SoliForum - 3D Printing Community — Preventing warp with ABS

Re: Preventing warp with ABS

2015-02-07T04:20:54Z

CobbCrawler wrote:

..Hairspray or glue stick? To me it's like, Ford or Chevy...

This is kind of an awesome analogy.

Re: Preventing warp with ABS

2015-01-24T17:39:08Z

There are countless factors that effect ABS and it warping, from the extrusion and bed temps, the print settings such as wall thickness and infill rate, the design of the print and even how you place it on the print bed, just to name a few. Hairspray or glue stick? To me it's like, Ford or Chevy. They both work well but I now prefer the glue stick, (my hobby room was smelling like a beauty parlor from the hair spray). As mentioned, just a haze is all you need and cleaning is easy. I use a sponge rinsed in hot soapy water and it wipes right off. I do this after every print, the reason, Elmer's disappearing purple glue boils at 100c, the same temp I run my bed at and if you leave it on or add to it without cleaning causes the glue to begin to collect in small bumps or blisters on the print bed which transfers to the bed side of the prints, it's a lot harder to sand out a dimple than a high spot.

Re: Preventing warp with ABS

2015-01-23T15:57:04Z

Once I got the original coat of whatever it was off (using goo-gone, mostly) I've been using glue sticks since. I tried painting on a thinned mix of elmer's but the sticks are just easier. Plus, when it stops sticking as well it's REALLY easy to just clean the glue off with water and a razor blade. Turns purple again when I'm removing it, I didn't know that the purple sticks would do that.

Bonus - I'm using a razor blade on each side of the glass, on top, pushed under the metal rails on each side to prevent the glass from moving. So far it's working well, and it keeps my razor blade handy for cleaning.

Re: Preventing warp with ABS

2015-01-23T15:15:43Z

cptskippy wrote:

How much glue do you usually apply? I'm having varying degrees of success with it.

Enough to notice its there but not so much that it is caked on. If you are printing on glass, look at it at an angle and you should see a hazed finish instead of glossy glass to see if you missed a spot. Just put it in the area that you need for this particular print. After a couple days or a couple dozen prints you should really begin to get a feel for it. I will never go back to hairspray.

Re: Preventing warp with ABS

2015-01-23T15:07:57Z

How much glue do you usually apply? I'm having varying degrees of success with it.

Re: Preventing warp with ABS

2015-01-23T14:09:29Z

This thread is missing the best solution, IMO: purple glue stick. It coat of purple glue stick has been all I need to print a large object the size of the entire bed and with sharp corners with no warping. It's also much less messy than hairspray and doesn't get all over your rods. I use it on every print. For small prints, just take a damp paper towel and smear the last coat around some. For larger prints, wipe it clean with water and apply a fresh coat.

Glue stick is also cheaper and available everywhere, unlike the aquanet extra super hold that is generally recommended if you use hairspray. Glue stick all the way!

Re: Preventing warp with ABS

2015-01-23T11:25:05Z

trayracing wrote:

I get a lot of shell warping with the filament that came with the printer, so you might try another spool. The spool included with my printer was in an unsealed bag in a marine environemnt for some weeks, so I'm, going to try drying it.

Do you see any small bubbles in your prints due to filament absorbed humidity?

Re: Preventing warp with ABS

2015-01-23T06:35:54Z

I get a lot of shell warping with the filament that came with the printer, so you might try another spool. The spool included with my printer was in an unsealed bag in a marine environemnt for some weeks, so I'm, going to try drying it.

Re: Preventing warp with ABS

2015-01-22T18:23:18Z

Making sure your Z-offset is calibrated correctly is also an essential step. If the nozzle is too close it can hit the part and dislodge it from the bed which greatly increases the chances of warping.

Re: Preventing warp with ABS

2015-01-21T01:05:23Z

TumbleRumblerz wrote:

2. Clean the bed before every print with acetone and then lay down a fine mist of hair spray. Use good extra hold hair spray. You shouldn't soak the bed, just add some gripping capability.

You don't have to wipe it down with acetone after every print. I'm currently on my 20th (+/-) print without cleaning or adding more hairspray. You are correct, though. A generous mist is all you need. Let that sit for a few before heating up and printing.

Aside from that, this is a good writeup especially for large prints.

Preventing warp with ABS

2015-01-21T00:06:55Z

For whatever reason, ABS prints seem to want to warp more than others when printing with the Press in stock configuration. From past experience, here are some ways to help eliminate that warp. These are applicable to any printer, but will work great with the Press.

1. Print with the door closed. By keeping the build area a relatively consistent temperature, you can help eliminate internal temperature variations that cause warp in the first place.

2. Clean the bed before every print with acetone and then lay down a fine mist of hair spray. Use good extra hold hair spray. You shouldn't soak the bed, just add some gripping capability.

3. Print a BIG brim. If you're using RepetierHost and Cura, print a raft. Rafts are awesome at helping eliminate warp. If you're using SoliPrint, the brim feature is great. I don't have a general rule for brim sizes, just make it a lot.

4. After the first couple layers are laid down, drop the bed temperature to 70ish C over the course of a couple minutes. You'll probably have to do this manually but it's important not to do it all at once because you run the risk of causing the ABS to be at a much higher temperature than the bed which can dislodge the print from the bed. By lowering the temperature slowly, you're ensuring that the bed and the print remain the same even temperature. Lowering the bed temperature essentially "freezes" the bottom layers of ABS and removes their pliability so they don't warp as easily. This alone won't eliminate ALL warp but it will certainly help.

Good luck.