A couple of months ago we detailed our work on UV additives for prints specifically designed for outdoor use. Our Lead Engineer Kevin shared some photos of his truck and we're stoked to see some of the results. In our original post, you saw photos of a part made with PETG and no UV additives.
We knew full well that the PETG was susceptible to UV damage and after two months of being out in the world these photos show us that Kev's parts have held up, though the coloring has faded due to UV rays. The bottom hasn't seen too much light while the top has certainly degraded. Kevin calls it "the pinkening!"
Kevin is now making new filament with the same color and a UV additive which we will use to print the same parts. We'll again print a non-UV additive part to mark and measure the differences and performance of the additive over time under the exact same circumstances. While this may seem like run-of-the-mill stuff, we're excited to experiment and dial in the right amount of additive to protect parts against UV rays and color degradation.
Have you have any experience with UV additives and the effects of UV damage on your prints? If so, we'd love to hear from you.
Best & Happy Friday,
The Filabot Team
