3D Printed Chain Mail Armor: Failure Analysis

While dropping some recent 3D printed odds-n-ends into the show-n-tell box, I discovered the large sheet of square chain mail armor had a missing link:

Fortunately, the link fell off in the box and I recovered all the pieces for a failure analysis:

I’d glued the PLA together with IPS #4, a hellish mixture of plastic solvents including methylene chloride, one of the few chemicals able to chew into PLA, but there’s not much penetration or bonding going on.

Let’s try that again with a bit more solvent.

First, slide the bars into place:

I applied four solvent drops in two passes to give it time to work its way in, put four matching drops on the armor cap, squished the cap in place, tweaked the bar alignment, then applied pressure while contemplating the whichness of the why for half a minute while the solvent worked its magic.

Things look pretty good once more:

There’s no way to determine the repair’s goodness, other than by deliberately trying to snap off a bar, so I’ll just put it back in the box and hope for the best.