Guys, I just wanted to share a possible fix to a print that came out slightly warped.
I say slightly, since a print that has warped for over 5° will look curved on top once you set it straight at the bottom.
You’ll need:
- A very flat pan
- A hair dryer
- (optional) a weight
The idea is to bring the print very close to the glass temperature, so this will work only on materials that melt at low temperatures and are not too massive in terms on volume.
Put the print in the pan and shoot it with the hair dryer at max power, about 10 inches away. Don’t shoot the air on a single spot but move it around. Keep blowing air and play close attention to the print, until you see it starting to “relax” and slowly reducing the curve at the bottom. Not melting! Just very slightly giving up.
I have a 1800W dryer and a copper/aluminum pan, and 1 minute is about sufficient for this.
Turn the dryer off now. Gently press on the print’s corners, or whichever side you are trying to straighten up, and they should easily bend until the bottom is completely flat. Keep your fingers in position for 3-5 minutes until the print and the pan have cooled off a bit.
If the print is rectangular, you can put a flat object on top with a weight, so it keeps adding the pressure until everything is cooled off completely.
You might think that putting the print on the heated bed will achieve the same result, but that only heats the bottom. This method heats all around the print and also the bottom as the hot air hits the pan.
Note that you might ruin it irreversibly if you heat it too much or apply the wrong amount of pressure in the wrong spots. You’ll have to be careful and err on the side of caution.
I was able to straigthen my last 2 prints with this method.
Can’t wait to upgrade to a heated bed…
