble materials, which vary widely between consumer and professional formulas, can take hours to dissolve, can leave remnants in internal channels, can be a challenge to print, and some require special chemical baths.
A new PVA alternative from US-based Infinite Material Solutions is designed to bring water-soluble supports a step further. “The market desires support materials that are tap water-soluble, adhere to a wide range of build materials, are eco-friendly, and function with a wide variety of printing platforms,” the company says.
AquaSys GP (general purpose) can be dissolved in room-temperature tap water without any chemicals faster than PVA, according to Infinite. In disolve-rate trials of identically printed parts, AquaSys GP dissolved approximately 20% faster than PVA at room temperature. AquaSys GP generally dissolved at a rate of 13 mg/min, while PVA dissolves at a rate of 11.2 mg/min, the study found.
AquaSys GP is non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, and drain safe, so the tap water and dissolved supports don’t need special disposal handling. The material will biodegrade by at least 80% in freshwater systems within a 6-week window, the company reports.
Saving Support Material from Moisture Damage
Another common hurdle to water-soluble materials is that they are also very hygroscopic, meaning they absorb moisture from the air, which can change their printing properties. If you leave a typical PVA out for extended periods of time you’ll need to dry it or just throw it away.
AquaSys GP is engineered to provide better moisture mitigation properties than typical PVA, the company says, and exhibits high print fidelity even after week’s of exposure to moist air.
How well your support material sticks to your base material is a quality that separates consumer from professional options.
During 3D printing, adhesion between the build material and the soluble support is arguably the most important factor that decides the success or failure of a print. Adjacent layers of build material and soluble support must have proper adhesion to avoid peeling, warping, sloughing off, and a whole range of unpleasant and disappointing failure modes.
Infinite says AquaSys GP is specifically engineered to have excellent adhesion to polyester-type build materials, which include PLA, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG), and several others.
At high temperatures AquaSys GP exhibits a lower viscosity than PVA, which translates to improved print fidelity, a broader processing window, and improved printing speeds on some 3D printing systems (for example, direct pellet extrusion systems), the company says. AquaSys GP supports engineered polyesters in chamber temperatures up to 30ºC.
Infinite won’t say exactly what AquaSys GP is made of except that it’s a composite material that is based “on a naturally occurring carbohydrate that is very rapidly mineralized in the environment.”
AquaSys GP is the company’s entry-level support material. Infinite also makes two engineering-grade support materials: AquaSys 120 is stable in chamber temperatures up to 120ºC, AquaSys 180 is compatible with PEEK, PEKK, PEI, and PPSU.
AquaSys GP Tech Specs
- Size: 1.75 mm, 2.85 mm filament
- Price: $70
- Volume: 500 g
- Extruder temperature: 225ºC – 255ºC
- Build plate temperature: 40ºC – 60ºC
- Chamber temperature: up to 30ºC
- Build Plate Requirements: Glass, PEI
Lead image source: AquaSys 180 water-only soluble support material is compatible with high-temperature thermoplastics, such as PEEK.
License: The text of "Infinite Promises Faster Water-Soluble 3D Print Supports Than PVA" by All3DP Pro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.