So my WD model arrived about 10 hours ago--first time that I've tried this material. The surface of the model was smooth, slightly waxy, and had an apparent light shine under light. Within the time frame in which I've had it out of its delivery bag, the surface has been exposed to a slightly moist environment of ~25 degrees C under a compact fluorescent bulb, and has developed a "gritty" surface that has the texture of sandstone over the exposed surface. The underside of the surface exposed (visible internal details) has been unchanged. The model also has a distinct odor whereas one was not noticeable before. Does anyone know the chemical process that this is undergoing?
Hey, that's sounds weird for sure. Our materials lead has actually pinged the folks at the production facility to see what might be going on. If it's causing a problem for the quality of your prints you should definitely reach out to service@shapeways.com to see if they can help.
Thanks! That'd be great. Also, I put the model back into its bag overnight to find, as of about 2 minutes ago, that the gritty texture had gone down slightly (though there still was some remaining), and the scent had intensified.
It could be that the support material (uncured WD) dried out when in the open and then re-moistened slightly when in the bag overnight - I've never experienced this as I usually wash the model in a warm, mild caustic soda solution soon arfter delivery. It will be interesting to find out the cause though even if just for future reference.