Best bed and quality spool for ABS?

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Fusion916
Posts: 44
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2016 2:29 am

Best bed and quality spool for ABS?

Post by Fusion916 » Sat Sep 22, 2018 8:06 pm

Hi All

I have been printing ABS in my M2 for quite awhile now so I am experienced, however one problem I have not been able to solve is that for heavy/large surface area parts the corners of some of the sides of the print curl up slightly. I know there is probably some bed leveling issue that I need to address, which I am going to work on, but I also wanted to buy a better quality bed for ABS and also get better quality filament.

Which do you guys recommend for the best bed for sticking abs and the best quality filament?

jferguson
Posts: 247
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2015 7:26 pm
Location: St Petersburg, FL

Re: Best bed and quality spool for ABS?

Post by jferguson » Sat Sep 22, 2018 8:19 pm

You are convinced that this isn't a thermal issue?

airscapes
Posts: 594
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:36 pm

Re: Best bed and quality spool for ABS?

Post by airscapes » Sat Sep 22, 2018 8:49 pm

Is your M2 in an Closure? Kind of need to be for ABS to not warp but it still does.
One think I have found for small parts is to use a brim rather than a raft.. don't really do many larger parts in abs but then ones I have did not warp but I have an enclosure

The glass with polymide tape works great for ABS, so much so I have issues with it pulling the tape off trying to remove the part.
Many including myself have found that the gantry for the X axis or the M2 tends to bow down in the center due to belt tension. The center rail can be shimmed to correct this but you would need to verify this by printing calibration parts in the 9 quadrants (left side back, middle front; center back, middle front, and right side back middle front and determine how much things are off.
If your curling is only happening on the far corner this could be the issue. Once you do the measurements you can alter the starting height from perfect in the center, and split the difference if you are not out too much rather than shimming

However if you M2 is not in an enclosure, that is probably factoring in to the warping.

If you have not tried PETG you might want to give that a try. Prints like PLA with no warping and same if not better strength as ABS.

I have 2 spools of ABS both MakerGear which is obviously re branded since they don't make filament but I do like the Nature as it print very nicely.
Hope this helps you track down the problem... b

Fusion916
Posts: 44
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2016 2:29 am

Re: Best bed and quality spool for ABS?

Post by Fusion916 » Sat Sep 22, 2018 10:20 pm

I dont know it may be a thermal issue. I do have my M2 in an sealed enclosure with heat lamps and a temperature controller. Right now I have it set to 135F in the enclosure.

airscapes
Posts: 594
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:36 pm

Re: Best bed and quality spool for ABS?

Post by airscapes » Sat Sep 22, 2018 11:01 pm

I would be inclined to check for inconstancy in starting height due to sag of the gantry..
Here is one of the threads on the subject viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3844&hilit=gantry

Vandal968
Posts: 217
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2015 4:30 am

Re: Best bed and quality spool for ABS?

Post by Vandal968 » Tue Sep 25, 2018 4:33 am

The glass bed is significantly cooler in the corners than in the middle. An aluminum bed really evens out the temps which gives better adhesion toward the edges. I've posted thermal images in this forum before to demonstrate this. FWIW, I occasionally print ABS in my air conditioned room with nearby running ceiling fan with no significant lift or curling since switching to a Mic6 bed with PEI. I run the bed at 110C for ABS and add a little glue stick for prints that I think may lift. My printer is not enclosed.

cheers,
c

Gwhite
Posts: 372
Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2017 3:38 pm

Re: Best bed and quality spool for ABS?

Post by Gwhite » Tue Sep 25, 2018 2:39 pm

Vandal968 wrote:
Tue Sep 25, 2018 4:33 am
The glass bed is significantly cooler in the corners than in the middle. An aluminum bed really evens out the temps which gives better adhesion toward the edges. I've posted thermal images in this forum before to demonstrate this. FWIW, I occasionally print ABS in my air conditioned room with nearby running ceiling fan with no significant lift or curling since switching to a Mic6 bed with PEI. I run the bed at 110C for ABS and add a little glue stick for prints that I think may lift. My printer is not enclosed.

cheers,
c
Out of curiosity, what brand of ABS are you using? Your description sounds like it is far more forgiving than some.

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willnewton
Posts: 479
Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2014 8:32 pm

Re: Best bed and quality spool for ABS?

Post by willnewton » Tue Sep 25, 2018 3:32 pm

A key point is designing parts that do not promote edge lifting. A rounded corner vs. sharp one will make a big difference.

You may also want to integrate “corner buttons” which are a one layer circle intersecting troublesome corners. It makes a big difference in adhesion and they are very easy to remove with a hobby knife after the print is done. The size of the circle should scale with the size of the print, but something the size of a dime might be a good startfor a print taking up a good bit of the bed.

The note about gantry sag is also key if you are doing a print that uses a lot of the bed. The corners and the middle can have different first layer squish needs.

You may indeed need to find a better filament, but there are other factors as well.
I'm finally back to where I started two days ago!

A thread with some stuff in it I update every once in a while. viewtopic.php?f=8&t=9
See some of my stuff http://www.thingiverse.com/willnewton/favorites

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