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Topic: ABS filament 'popping' and 'bubbling'

Hi,

I noticed that my ABS filament when printed pops really loudly, the pops seems to come from the 'bubbles' that form on the extruded ABS. I do not believe that this is from overcooking as I have tried to print it as low as 190c (the point where it barely extrudes).

Any ideas?



Thanks, Mong

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Re: ABS filament 'popping' and 'bubbling'

This is likely from moisture in your filament. Look into things you can do to dry out filament.

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Re: ABS filament 'popping' and 'bubbling'

DePartedPrinter wrote:

This is likely from moisture in your filament. Look into things you can do to dry out filament.


I also found that by over cooking the filament (printing around 230c) it messed up the filament, however eliminated the bubbles resulting in a weirdly better build.

I will be using this method until i build a filament dryer. For my filament drying, will putting the spool in the oven or using a low watt light bulb in a box be more effective?

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Re: ABS filament 'popping' and 'bubbling'

The oven is fine, even better if it is convection.  I set mine on the lowest setting and prop the door open with a wine cork when I need to dry out some plastic.

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Re: ABS filament 'popping' and 'bubbling'

IanJohnson wrote:

The oven is fine, even better if it is convection.  I set mine on the lowest setting and prop the door open with a wine cork when I need to dry out some plastic.


I see... Can I set it to 100c? And for how long?

Thanks in advance guys

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Re: ABS filament 'popping' and 'bubbling'

How do you store your filaments? Most filaments need to be stored in a dry room so the materials do not absorb water. If you have your filaments open and stoe it in the open air for long time, it is a big possibility that it has absorb the water in the air hence causing air bubbles.

Putting a layer of Kapton tape also can make it become little better. This video may help you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNQ0WhonnBM

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Re: ABS filament 'popping' and 'bubbling'

mongdex wrote:

I see... Can I set it to 100c? And for how long?

90C is enough, but 100C is probably ok. Be cautious though - note that the spool gets soft before the ABS somewhere between about 120-150C (I know this from experience... doh). If you've got a multimeter with a temperature probe lying around, warm up the oven first and stick the probe in there to confirm it's fairly accurate about its temperature before you put your filament in.

2 - 4 hours seems to be word on the street; it's a slow process unfortunately.
Depends how wet it is, from your original post it sounds like it might be quite damp!

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Re: ABS filament 'popping' and 'bubbling'

The reason the filament is popping or bubbling is moisture & small air pocket inside the filament.
It is a common issue if you opened your filament for some time.
Plastic tends to absorb moisture from its surrounding area.

If your filament is encountering those issues fresh out of the box, then there's a problem with your filament supplier.

I normally store my opened filament in an electric dehumidifier & keep the humidity level around 10% - 15%.

I know many of us don't have an electric dehumidifier.  This is what you can do instead.
Prepare a container with lid that is water proof & a package of dehumidifier (also known as desiccant).
You can place your opened filament inside the container along with desiccant.  This will keep your filament not as moist.
Many people find this works, but you will still hear popping sound occasionally.  The popping will actually damage the surface of your print.

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Re: ABS filament 'popping' and 'bubbling'

I opened a cartridge of XYZcrapy filament and pops and snaps while extruding at 230c. Too hot or just bad filament? I believe XYZware prints at 210c but I changed to Repetier.

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Re: ABS filament 'popping' and 'bubbling'

I reckon 99% of the world filaments are made in china. Some areas can be pretty humid. Who knows how long after they manufacture before they package it up. I live in Cairns (Australia) and its pretty up here. I spoke these guys at 3dfillies.com and they got an awesome hack. Get a large Coffee-bean bag, you know when you buy coffee beans? These have a one way valve. Make sure its big enough. The put your filament in there with a desiccant satchel. I used a couple from some used in the filament from them. Squeeze the bag as much as you can to get rid of the air and leave it outside on a warmish day (not out in the Aussie sun though) for a couple of hours. Hey presto you've restored your loved one. You could always return it though! :-)

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Re: ABS filament 'popping' and 'bubbling'

maybe the ABS filament you used has moisture.

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