ePC hold-down method

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pyronaught
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Re: ePC hold-down method

Post by pyronaught » Wed Oct 12, 2016 12:18 am

I got it to stick using a 4 line brim on a 100c plate which was scuffed with 320 sandpaper.

My printer just aborted the print half way through though, which I've only ever seen happen from the extruder hitting the max temp. I wish simplify 3D would store a log of the commands instead of letting the temp readings continually scroll the data off the communication log to the point that the failure data becomes lost. Or at least have a way to suppress M105 commands like what OctoPrint does.

EDIT: looks like it was a nozzle jam, not a max temp shutdown. So far this filament has been a major PITA.
Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

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jimc
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Re: ePC hold-down method

Post by jimc » Fri Oct 14, 2016 3:35 am

little late on this but i do print epc all the time. 100deg on the bed with hairspray. the garnier fructis #5. i spray that on my bed which is mic 6 but would prob do just fine on glass as well. i find the epc to be very easy to print and the print come out super clean with it. i run the nozzle at 265. never tried pei. never had the reason to. my mic6 plate with a quick shot of #5 and everything sticks to it.

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zemlin
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Re: ePC hold-down method

Post by zemlin » Mon Jan 23, 2017 9:15 pm

3dPrintingMD wrote:Gizmodorks Black PC was a total bust for me. I was really (and still am) mad about it. eSun's PC prints much easier than the GizmoDorks, I had nothing put failed attempt time and time over.
I tried the Gizmodorks black again and it kicked my a$$ as well. I got nice prints from ePC, but the Gizmodorks won't stick to anything. By the third layer is pulling up like crazy. Now that ePC is available in white and black, I think it's time to trash that spool. I got a couple small samples of black ePC in my last order of filament. Will have to think of something to test it with.

3dPrintingMD
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Re: ePC hold-down method

Post by 3dPrintingMD » Mon Jan 23, 2017 10:44 pm

Yeah, I have not tried to print the GizmoDorks again, but like you I did see the Black ePC so I'm going to be giving that a try soon.
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zemlin
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Re: ePC hold-down method

Post by zemlin » Tue Jan 24, 2017 4:02 pm

jimc wrote:little late on this but i do print epc all the time. 100deg on the bed with hairspray. the garnier fructis #5. i spray that on my bed which is mic 6 but would prob do just fine on glass as well. i find the epc to be very easy to print and the print come out super clean with it. i run the nozzle at 265. never tried pei. never had the reason to. my mic6 plate with a quick shot of #5 and everything sticks to it.
Never messed with hairspray, but now that my machine is out in the garage I'm more open to spraying the bed (didn't want the overspray in the house). Tried it on the Gizmo Dorks PC .... was the best of anything I tried on that filament, but not good enough. Going to try it on ABS, PETG, and ePC. The one issue I have with PEI is that it isn't perfectly flat due to the adhesive layer - so I wouldn't miss it if the hairspray works out.

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zemlin
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Re: ePC hold-down method

Post by zemlin » Thu Jan 26, 2017 2:28 pm

In my first round of Hairspray vs PEI, the PEI wins. Building some large, sturdy parts with ePC and they build with serious curl on the hairspray/Aluminum bed - only slight lift in a couple corners on PEI. The MIC6 aluminum is mill finish. Might try sanding it a bit to see if that makes a difference.

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pyronaught
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Re: ePC hold-down method

Post by pyronaught » Mon Jan 30, 2017 6:51 am

My biggest problem with PEI is that large parts pull it off the plate and then you get air pockets under it that won't come out. If the air pockets are near the sides or run all the way to the edge then you can push the air out the edge, but an island of air trapped in the middle is virtually impossible to get rid of. It doesn't slowly seep through the film over time like with Kapton, it just stays there forever.

I think Jim is using hairspray on a cast aluminum machine plate if I recall, so he's not using glass. That's one thing I haven't tried yet and am tempted to. The nice thing about the aluminum plate is that it would just last forever and you never have problems with air bubbles or films getting pulled off.

I recently did some R&D using hairspray as a carbon fiber edge binder and have tons of it laying around now. The strongest spray out there is one called Got 2 B Glued, which is for making spiked mowhawks and such. The fastest drying one is TRESemmé TRES TWO or others from TRESemme, which is one of the few makers that ignore California regulations that ban using alcohol. The rest all use water and take much longer to dry.
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Tim
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Re: ePC hold-down method

Post by Tim » Tue Jan 31, 2017 11:03 pm

I did some ePC parts recently on a PEI surface on top of a MIC-6 plate, and didn't have any problem with it. I believe that I had the bed at around 100 degrees. I was doing some brackets for a neighbor who was building an octocopter, and thought that the ePC would be the toughest material to use. I can't disprove that it's not better than other choices, but he brought the drone down a bit hard for a landing and the brackets snapped right in half.

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PcS
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Re: ePC hold-down method

Post by PcS » Wed Feb 01, 2017 2:05 pm

What is your infill ? To high of an infill will make that stuff warp like mad. I only use 25 or 30 for filament drives.

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zemlin
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Re: ePC hold-down method

Post by zemlin » Thu Feb 02, 2017 7:42 pm

I believe I'm seeing a strong correlation between nozzle temp and part strength with ePC. Parts I build with a 300C nozzle seem to be far stronger than those run at 290. I have not tried 295.

290 or lower parts will snap. 300 parts are more likely to bend. Haven't tested a lot of parts yet, but that's what I the trends seem to indicate.

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