Polycarbonate build plate…. No bed heat Success!!!
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Just some of my experiences trying to find cheap and usable filaments, I have no affiliation whatsoever with the companies:
Hobbyking sells PA Nylon, POM and PETG filaments for very reasonable prices (little over 20$/20€ per a kilo roll).
I can't say anything about the POM or PA yet as I don't have a suitable print surface (nor an enclosed printer) but I really like their black and white PETG (solid colors).
It's not spooled so nicely, but the dimensional accuracy seems good and it prints very nicely and the parts are durable so it has replaced ABS for me almost completely. Hope they get more colors as well.I print it on ABS juice on glass with no sticking issues whatsoever (80-90 C bed / 255C hotend). AT this temp it flows really well and the parts come out durable and with very good layer adhesion. At 240C the parts tended to get harder and more brittle.
I have also used PETG from a Czech seller (on Ebay.de) called Filament PM. Very nicely spooled and packaged and the dimensions seem good. To me it seems a tiny bit harder to print than the Hobbyking variety as it seems a bit more viscous so has to be printed a bit slower but they do have more colors. I have not made any strength comparisons but both produce definitely usable parts easily. The layer adhesion is much better than with ABS and no warping to talk about and no smell!
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Hi there!
Long time since my last report here… I've great success with PLA using the PC surface, even with quite big parts. I'm still having little beding as mentioned before even if the part don't warp at all, but is barely noticeable and doesn't happen for all prints, so I'm really happy, so I tried the next step... ABS!
Yesterday I tried to print for the first time with ABS, and I started to test the distance to the bed. I'm using 0'13mm offset for PLA (no warp, stick perfect and no elephant foot), but in order to get the ABS I had to use baby steps and get it 0'2mm closer to the surface, which doesn't make any sense... Anyway, my first print was a failure, as one of the parts stick too much (I couldn't remove it, I will need to use a sharp today and probably resand a bit) and the other warped a lot after 5 layers, so I had to stop the print...
@Whitewolf, what do you recommend as offset for printing successfully ABS? I will continue making tests during the weekend…
BTW, I bought some PETG and ASA from rigid.ink, but I wasn't able to test it yet...
Regards!
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As POM seems to stick on PC, what about making the bed with a POM sheet? Do you think PLA/ABS can stick on it?
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FMA, pretty much nothing sticks to POM in my limited experience. Also POM is pricey and releases nasty gases when it is overheated.
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Ok. It was just a thought…
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Yeah it's good that we keep trying different options though. I have some PC now based on whitewolf's recommendations so hope to try it later this week
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Any suggestion where to get PC in the UK? All my searches turn up the clear stuff but no opaque white.
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Is opaque better?
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I think that it depends on the sensor you're using. If you use an optic one, you can have issues with the transparent one… for a capacitive or a piezoelectric, I don't think there is any difference, and in terms of adhesion, I cannot think in a reason why it should be different.
Regards
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Well, I guess opaque PC have some additional stuff, so they can change a little bit the behaviour…
BTW, clear PC is nice, because you can put leds all arround (if thick enough), which illuminates the printing part!
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Anyone has had success with ABS? I have tried white opaque PC (sanded according to instructions Whitewolf) but it sticks too well.
The print is fused to the bed and no way to get it off without destroying it. Could it be that the Nozzle temp I am using for ABS is too high (250°C) for PC? -
That does seem high to me. I get stellar prints out of ABS at 220°.
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I tried ABS just once @ 245°, and it didn't stick, although I think my offset to the bed is the problem. I hadn't had problems to remove the one I f***ked with a re-sanding of the PC sheet, is like before the ABS test xD.
Regards
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I think that it depends on the sensor you're using. If you use an optic one, you can have issues with the transparent one… for a capacitive or a piezoelectric, I don't think there is any difference, and in terms of adhesion, I cannot think in a reason why it should be different.
Regards
Has anyone tested the clear PC?
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Do you want to know about adhesion or IR sensor, or… ?
I made some printing tests with Clear PC, and it works fine. PLA is easy to stick/remove, and as others said, ABS is tricky, because it sticks too much. I think the first layer should be printed at a lower temp (the minimum so filament extrudes).
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@fma:
Do you want to know about adhesion or IR sensor, or… ?
I made some printing tests with Clear PC, and it works fine. PLA is easy to stick/remove, and as others said, ABS is tricky, because it sticks too much. I think the first layer should be printed at a lower temp (the minimum so filament extrudes).
Printing, I don't have an IR sensor will be using the Smart Effector as my probe. As it works I may pick up a sheet and give it a shot.
thanks
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Anyone has had success with ABS? I have tried white opaque PC (sanded according to instructions Whitewolf) but it sticks too well.
The print is fused to the bed and no way to get it off without destroying it. Could it be that the Nozzle temp I am using for ABS is too high (250°C) for PC?I found that by heating my bed to 110C+ (the glass transition temperature of ABS) the parts becomes easier to remove.
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I found that by heating my bed to 110C+ (the glass transition temperature of ABS) the parts becomes easier to remove.
you mean after the print has finished?
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I found that by heating my bed to 110C+ (the glass transition temperature of ABS) the parts becomes easier to remove.
you mean after the print has finished?
Yes, you may destroy the print, but it requires much less force to remove it.
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I found that by heating my bed to 110C+ (the glass transition temperature of ABS) the parts becomes easier to remove.
you mean after the print has finished?
Yes, you may destroy the print, but it requires much less force to remove it.
I don't think is a good idea, depending on the temperature, you can also damage the PC sheet…
