Printing Nylon

[tommy]

Hey guys, I'm pretty new to the MakerGear M2 so I don't know too much about it. About a week ago I got some nylon filament (http://www.amazon.com/Taulman-618-Natur ... n+filament) to print springs. But I can't seem to get it to stick. I'm just wondering if you know any settings, surfaces, etc. that would help it to stick and not warp. I don't really mind if I have to tune it in, just something that would work. Thanks.

[jimc]

oh man, nylon is a strange thing to print. its very hard to get it to stay stuck. you can print it one time nad it needs to be chiseled off the bed and they next time it comes off by itself and the hot end is pushing your part around the table. only thing i have found that works well is garolite. you really have to use that stuff and you also always need to print with a brim. are you using s3d? i have an fff for 618 if you are.

[Dave K]

I second what Jim said about how well it sticks...or doesn't. I haven't tried garolite, but elmer's glue stick has worked well for me if the part is not real thick. I'll have to try the garolite as well. I've got a part I want to print that is maybe an inch thick and the warping is giving me fits.

[tommy]

Thanks for responding guys. I am using repetier host, but I might try Garolite and elmers gloo. Thanks.

[jimc]

They have some new lower shrinkage and better bonding nylon avail now called bridge. I am going to order a roll to try out.

[tommy]

I tried Elmers multipurpose glue and it works pretty well. So far no issues. Thank you so much.

[tommy]

It even works pretty well with PLA.

[tommy]

I printed a rubberband gun http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:121658 to see how trustworthy the glue was. I was printing in PLA. It worked so well that I had trouble getting it off.

[ADam]

That rubber band gun looks similar to the rubber band guns I had growing up 25 years ago. May have to print that off for me kid.

[1oldclown]

I've been printing nylon618 on office paper first glued to my HBP glass, and then covered in a layer of glue. I use Elmer's clear washable school glue for both parts and spread the glue with a small squeegee. I apply the glue to the glass before I start to heat the bed then put the paper down. Sometimes I use a piece just larger than the footprint of the print, and sometimes I cover the whole piece of glass. You will get some winkles in the paper at first. I smooth these with the squeegee. As the bed heats the water evaporates and most of the winkle go away. Then I add a bit of glue to the top of the paper and let it dry.

I recheck my z height and then print as normal. I've printed two pounds of nylon this way with no lifting or print fails.

To remove the print you can either pry the print up, tearing the paper, or soak the plate in warm water and luge print will fall off. The bed side of the print comes out as a matte finish. Any residual paper washes off in warm water.

Haven't tried this in PET, but am guessing that it will work.

It sound like a hassle, and is compared to other methods, but I like the reliability.

FYI I tried tracing paper and it was a fail. Plain paper pulled from the recycle works great.....