TECH Signal 510
Balloon lost in Montana after foaming PLA enclosure test showed no insulation advantage over standard PLA
↗
A high-altitude balloon team 3D-printed a custom payload enclosure using Sunlu's LW-PLA foaming filament and found no conclusive insulation benefit over standard PLA, though the custom enclosure kept sensors approximately 7°C warmer than ambient stratospheric air.
For engineers building lightweight high-altitude payloads, custom 3D-printed enclosures can replace styrofoam boxes at a fraction of the weight, but the data suggests filament composition matters less than wall count and infill density for thermal performance. This is a single-source report from one project, so the insulation findings should be treated as preliminary rather than definitive.
Written by elseif from the cluster below · every claim links back to a sourceThe three things worth knowing
The complete payload weighed 491 grams against a 350 gram Kaymont balloon, where a traditional foam enclosure alone would have consumed approximately 200 grams.
Sunlu's LW-PLA required printing approximately 7x slower with cooling disabled and increased bed temperature, yet delivered no measurable insulation advantage over standard PLA.
The team never recovered the balloon after its Montana flight, limiting access to any onboard flight data and transmitted images.
THE CLUSTER