Go to homepage
3D Printing
3D Printing Service
FDM SLA/DLP SLS MJF DMLS/SLM Material Jetting
CNC Machining
CNC Machining Service
CNC Milling CNC Turning Surface Finishing Part Marking
Injection Molding
Sheet Metal Fabrication
Resources
3D Printing Guide CNC Machining Guide Injection Molding Guide Metal 3D Printing Guide Knowledge Base Webinars Help Center
Get instant quote
Feb 2016
11 / 22
Feb 2016
May 2016
steven_10
Feb '16

PLA or ABS?

ABS can be tricky to get to stick to a bed 110° bed temp for ABS, and it will probably need a Kapton tape surface.

PLA is a little easier, 60ish °c bed temp, and get yourself some PVA glue sticks! give the bed a wipe over with the PVA glue stick, let it dry and try that.

Henz
Feb '16

-There are settings in the latest Makerbot software in which you can change the speed of the first layer. I’ve found slowing the print of the first layer down gives it time to stick nicely to the bed.

-The ideal temperature for ABS and PLA filament varies with the quality, manufacturer and even colour! Start a print from one of the demo pieces in Makerware (I like to use the Octupus!) PLay around with the settings a bit and check which comes out nicely :). Then jot down or screenshot all the settings you used for that print.

-A little tip i’ve found useful if you’re printing with ABS - Get a small bottle of acetone and start putting all your leftover bits of ABS in it. This stuff is whats (not professionally) known as 'ABS juice). If you paint a thin layer of this onto your bed before you print, it helps the first layer stick to the bed.
http://www.tweaktown.com/guides/6067/3d-printing-tips-and-tricks-how-to-make-abs-juice-to-help-your-3d-prints-better-stick/index.html

Hope this helps!

Adagio
Feb '16

Hey! I’ve had some of the same issues you had.

I have successfully printed without a raft, but it’s risky, and I don’t like it…

So I stuck a piece of glass to the bed(nice and rigid, I used a 3mm piece)

And mixed some ABS with Acetone(till its nice and watery, yet still somewhat thick, think doublethick milkshake…)

I stuck the piece of glass with the ABS glue to the bed, and then coated the piece of glass with it after it dried.

Little or no warping… Had SOME warping with solid things, (100% infil) and big flat things do tend to warp… But had great sucess

Temperatures I use:

ABS->Extruder:230*C, Bed->110(makerbot default)

PLA->Extruder 195*C, Bed->70

Hope it helps!

Mat_Withers
Feb '16

I would check what temp readings you are getting from your sensors when it is cold. At room temp (around 16C) my extruder temps read 18C and my platform temp reads 35C !!! Therefore I adjust accordingly when printing.

I normally print in PLA on a glass sheet clipped to my build plate with a bit of purple glue stick on it. I find that 205C extruder temp and 85C (which is really around 65C) works pretty well for most PLA I have tried.

Levelling your bed correctly is really important

Hope this helps

Les_DeFoor
Feb '16

So, I printed the 20 x 20 cube out last night. Right extruder was at 205. Bed was at 60 for layer 1. 1st layer was at 90% height and a speed of 45 %. Did a fast honeycomb infill 10% Cube actually stayed put and completed! 1 win! The first layer was a little a little bumpy, meaning I could feel the lines in it. Setting was Medium so kind of expect it. One of the and a partial side seems to curve in slightly. and the entire 1st row just, doesn’t look right. Maybe that is because it was only 90% height, but it does look different than the rest. The sides look totally fine and 100% acceptable. The top, looks like it might the PLA might have been too warm and it started to sag between the honeycombs. Not horrible, but you can tell it sagged.

Les_DeFoor
Feb '16

For the cube, I slowed the first layer down to 50% and the rest to like 75%. Takes longer but it seemed to be more specific

3 months later