I have a piece of test equipment that needs to stay underwater for days. Normally I would use or make a waterproof case with a lid and a gasket.
Instead, I’m wondering if I could print a box, pause the print just before the top face, put the device inside and then print the top face over it. No openings, no nothing, and the device works by induction so it doesn’t need to physically connect to anything.
But this would only work if 3D-printed PLA walls are really waterproof. After all, 3D-printed features are kind of a bunch of wires more or less loosely attached to each other, so I wouldn’t be surprised if water could leak through under pressure.
Before I spend any time assessing this myself, has anybody tried printing waterproof enclosures?
3d extrusion prints have microscopic holes inside, it’s porous. I wouldn’t trust it depending on the application. You can seal the outside and they also sell additives to lessen the effect (here’s a video about it: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8x-mjjT8j4) but casting resin might be better (haven’t tried). Resin printing doesn’t have these problems from what I understand but ou can’t really stop the print midway.
Fiberglass, if the object isnt complicated to make, would be the best option in terms of quality. Bending and cutting pvc sheets into a box then soldering is also an option. Soldering pvc and rolling fiberglass isn’t really difficult but they both require specialized tools/materials. Getting pvc pipes and soldering end caps would probably be the easiest.
How robust you need to make it largely depends on pressure and depth.