Functional 3D Printing

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PLA or PETG for shop light mounting brackets? (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

6 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/1009849

I'm planning to print up a bunch of brackets to mount LED shop lights (very similar to these) to the ceiling in my garage. My plan is to use an upside-down "U" shape bracket that screws into a joist/drywall anchor in the middle and then sort of clips around the sides of the metal frame.

Maybe filament type doesn't matter much here, but I'd rather not come out to one of the lights having fallen on my car if I can help it 😅

I think the main considerations are just temperature and stiffness. It can get up to about 85F in the garage on the hottest summer days, and probably a few degrees warmer by the ceiling. The lamps are cheap LED tubes, so the metal housing only gets slightly warm to the touch (say 90-100F or so). I know PLA is a bit stiffer at room temp, but I'm worried it might soften too much at the worst case of warm temperatures.

Any thoughts on PLA vs PETG for this situation?

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

80+ is a no-go for PLA, you might be okay if you built it beefy enough, or it was removed from the heat coming off the lamp itself.

It’s not quite as hot as sunny car interior, but it’s close enough.

But I would very much suggest going with PETG. (Or ASA,)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thanks, I didn't realize PLA starts to soften at such mild temps. I'm not feeling brave when it comes to things mounted 12' up, so it sounds like PETG is the way to go!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Glass transition is usually somewhere around half the melting temp (which is usually printing temps), and that’s where things get really dicey.

But plastics in general will always soften a bit as they get warm and PLA is known to deform over time when exposed to sunlight (especially in car interiors,).

LEDs aren’t nearly as bad as other lights, but they can still put out enough heat they I’d worry about it across the long term.

If it was just a temporary solution, I might not be as concerned.