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Removing PLA supports with these type of prints would not be possible. Tools don’t fit and would damage parts.

To clean the print, we’ll use Luke warm water to thoroughly dissolve the supports.

 

Prep Part

We can speed up dissolving time by first removing large portions prior to soaking. Agitating prints to help to lift and remove the PVA as it starts to turn into slime.

Sonic Bath Cleaner

 

You can also use a Sonic Bath Cleaner to help agitate the PVA. You can print scaled version to fit inside. 

 

Use the 2 minute cycle for about a dozen times to throughly clean the print. Allow the sonic cleaner to cool down between each cycle.

Peal Sludge

 

Portions of the model will dissolve more slowly then others but we can help remove sludge from tight areas with the help of a spudger tool.

 

A spudger tool is thin enough to help scrape off excess PVA as it continues to dissolve.

Clean Water

 

Changing out water will also help speed up cleaning!

 

Carefully remove water from your container without dumping out the PVA sludge at the bottom.

 

Use a paper towel to remove the heavy sludge from the bottom of your container and fill it back up with fresh warm water to continue dissolving. 

 

Once all the PVA has all dissolved, we can pat down the part with a paper napkin to dry it off.

And thats it, a great way to help calibrate your slice settings for PVA supports!

 

Remember to save out customized  settings and please share any settings you found in your results.

This guide was first published on Apr 24, 2018. It was last updated on Apr 24, 2018.

This page (Dissolving PVA) was last updated on Apr 23, 2018.

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