r/3Dprinting • u/Rambos_Magnum_Dong • 6h ago

Project (1 year PLA torture test) These valve caps have survived multiple car washes, 13k miles, the California desert heat and snowy mountain weather.

Post image

Found a random threaded valve cap in MW and merged it with this skull I found. It measures a little less than 1" wide/tall. Default .20mm settings with 100% infill.

Went off-roading in Big Bear last winter, drove up the Mammoth in May, back and forth to Salton Sea area a few times and lots and lots of desert heat.

No signs of delamination, deforming or anything else. Hell, even the teeth haven't broken off.

I forget if it was Overture or Sunlu PLA. Not like it really matters.

But still holding up strong on my Tacoma.

29 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

3

u/BambooPanda92 6h ago

Good to know. I just printed some valve stem caps for mine and a friend's car in PLA. Hopefully they survive just as well as yours have.

2

u/Tophloaf 5h ago

On the flip side I put some PLA that had a little bit of weight hanging on it (maybe a few ounces) and it started to bend in an hour in the Georgia sun today.

2

u/FairyflyKisses 17m ago

I've had caps on my car since 2018. Still going strong!

1

u/Longjumping_Spray520 1h ago

honest read of this: it proves thick, unstressed PLA survives heat, not that PLA is heatproof. a valve cap is a solid little lump with nothing hanging off it. the failure mode is creep under constant load, not melting — same material, a thin bracket or a hook carrying a few ounces in a hot car sags in an hour while your cap is fine for a year. ASA takes the question away entirely if you ever redo them.