What temperature should I have my extruders set for PLA & ABS respectively?
Start with the temperature that is marked on your filament. I found this to be the best temperature. But since every machine is a little bit different you can adjust it up or down based on its performance.
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Enza3D
July 25, 2016, 10:28pm
3
Hey there!
For PLA, my co-workers Monoprice seems to extrude best right around 215-225°C, which may seem high but really gives you that nice glossy shine that is characteristic of PLA. The darker colored filaments printed better at the higher range, while the natural and light colored-ones seemed happiest at 215°C-ish. We had some issues getting his print off the bed (it ripped the tape right up), but the print stuck best when the bed was at 60°C. The Monoprice machines seem to have wide temperature swings and inconsistent temperature control from machine to machine, so start at one temperature and adjust +/-5°C until you get the results you want. Be careful if you plan on working in the lower end of the temperature range; these machines are not fun to unclog if you try to print too cool. I reference Simplify’s guide almost constantly when adjusting settings on a new machine.
ABS is proving to be very difficult to print on this machine, and it’s probably due to all the open spaces in the enclosure (hand holes, rear vents). This creates uneven temperature gradients inside the printer and across the build plate, which leads to ABS curl and warping. I’d suggest plugging up those holes (he just taped cardboard over them and threw on some insulation that was laying around) before trying to print ABS. After doing that, we’ve had ok results by adding anchors to corners of large flat prints and lathering the build plate with ABS slurry . A part will still curl up every now and then, but it’s much better than the first couple of tries we had. In regards to temperature, I get my best prints at right around 250-255°C extruder temp and 105°C bed on my Axiom, but on the Monoprice I have been hesitant to go above 240°C. Primarily because of how much I know the temperature can swing on that machine and I don’t want to risk burning out plastic components in the hotend (it’s not an all metal so be careful). I would not suggest going above 240°C (really 230°C would make me more comfortable) until you know your machine well. Fried electronics and melted hotend components are not fun to fix!
If you have an infared temperature gun, I’d suggest monitoring your hotend for a bit and seeing what the true temperature is when you print with it. If you notice it’s consistently lower, than crank that baby up (i.e. if you set 230°C but it’s only 210°C, bump the temperature up) and vice versa for if it runs hotter than you set it.
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Thanks for the information. I was looking on Reddit and someone suggested the 230 range was too hot. But as you pointed out trying to print at the cooler temps just makes for clogging. Typically I ha e been printing at 230 Extruder and 55 for the bed. And got some pretty good results. But like I said I second guessed I was printing too hot.
Enza3D
July 26, 2016, 12:39am
5
It really all depends on the machine; like most other companies, they definitely have some quality control issues and some machines run hotter while others run cooler. If your printer is producing nice results without major issues, you’re doing just fine!
