What filament material do you use on your 3D printer?

H Steve

In response to your questions

The UpBox uses 1.75 filament.

As regards smell not a lot ..The printer has a recirculating air flow fan with a filter , and the Tiertime filament is low odour.

I've not tried ABS-X but having looked at the data sheet , I'll get a reel or two to test it out.

The UpBox extruder is designed for high temp ABS use, being steel with no PTFE liner. To print with other types of filament PLA , TPU etc there are exchangeable extruder assemblies optimised for the lower temp/ softer materials, I've not tried these yet.

A couple of items that I'll mention with regards getting success with printing

As an aid to getting the ABS to stick to smooth beds I've used 3D LAC spray successfully [smells just like hairspray ! but having tried various sprays ... there is something in the composition of 3D LAC that works]

Bed Levelling and nozzle to bed distance is VERY important , this influences filament bed adhesion and surface finish. I don't find that the Auto bed sensing gets as good results as a Manual set up.

I'm experimenting with Chamber Heating using a 200W heater with a duct that directs a flow of heater air [~70c] across the bed along similar lines to a Stratasys professional printer that I dismantled. This keeps a uniform build environment and speeds up getting the printer up to temperature, I feel it is worthwhile time investment for bigger prints.

TNE,

Thank you for your comments, reinforcing what I have been thinking.

I have just placed an order for 3D LAC spray.

Am totally in agreement with the bed levelling and height for the first layer - it almost has to be pushed onto the glass for good adhesion. Interesting what you say about auto bed levelling - you have just convinced me not to buy a kit for auto levelling. It is a bit of a pain to make sure bed is level, and it does change slightly over time but it is not a huge hassle to do it properly. Have you seen this You Tube video I watched it last night - a bit drawn out but overall quite interesting, I have not heard about the "mouse ears" before, I will try it next time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQu0ThBS4MY

I have thought about heating in the enclosure but have not done it yet as all the control electronics are in the enclosure and I am worried it may cook it. I think further research is called for.

Cheers

Steve

Neil, feel free to use whatever.

It would be great to learn from others. I would especially like to find out more about printing with PETG especially if it is easier to print the larger more complex shapes - I find I have to think carefully about the design and print orientation when using ABS to prevent delamination or warping/lifting from the bed.

Steve

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I just tried a brief squirt of that sprayed on to a hot Pyrex glass bed.

I still haven't figured out how to remove the PLA prints without the kind of violence than misaligns the table.

Also, it doesn't tell me how to get the 3DLAC off the Pyrex. One squirt has done 4 prints so far and shows no sign of wearing thin, but I have a hankering to revisit that initial invisible layer before it became scuffed.

Robin, I have read reports that you have to use 3D LAC sparingly, otherwise, the result you have experienced will occur.

With ABS I generally find that trying to remove ABS prints when the bed is hot can be difficult but when the bed cools to room temperature (a differential of 90 C) the print is already detached due to differential shrinkage rates. So am assuming the same will happen with 3D LAC or at least be easier to remove.

We will see!

I am assuming that 3D LAC is soluble in acetone - have you tried this to remove it from the bed?

Have you tried ABS Juice? (a solution of filament/failed print in acetone) as an adhesion promoter?

Neil, I use a number of methods from ABS juice directly onto the glass bed, ABS juice onto Kapton tape and Kapton tape by itself. The best results I get are using nothing at all on a 110 C bed providing the footprint is neither too large or too small (depending on the complexity and design of the print).

There are other ideas I am now looking at following a YouTube vid I mentioned in a previous post which suggested using "mouse ears" when at the stl/gcode stage as an adhesion promoter. This looks very promising but as yet I have not tried it.

Steve

Hi

I believe the solvent used in 3D LAC is Denatured alcohol ,

I use IPA [ The industrial version not the Malty Amber type !! ] to clean the heat bed surface.

Methylated spirits could also be used

To get a decent area of a model to adhere to the bed I have often use the "Brim" feature about 5 -20mm depending on the size of the object and how large a flat area it already has on the base.

The brim is easy to remove from the object and doesn't use much filament compared to a Raft, serves much the same task as " Mouse Ears" but you don't have to design it in.

The Brim feature is in Cura and Slic3r, I use Repetier Host on the PLA printer [Leapfrog Creatr]  but the proprietary UpStudio doesn't have it for the ABS  UpBox !

Steve

Edited By The Novice Engineer on 06/07/2020 12:08:30

Edited By The Novice Engineer on 06/07/2020 12:25:33

Hi Steve,

IPA is even better - I do not like using acetone - a bit aggressive.

I have used the brim feature but it goes all around the print and for some of the prints I do would be tricky to remove.

It is only on a few of the prints that I have done in the past where I have had a problem with lifting at the extremities but using 3D LAC is just another method available and I thought I would give it a try.

Steve

I use IPA [ The industrial version not the Malty Amber type !! ] to clean the heat bed surface.

IPA is isopropyl alcohol. Next ‘ol’ up from ethyl, but the side chain alternative (isomer) to the long chain version n-propanol.

Methyl is C1, ethyl is C2 and propyl is C3. Industrial methylated spirits is ethanol denatured with methanol (and often something to make it taste horrid - as methanol is poisonous). There are other denaturing compounds, to prevent ethyl alcohol being used as a drink (without the tax being paid), IPA being one of them.

While I don' want to detain someone using ABS filament, I gave up after just a few trials and gave my spools away,

What I use now is ASA, with a bet temp of 80-90°, and a nozzle temp. of 235-240°. According to my IR thermometer, the real bed temp. is somewhat less. The print surface is BuildTak, anything holds perfectly on that.

material #2 is PET-G, bed temp 70°, nozzle temp 225°. No problems with the prints.

My printer is an Ortur, quite happy, although the print surface as delivered was scrap, and the leveling sensor does not work correctly. But the guides are imho better than what is used on Creality and Anet and similar ones.

Regards,
Hans