elefort wrote:So for the people who are successfully printing with PLA can you so kindly post the slic3r setting(s) you are using and what item(s) you are using (e.g. glass, blue tape, heated/non heated bed) and anything else that may help everyone here in this thread wanting to know more about printing with PLA. Thx!
In addition, i though I should ask this for more expericenced people using solidoodle/3Dprinters, how is that the MakerBot Replicator2 can print PLA w/out a heated bed (only uses thick acrylic bed)? I also noticed the temperature of the nozzle goes to 225 deg. Could this be a case of the types of extruders being used with the soldoodle and makerbot. Would buying an E3D help the solidoodle2 print PLA without the hassles discussed in this thread?
The E3D helps with printing all types of filament.
I have an E3D on my SD3, prints PLA as easily as it prints ABS. The side benefit of using a different hot end is you can set slicer for the actual temperature as that's what the board is reading, not the 20 to 30 degree difference of the stock hot end. To print PLA with the E3D on my printer I use 220 to 230 degrees nozzle temp (actual) and print onto a 3mm piece of borosilicate glass on top of a QU-BD 8 inch silicon pad mounted on a custom cut piece of G10 that replaces the stock aluminum bed. The bed temp I set to 90 degrees and use the same hair spray stickum that I do for ABS. I have never had an issue with PLA not staying put and perfectly flat for the duration of the print job, only thing I do have to do is let it cool before I try and remove it as it's still soft enough to distort the piece if I try and remove it right away, probably due to the enclosed build chamber that typically reaches right around 100 degrees F during a print job.
]]>So for the people who are successfully printing with PLA can you so kindly post the slic3r setting(s) you are using and what item(s) you are using (e.g. glass, blue tape, heated/non heated bed) and anything else that may help everyone here in this thread wanting to know more about printing with PLA. Thx!
In addition, i though I should ask this for more expericenced people using solidoodle/3Dprinters, how is that the MakerBot Replicator2 can print PLA w/out a heated bed (only uses thick acrylic bed)? I also noticed the temperature of the nozzle goes to 225 deg. Could this be a case of the types of extruders being used with the soldoodle and makerbot. Would buying an E3D help the solidoodle2 print PLA without the hassles discussed in this thread?
The E3D helps with printing all types of filament.
]]>In addition, i though I should ask this for more expericenced people using solidoodle/3Dprinters, how is that the MakerBot Replicator2 can print PLA w/out a heated bed (only uses thick acrylic bed)? I also noticed the temperature of the nozzle goes to 225 deg. Could this be a case of the types of extruders being used with the soldoodle and makerbot. Would buying an E3D help the solidoodle2 print PLA without the hassles discussed in this thread?
]]>nothing special, just take one of the extra leftover screws from the jigsaw and handthread it in the little hole sticking down on the right side of the mk4. be sure to screw it in enough to get your carriage over near where it was. you want the tip of the extruder about even with the side of the heated bed. if you leave the screw out too much it homes too far over and ends up jamming the other side when it makes movements to the extreme side of the build area. lol
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you can edit this start-up sequence pretty easily though. In the attached example, I have mine set to 205, but if you change these to 180, you will get the desired effect.
]]>Wanted to share this PLA issue with you all.
I bought some clear PLA, and Orange PLA form a local vendor, and was happy with the results, even though I have yet to tinker with my SD3.
I put in another order of PLA, this time Blue, so I could print a Blue TARDIS for a frinds birthday.
First time I tried printing, the PLA warped at the bottom, and popped off the bed.
Second attempt, almost got done, then the same issue.
Third attempt, 75% threw the print, then moved cause it popped again.
For my own curiosity, I loaded the Orange PLA, and the print came out flawlessly!
The images of the prints are attached. Spoke to manufacturers, and they claim the pigment is the issue, and that I should print at a lower temperature.
So, is there a way to bypass Repetier Hoast, as it will only allow me to print at 180?
Also, I have a feeling this is just a load of BS, cause no matter what I print withy the blue filament, it comes out warped. I think I got a bad batch of filament!
Right now I am printing at 195 - tip, and bed at 90
Any ideas on the matter would be appreciated.
-Skyler
]]>Hunter,
This has been happening to me for two months and I cannot figure out for the life of me how to correct it. I have been talking to solidoodle and have posted here about it at this. Search Morty and you'll find my thread with pictures.I am now a pro at taking apart the acrylic, unclogging the PEEK and reassembling. It's getting to the point where the main mounting screws are getting stripped. I even bought a complete extruder replacement already assembled because I was having trouble with the original fan as well, but that one had the same problem. So you don't need to replace anything.
ABS printing works fine. I've also gotten great PLA prints including no problems sticking to the Kapton or glass, but it will randomly bunch up above the PEEK without warning. It could finish a print or it could bunch up halfway through the same piece. It doesn't matter. At this point I agree that it must be a design flaw that is compounded by the type/brand of filament. I am using Makerbot PLA . I have not switched brands yet but besides that and maybe replacing the flawed design with an aftermarket mod as suggested, I don't see any other way to correct the issue. I just don't think it's a setting you can tweak.
What brand of filament are you using?
im using sain-smart PLA and Octave ABS, so far only clog ive had with either has been my fault for trying to pull the soft PLA out the top of the extruder at too low a temperature to switch back to ABS.
]]>should have probably printed the mk4 parts in ABS before you started messing with PLA, because PLA can and will cause the exact kind of clog you show. PITA with jigsaw, no problem at all with mk4. lol
if needed i can print a set of mk4 parts for you along with a retainer and snail-mail them over.
]]>where did you buy your J-head? all of the places I have found stateside are out of stock.
I got it from Ultibots.
You will have to update the firmware for a higher max temp, or the extruder will shut down. The thermistor is mounted in the heater body, and not directly on the nozzle head like the SD head, so a higher temp is set for ABS and PLA. I use 215 for ABS and 205 for PLA.
]]>After having many clogging issues with my SD2 extruder, I replaced it with a J-head and am so glad I did. The main design flaw of the SD supplied extruder is an inconsistent inner barrel diameter ( my theory of flaw anyway). The Teflon guide tube in the peek is close to filament diameter, but then once past this, the chamber widens out into the threaded brass tube, which is about twice the filament diameter at least. This column fills with melted material and the overall melt chamber is quite large. This allows melted plastic to remain in the column and not necessarily make it into the printed part. It hangs around and bakes...and bakes, and becomes hard and brittle and eventually some little bit floats into the not well defined column of molten plastic and tries to get pushed through the nozzel. Sometimes it gets out, and then sometimes...
The J-Head design has an inner column that is the filament diameter all the way through to the nozzel opening. The melt chamber itself is short. This allows most of the filament in the peek to remain solid and act as a well fitted piston pushing all the plastic out the nozzle. The added benefit of the short melt zone is that there is less oozing of material, and less retraction is required. I have not had a clog yet. Changing material is a piece of cake, as all you have to do is start warming the extruder and then gently pull on the filament from the top. When the plastic has just started to melt at the bottom of the column, it just pops out in one piece from all the way to the nozzle opening. You can see the shape of the nozzle interior on the filament end when it comes out. No plastic remains in the extruder, so no purging is required.
The J-Head fits right into Lawsy's mount too.
I am now a pro at taking apart the acrylic, unclogging the PEEK and reassembling. It's getting to the point where the main mounting screws are getting stripped. I even bought a complete extruder replacement already assembled because I was having trouble with the original fan as well, but that one had the same problem. So you don't need to replace anything.
ABS printing works fine. I've also gotten great PLA prints including no problems sticking to the Kapton or glass, but it will randomly bunch up above the PEEK without warning. It could finish a print or it could bunch up halfway through the same piece. It doesn't matter. At this point I agree that it must be a design flaw that is compounded by the type/brand of filament. I am using Makerbot PLA . I have not switched brands yet but besides that and maybe replacing the flawed design with an aftermarket mod as suggested, I don't see any other way to correct the issue. I just don't think it's a setting you can tweak.
What brand of filament are you using?
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