I’m in the process of switching to using ABS filament in my printer due to it being easier to process after it’s been printed.
However, all I’m getting is stressed out to the point of being sick. I’ve had 4 nozzle clogs in the past 2 days both partial and full.
As my print is being laid down, the new layers of the support structure are warping immediately after being laid down. If my printed pieces have curves then they curl on the edges where the curved surface is being formed. This causes the nozzle to touch the printed part and thus clog.
I think it is possibly caused by the new filament not having enough contact with other filament below it. I don’t know how to fix that except printing a completely solid block and trying to carve it… (joking here due to frustration)
I’ve got my enclosed printer set at an ambient temperature of 60°C, my heated bed at 80°C and have tried hotend temps ranging from 235-250°C.
As a result, I am at my wits’ end and in need help. What am I doing wrong?
Additional slicing details
Slicer: Cura
Wall thickness 0.8mm
Support type: tree
Support angle: 45°
Support style: grid
Support densiry: 15%
Infill: 100%
Layer height: 0.2mm
Regular Fan Speed: 15%
Maximum Fan Speed: 15%
I can get more of the settings later if someone needs to look at them
try slowing your print speed. I don’t know what your speed is but everything else looks ok. my printers generally run at 100 - 150 but I print ABS at maybe 60 I think what happening is too much plastic is cooling at once and I never really tested this theory but I think there’s a ratio between the last layer still being warm and the new material on top that is ideal. smaller layers in terms of distance traveled is where I was having problems and slowing down really solved it.
Sorry to hear that this has been so frustrating for you, but don’t get too stressed out, this hobby is supposed to be fun!
I have printed with abs for a while now, it is certainly a tricky material to use, but there are some things you can do to increase you success! First is to make sure you have a brim turned on, these are generally easy to remove and help increase the surface area of your part. Secondly I would turn your bed temperature up a little bit. For abs I usually print at about 100c on the bed with glass and about 110c when using a pei sheet. 3rd is make sure your bed is levelled very well, with abs’s warping properties a little bit of inconsistency in the bed level can really set of the warping. If you dont already have a bed leveling sensor it may be something you want to look into, these can really help with getting a very consistent and even first layer.
Usually when I am printing with abs I turn my fan completely off, the only time I turn it on is when there is an overhang, in which case I generally set it to around 5-10%. You may want to try turning the extrusion rate up for the bottom couple layers, this should help with sticking your prints to the build plate. I usually run abs at about 50% of the speed I run pla at, this has generally resulted in the best result when printing on my printers.
Finally I have tried printing abs enclosed, unenclosed, with glass, pei, masking tape, glue stick, carbon fiber, and I have had success with all of them. But what has consistently worked the best for me is to use a textures springsteel pei sheet. I always wash it with soap, water, then rubbing alcohol before every print, just to make sure there is no finger oils or dust or anything else on the build plate.
If you have any other questions feel free to reach out again!
Additionally, perhaps I wasn’t clear enough or using the right terms.
My base plate adhesion for my first layer is completely fine. It’s higher layers that are reforming as soon as they are deposited which is causing the issue.
I tried again, turning off my cooling fan and a sink fan that I didn’t know about previously. The results were only a tiny bit better.
I’m probably going to go back to using PLA and just working harder at the post-processing rather than making the switch as the constant frustration is really bad for my health.
First off NEVER TURN OFF THE HEAT SINK FAN - this will cause all kinds of problems including filament melting clogging your hot end (this is an extreme form of “heat creep”) or the PTFE tube inside your hot end melting.
You’re going to have to work the different variables (nozzle temperature, bed temperature, toolhead speed, extrusion/scaling factor, retraction distance, in an enclosure our outside, etc.) in an organized manner to determine what are the critical factors in your printer and the filament you’re using.
Okay… I didn’t know what the sink fan was and felt a draft in my printer, which is a Creatbot F160 PEEK edition btw, and thought it might be responsible.
As for experimenting with the stuff and playing with variables, I get frustrated really easily and if nothing improves over a couple of tests, I get really hard on myself.
I guess it will be better to stick with PLA and just deal with the minor issues I had with that stuff which I feel I’ve already solved.
Was just looking at ABS due to the ability to use acetone to smooth it. I’ve discovered that the difference isn’t worth all the frustration. At least not for me personally.
Its never worth being too hard on yourself over such an inconsequential thing, I struggle with it too, I think everyone does!
I would suggest taking a break from printing abs for a while and maybe come back to it once you have had time to relax. You might even realize something you hadn’t thought of before during that time! There are some more efficient ways to process PLA, one recent one I saw was using shavers for wood, I have linked the video down below. But it seems as though this might save you quite some time!
