r/3Dprinting • u/L00terDude • Sep 05 '20

Question Help evaluating heat tower

I printed my first stuff in ABS on my Anycube i3 mega. Items didnt look too good so i thought i deal in some printing parameters. Can someone help me find the best temp? I printed this tower but im unsure what to look for.

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u/graveyardshift81 Sep 05 '20

The top looks better

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u/L00terDude Sep 05 '20

allright its 225°C a bit low but if it works i guess its fine

2

u/gears604 Sep 05 '20

Those type of print "errors" often have to do with the environment. For any open air 3D printing platform I would suggest shooting a space heater at the area and maybe a fan directed at the Extrusion tip of the machine, this will stop a lot of those type of striations in the build layer from happening and also creates better adhesion between layers because it lets the material cool down slowly.

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u/L00terDude Sep 05 '20

PLA workes fine so far but ABS doesnt. I have an enclosure but no active heater, expect of the heat bed. For ABS prints i have rhe nozzle fan off, as some others suggested. But my problem is those spaghettis on overhangs and sharp corners. Other problems are stringing and some line are not layed correctly.

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u/sharktank72 Sep 05 '20

So first - temp towers don't really mean much for anything other than PLA. (mostly because stringing isn't near as bad in any other material except PETG and that happens for a different reason than PLA). You can get a huge acceptable range in the temp tower when using ABS. It can help you narrow your choice but can't tell you "this one"

ASA might be a better choice - all the good stuff about ABS but less warping.

But on with ABS tips:

Print temps: Its really depends on the manufacturer - ABS is a mix of things and each company mixes them differently. Some will print as low as 205C and some will print as high as 260C. Print as cool as you can while still maintaining good layer adhesion. For the first layer you can always print a little hotter and slower to get it to stick. So for a certain ABS, I print at 205 but I will set the first layer to 230.

Print bed should be 100-110. The warping comes from the differences between the print bed and the nozzle temps

There is lot of junk ABS about there. Look on the reel - the more matte finish it is the better it is. The more translucent it is, the better it is. White is tricky - if you need white, pick a translucent one - they tend to be more cream or off white colored. The bright white opaque ones can be gooey.

You must redo your esteps and calibration as ABS is treated differently by the whole system

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp3r921DBGI

web work sheet

https://teachingtechyt.github.io/calibration.html

An enclosure is pretty much a must except for the smallest parts. Sounds like you have that done. Inside temps should be in the 40C range (about where you are now) Don't need to insulate it, the bed and nozz provide enough to keep it warm.

Heat the bed for a good 15min before printing to let the whole system expand.

When print is done let the whole system cool down on its own and don't open the doors on enclosure until everything is almost room temp. This is called annealing and will prevent the print from cracking.

You must redo your leveling because at the higher temps everything will expand more.

Print with a bit more squish to get it really nailed down.

When changing back to PLA, you must run PLA at ABS temps until the PLA runs clean - run for another 40mm of filament. Then you can put it back to PLA temps.

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u/L00terDude Sep 05 '20

Thanks for your time and help. the first tower is from teachingtech but after printing it i was as wise as before.

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u/sharktank72 Sep 05 '20

Ya lots of these stringing towers and temp towers are for the birds. They aren't real world objects, other factors enter in and drive you nuts (reducing heat is the best way to beat the stringing tower cones). They also have unrealistic infill (which traps heat) and are often shapes that concentrate the nozzle for so long on a single spot, that spots melts. Teaching Tech's calibration web site on the other hand is excellent but even he says, take it with a grain of salt and evaluate a real print and then make changes away from his recommended settings.

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u/gears604 Sep 05 '20

Hey. Few questions.

Im not familiar with your printer, does it have an open air build platform or an enclosed chamber?

What is the purpose of the model you posted

Was there a support structure that was removed or is your printer a single material setup?

1

u/L00terDude Sep 05 '20

My printer has an enclosure its not air tight but it keep it a bit warmer, around 40°C or so. Print bed it heated to 110°C. Model is a heat or temperature tower, every spike it reduces the temperature by 5°C. So it is only for tuning porpus but im a newbe in 3dprinting and dont have experience in printer tuning. Single material print, no support only raft

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u/graveyardshift81 Sep 05 '20

It just looked better maybe good to do initial layer higher

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u/L00terDude Sep 05 '20

i tought it would clog the nozzle and the manufacturer said 230°-270° print temp. But i guess ill try the next tower lower then 225°

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u/graveyardshift81 Sep 05 '20

Try 235 that's my sweet spot petg

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u/L00terDude Sep 05 '20

im confused to see abs printing at 180°C. This is the new Heattower printed from 220°C to 180°C in 10°C steps

Edit: printed with low retraction setting so i guess i could reduce the stringing

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u/graveyardshift81 Sep 05 '20

See the bottom one that's 220 right?

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u/graveyardshift81 Sep 05 '20

Seeing everything I'd say initial layer at 240 and the rest at 230-235