Better Transparency for Stratasys VeroClear Parts

SolidWorksIf you're currently printing in VeroClear, you might have noticed that the parts that come off of the printer are sometimes more translucent than transparent. This is especially true for the areas that interface the support material, or the Matte finish areas.

This part was printed in Matte finish and is pictured here right after support was removed. As you can see, the logo is rather hazy underneath the part.

 

SolidWorksLuckily, it doesn't take a lot of work to get these parts much clearer. All you need is the following:

  • 400 grit sandpaper
  • 600 grit sandpaper
  • 800 grit sandpaper
  • 1000 grit sandpaper
  • Buffing wheel (optional)
  • Clear Lacquer

The process is pretty straight forward, wet-sand your part using 400 grit through 1000 grit making sure to rinse your part off in between grit sizes. You can go to finer grit sizes if desired, we have found that 1000 or 1200 grit is usually sufficient.

SolidWorksHere is the same part after it has been sanded using 400 grit through 1000 grit.

 

After sanding, if you have access to a buffing wheel, you can also polish your part even more. The last step is to apply 2 or 3 thin coats of clear lacquer to really clear up your part. We used a Rustoleum Clear Lacquer and sprayed our part from about 8-10 inches away and let it dry for around 30 minutes before recoating.

And finally, here is the part after 2 coats of lacquer have been applied. As you can now see, the logo beneath the cube is clearly visible.

A few tips for post processing VeroClear:

  • Building parts in Gloss mode will reduce the amount of sanding required.
  • For a more uniform finish, print the entire part in Matte finish, then sand and lacquer the whole thing.
  • For complex geometries that are difficult to sand, lacquer by itself will sometimes do a good enough job. Just make sure to thoroughly clean any residual support material prior to spraying.

 

Owen Lu

Application Engineer

Computer Aided Technology

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