I'm no expert but this is what my friend had to say:
I hope the expensive machines get cheaper though! So even if we can't do it, the price of getting other people to print it for us gets cheaper!
-plarnold
Quote:In general, plastic transparency is caused by structures that are non-crystalline. The plastic also has to be 'evenly spread' so that it appears as one piece.
There are many 3D printing techniques. Some don't result in 'even spreading' especially at the interface of layers. There are other techniques though that will get very close and the product will be transparent.
It is NOT impossible. It is possible because there is transparent filament available. However, the techniques/machines that allow the product to look more transparent are much more expensive than the cheap ones that are being sold and require a lot more knowledge to operate them. The cheaper machines will definitely produce semi-transparent/translucent models. Trying to get it look like transparent glass is difficult.
I hope the expensive machines get cheaper though! So even if we can't do it, the price of getting other people to print it for us gets cheaper!
-plarnold
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