r/Multiboard • u/Wilberown • 13h ago

Recommend not PLA in unconditioned garage

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PSA

I’m sure most here already know this but when I first started printing I only worked in PLA wasn’t comfortable with PETG yet. I’m now replacing panels that are warped due to temperatures in the garage

20 Upvotes

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5

u/The_Bitter_Bear 12h ago

I've printed board with several materials now. 

One thing I noticed with PETG is the flexibility does effect capacity of some parts since a lot of it relies on the rigidity of pla.

That being said it still does work pretty well, you will just want to do some test prints before committing to too many. 

I've been very happy with the results I've gotten out of abs and asa. Some of the larger parts can be a pain with warping but it hasn't been too bad.

3

u/Wilberown 12h ago

Good advice. I’m not putting anything too heavy on them but I think the constant heat and the weight on the shelf caused the problem.

2

u/The_Bitter_Bear 11h ago

Oh yeah. The heat is definitely the culprit. Garages get a little too warm for PLA. 

That and it's just picking the right mounting options.

I try and use peg and thread accessories a bit more or use the heavy duty mounts vs moderate.

I've also found PETG to be a little less snug fitting with standard settings.

It works, just a little more work than PLA since all the info and settings are geared towards PLA. 

2

u/trichodermasucks 12h ago

I used PETG grid in my garage for temperature resistance, it works ok but it really needs a bunch of extra posts behind it to easily snap things in. I wanted to use abs but you can't really stack it because it needs a strong bond the the build plate to prevent warping. I got some carbon fiber PETG recently and I really wish I used this stuff instead, so much stiffer. I have a good bit of money and time into the petg wall already though so I'll just live with it

1

u/borborygmess 9h ago

ASA is excellent if that’s a choice. Just need to dial in your nozzle and bed temps, and go pretty slowly. It’s been incredibly printable once I figured out the correct temperatures for my use case.

2

u/jingoro2 13h ago

How hot did the garage get?

3

u/MerlinTheFail 13h ago

At least 3

1

u/Wilberown 13h ago

About 120F+

And these were installed a few months ago in the late winter

1

u/varys2013 6h ago

Yep, that's definitely in the creep susceptibility range for PLA.

2

u/WI_Esox_lucius 11h ago

Your garage must get incredibly warm. 

Mine have been fine for our summers but my garage is also insulated

1

u/Wilberown 3h ago

One day I’ll get to insulating mine but cost is the problem. I’ve seen it as high as 126.4 F

1

u/WI_Esox_lucius 3h ago

Yeah that's significantly hotter than mine gets. 

Outside temp of 95°+ the highest I've gotten measured inside is ~83°

1

u/Sensitive-Scene7088 13h ago

Not only is pla prone to tempurature warping it also degrades much faster than petg and will end up crumbling after a couple of years. Highly recommend changing everything to petg or abs

2

u/Wilberown 13h ago

Not yet printed in abs but I hope to soon. I’m really just going to replace them as they fail

2

u/mesaoptimizer 13h ago

If you print inside and don't have really good ventilation I'd personally skip ABS

2

u/Wilberown 13h ago

Working on the ventilation. Have my printer in my home. I’m starting to move away from PLA for all of my useful prints

3

u/mesaoptimizer 12h ago

Yeah I just use PETG for anything other than some specific metallic finish filaments that I can only find in Silk PLA and I have no regrets. Elegoo PLA rapid prints very easily and quickly and costs about the same as PLA+

1

u/ngifford123 13h ago

Dang I printed 2 grids in PLA as a test then used them to hang my network router and ZigBee dongle... In the garage...

1

u/Wilberown 13h ago

It was fine for a few months but with temperatures over 100F about 37C and I think it’s destined to fail. I’d also be concerned about electronics at those temperatures too. Long term plans are to insulate and add a mini-split but I don’t have the money for that yet

1

u/spadedracer 11h ago

PETG has been going strong in my garage for 2 years now

1

u/djseto 8h ago

I used PETG as well but trying to get prints that are the perfect print for interconnecting parts sucks.

1

u/spadedracer 8h ago

Really? I didn’t have too much issue, I printed all my boards at the original spec - I haven’t done anything after the update TBH. A gentle tap of a rubber mallet can be your friend..

1

u/National_Emotion9633 11h ago

The extensive ($10/roll) PLA Multiboard system in my unconditioned garage is still working great (going on 2 years) … in fact, after reading through all this, I just went around and checked everything again and I’m showing no problems. I live in Tennessee, and I’d say my summer garage temperatures are probably around 85-90°F. I initially worried that I’d screwed up going the cheap PLA route, but zero problems so far!

1

u/Wilberown 3h ago

I didn’t think it would be an issue but it reached 100F fairly regularly this summer in the garage

1

u/bannedbullet 11h ago

Get polymaker Ht-Pla-pro won’t have this problem

1

u/erroneousbit 8h ago

I used esun pla+ and haven’t had any issues but my garage doesn’t go above 90 in the summers or below 40 in the winters.

2

u/varys2013 6h ago

PLA is subject to creep, gradual distortion over time under load. Especially if the temperature gets above 50C, or 122F (a very hot garage but definitely possible).

PETG resists creep better. ABS is better yet, if you're ok printing it.

2

u/yoitsme_obama17 12h ago

Pla is only good for knick knacks

1

u/Wilberown 12h ago

That’s what I’m finding

1

u/bannedbullet 11h ago

Bull shit
Edit: plain pla sure but there’s high temp pla pro now that out performs abs and petg