Mattress adhesion is likely one of the most necessary parts for getting a superb 3D print. (For extra details about printing with ABS, like ideas and tips for fulfillment, take a look at our different article right here.)

A 3D printer with a heated mattress is required for efficiently printing with ABS filament as a result of ABS plastic shrinks when cooling. With out a heated mattress, the underside of your print will cool at a special price than the remainder of your ABS print, leading to dreaded ABS warp. The next information will help you produce completely flat, warp-free ABS prints on nearly any 3D printer:

Tip 1:  ABS would not adhere effectively to reveal 3D printer heated mattress glass.

When you can typically get ABS to stick to reveal, heated borosilicate glass construct plates, the method is troublesome and you’ll greater than doubtless expertise warping/curling or failed prints because of the print breaking free from the glass mid-print.

Tip 2: ABS ought to NEVER be cooled with a layer fan.

When you’ve got a component that will get mushy/blobby due to an excessive amount of residual warmth, attempt printing two of them at a time. It will enable the primary half to chill whereas the second half is printing and vice versa. The best answer is inside MatterControl (our unimaginable, community-driven, free 3D printing software program – yep, it’s very free). A number of straightforward slice settings mean you can require layer occasions to be at the very least (X) quantity of seconds. If that is nonetheless not sufficient cooling time, you may specify the new finish to maneuver off the print for a set period of time after every layer, after which resume printing the following layer. These settings might be seen within the picture under:

Allow Extruder Elevate and Set Print Speeds Right here

Simply keep in mind, cooling followers and ABS usually are not mates! 

And on that very same observe, ensure there’s not an Air Conditioner or every other pressured air disturbing the print space of your 3D printer setting; this could have the identical warping or splitting impact as a layer cooling fan when 3D printing with ABS filament. 

Tip 3: Your 3D printer heated mattress ought to all the time be on.

Relying on the half and mattress adhesion methodology you are utilizing, 85-90°C is often an satisfactory temperature vary to your 3D printer heated mattress when printing with ABS filament. It’s best to by no means exceed 120°C.

A Few ABS Mattress Adhesion Options:

So as of finest (strongest adhesion) to worst (weakest adhesion).

A) PEI Sheets, PET sheets, or Kapton tape on the 3D printer heated mattress with ABS Juice. 

We made a easy, quick video on find out how to apply PET tape to your 3D printer glass mattress.

ABS Juice (or ABS Glue) is dissolved ABS filament in acetone. Begin with 2-3oz of acetone and 6-7 inches of ABS 3D printing filament, then regulate as wanted. Extra ABS plastic dissolved within the acetone equals higher mattress adhesion. The perfect consistency is thicker than water however thinner than milk. In case your combination is just too thick – like paste or yogurt – simply add some extra acetone to dilute.

Apply the ABS Juice to the 3D construct plate utilizing a brush when the mattress is scorching. You will note the acetone evaporate and the mattress floor grow to be dry somewhat rapidly. 

Professional Tip: Pure ABS filament is essentially the most handy for making ABS Juice as a result of it won’t depart any coloration in your prints. Keep in mind that if you’re printing in Crimson ABS and use Black Juice, the underside of your print shall be black and crimson because the plastic extrudes over the skinny layer of black. 

B) ABS Juice instantly on the 3D printer heated mattress’s glass. Identical as above, simply with out the PET or Kapton tape. Works very effectively and makes cleanup a bit simpler. 

C) Glue stick. Just about any PVA based mostly glue stick works (Elmer’s, Scotch, UHU, and many others). Apply a skinny layer of glue to a cool 3D print mattress in one path, after which apply one other layer in the other way (consider a crosshatch sample). Then deliver mattress as much as temp enable the glue to dry earlier than printing. PVA is water soluble so you may take away the skinny movie from the 3D printed half by rinsing with water. Use a moist paper towel to evenly redistribute the PVA glue stick movie on the mattress. 

D) Hairspray. We use Aquanet’s unscented, additional tremendous maintain – it really works effectively, and it is fairly low cost. Spray a skinny coat on a cool 3D construct plate, let it dry, then spray one other skinny coat, let it dry, deliver it as much as temp after which print. This the weakest maintain – however is the best to do and never a nasty place to start out when starting with printing ABS filament on a 3D printer with a heated mattress. 

Professional Tip: Scented Hairsprays do work completely wonderful, however they are going to depart you with a really smelly 3D printing room – and possibly not in a great way. 

Tip 4: The footprint of your half performs a HUGE function in mattress adhesion.  

The larger and thicker the footprint/base of your 3D printed half, the extra warping forces current. We use hairspray efficiently for lots of our ABS prints, however prints with very giant footprints – like a pyramid – typically require stronger adhesion to remain firmly in place. The nearer the prints are to the middle of the print mattress (the place it is sometimes hottest) the higher.

Footprint instance:

Pyramid = giant footprint and extra tendency to warp.
Inverted pyramid = small footprint and fewer tendency to warp.

Bear in mind, ABS Juice may be very simply one of the best methodology of mattress adhesion for ABS prints, however additionally it is the most important ache for each clean-up and for print elimination. An excessive amount of ABS Juice (or too thick a focus) may result in you breaking your glass attempting to take away the half.

Tip 5: Infill performs an enormous function in 3D printed ABS elements.

Too many strong layers on the underside adopted by gentle infill (<15%) will improve your possibilities of warp. Fast modifications of infill density will trigger the print to chill otherwise and result in warp. Use the least quantity of strong layers attainable to keep away from warping. Normally, the extra infill you utilize, the extra warping forces you introduce to your 3D half. To additional perceive slice settings we’ve a 3 half collection you could need to take a look at as a information. 

We have 3D printed 1000’s of issues in ABS filament and located we may stop warping each single time by following some or all of the following pointers. 

Blissful Warp-Free Printing!