[bigluc]

Alright, so I have this real world problem that I'm facing.

Background: I am looking into getting into 3D printing, particularly using PLA, a hard plastic. Now I recently found out that if a PLA (Polylactic acid) part is submerged into ethyl lactate for around 2-3 hours, the piece becomes flexible, nearly like rubber. I want to find out what this reaction is, and whats going on.

Problem: Ethyl Lactate (C₅H₁₀O₃) reacts with Polylactic Acid ((C₃H₄O₂)_n) to form a more flexible plastic part. What is going on that makes the plastic part more flexible? And how has the chemical composition of the plastic part changed?

My burning question: Is there any other compound similar to Ethyl Lactate that would have a similar effect on the plastic part?

I have taken the equivalent of a Chem 1 class, but O-Chem is beyond me. Any help is very much appreciated.

Ethyl Lactate Data: http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/summary/summary.cgi?cid=7344#itabs-2d

PLA Data: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polylactic_acid

[TheUnassuming]

Is the change in rigidity permanent? 

[bigluc]

Is the change in rigidity permanent? 

Yes it is.

[bigluc]

Alright, so I contacted some people in the 3D printing area, and they say that the PLA plastic "sponges" up the Ethyl lactate, so no reaction takes place.

Solved.