Glue-split part

[oem]

My parts have always been a size so they could be printed in one piece. Now I have a part I have to split and print in two prints and clue back together. Question what the best glue to use for PLA ?

[dennisjm]

Model glue works well I've heard but I haven't tried it much. I'm currently using super glue with an activator and it's bonding like they were the same plastic almost when done. Tried to take a piece apart the other day and I got breaking around the joint but the joint stayed fixed.

[furicks]

The best way to join 2 parts is not to glue them but to do a plastic weld. Take a soldering iron with a flat or chisel tip and use it to strategically melt the pieces together. The best irons for this job will have a digital temp control so you don't burn the plastic. However, you can do it with a cheap iron if you are careful.

I do this frequently to repair parts as well as join them together.

[Don]

I use Loctite Control Gel Super Glue. It works great on PLA.

Here's an example of a design I did...




And it glued together with Super Glue




It's almost impossible to separate the glued parts. The print will break before the glued area does. If I've been handling the part a lot, I wipe it down with rubbing alcohol (same goes for painting a part) to get oil off it.

[dennisjm]

Ha.. that's exactly the super glue I'm using. Yep works great.