Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- filaments:pva [2025/01/29 00:34] – [Baseline Printing Recommendations] megacookiez
+++ filaments:pva [2025/01/29 21:41] (current) – [Other notes] megacookiez
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ====== PVA - Polyvinyl Alcohol ======
-PVA is a water-soluble filament usually used as a support material in multi-filament printing scenarios.
+Polyvinyl Alcohol is a water soluble, bio degradable and bio compatible material found commonly in pill casings and detergent capsules. As a filament PVA is typically used as a support material in multi material systems like a tool changing FDM 3D printer due to its unique property to fully dissolve in water. How ever this ability is also a disadvantage since PVA demands to be kept in a dry environment or the entire spool could be waterlogged in a matter of minutes.
 ==== Advantages ====
-  * Water soluble
+  * Water soluble.
+  * Can be used for casting.
 ==== Disadvantages ====
-  * Water soluble
+  * Water soluble.
+  * Not suitable for mechanical parts.
 ==== Variants ====
-Unknown if variants exist.
+PVA filaments only come in natural coloration and does not contain fill additives such as glass fibers.
 ==== Baseline Printing Recommendations ====
@@ Line 13: / Line 16: @@
 These numbers are provided as a baseline, and **need** adjustment and calibration for your specific printer/filament/color combination.
-^  Variant  ^  Hotend Temperature  ^  Heatbed Temperature  ^  Chamber Temperature  ^ [[filaments:maximum_temperature#optimistic_usable_temperature|Optimistic Usable Temperature]] ^  Drying Temperature  ^
+^  Variant  ^  Hotend Temperature  ^  Heatbed Temperature  ^  Chamber Temperature  ^  [[filaments:maximum_temperature#optimistic_usable_temperature|Optimistic Usable Temperature]]  ^  Drying Temperature  ^
 |PVA  |220  |60  |Not required  |70  |80  |
 ==== Other notes ====
-This page is a stub.
+It is ideal to print PVA from a dry box with a bowden tube and a fresh silica gel packet to delay the ingress of moisture into the material.
+If PVA filament soaks too much moisture, upon printing the material will turn white out of the hotend and loud crackling can be heard as the moisture evaporates from the material.
+Additionally if the filament has soaked too much moisture, for example the spool was left unattended to outside of a dry box for a week then hydrolysis will degrade the material substantially and individual strands of the spool can fuse together upon attempting to dry it.
+PVA becomes flexible when it is wet.
+Print at slow speeds for best results.
+For optimal bed adhesion it is recommended to apply a thin layer of glue stick.