Switching back and forth between PLA and ABS

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sprior
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Switching back and forth between PLA and ABS

Post by sprior » Sat Apr 26, 2014 8:54 pm

It sounds like Kapton tape isn't great when printing PLA, but is pretty necessary when printing ABS. I'm wondering how people handle switching back and forth between PLA and ABS. Applying and removing the kapton tape would seem to mean fiddling with the z offset, so can you put the kapton on one side of the glass and print on that side when printing ABS and then just flip the glass over to print PLA - that way the bed height would be unaffected by the change? Or do people end up picking one or the other and not really changing much?

What's the best practice here?

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MichaelH
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Location: Fredericton - New Brunswick - Canada

Re: Switching back and forth between PLA and ABS

Post by MichaelH » Sun Apr 27, 2014 8:27 pm

I wouldn't recommend putting anything at the bottom side because of heat transfer.
In the end I ended up with two glass plates at first, but now I use Hairspray for both mostly.
I just started playing around with Elmer's glue which reminds me that I was going to open a tread about it.

You can also just set your Z-Offset in S3D or Slic3r to the thickness of your tape.

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Capt. John
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Re: Switching back and forth between PLA and ABS

Post by Capt. John » Sun Apr 27, 2014 8:45 pm

What temperature do you run your bed at with Kapton tape printing in ABS?

Have the recommended hair, haven't tried that yet, but will.
Does the hair spray work with both PLA and ABS on just the glass build table?
Capt. John
Manistee, Michigan
Reel Amateur at 3D printing
Fishing Tackle Manufacturer & Webmaster for:
http://www.michiganangler.com
http://www.michigansportsman.com

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MichaelH
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Re: Switching back and forth between PLA and ABS

Post by MichaelH » Sun Apr 27, 2014 9:05 pm

I print ABS with Hairspray at 96C, I'm not using Kapton at all anymore.
Hairspray works for both but be Passion with PLA it sicks sometime really good to the plate, you might need to soak it in water for a while to get it lose.

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Capt. John
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Re: Switching back and forth between PLA and ABS

Post by Capt. John » Sun Apr 27, 2014 9:59 pm

Thank you.

Hair spray is Aquanet unscented right?
Capt. John
Manistee, Michigan
Reel Amateur at 3D printing
Fishing Tackle Manufacturer & Webmaster for:
http://www.michiganangler.com
http://www.michigansportsman.com

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MichaelH
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Location: Fredericton - New Brunswick - Canada

Re: Switching back and forth between PLA and ABS

Post by MichaelH » Sun Apr 27, 2014 11:51 pm

Yes it is.

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