My tips for printing larger parts

[SuzukiDave 0]

Hi,

I have been using an Ultimaker 2 at my workplace for around 2-3 months now.

I recently managed to successfully print a large part that I designed for the University.

The part filled the build-plate surface almost entirely, was reasonably tall.

At 50% fill it took about 70 hours to complete and used 438g or 55.33 metres of filament.

I printed in black Ultimaker brand ABS filament.

To prevent spooling problems I have setup the filament spool on pvc running between 2 boxes.

This setup has successfully spooled 2 very large prints without error.

I also built a door and an enclosure for the printer to increase the temperature of the build environment.

The enclosure keeps the environment at about 40deg C with the buildplate at 100deg C.

The enclosure is essential to prevent the corners from warping upwards. The warping occurs due to the extruded plastic cooling too quickly.

For adhesion I use ABS mixed with acetone and smear it onto the buildplate at 60deg C using a paint scraper. I perform this with the printer in a fume-hood as I work at a University and have the luxury of leaving the printer in the fume hood all the time so we don't have to inhale the toxic fumes.

If you don't have this luxury perhaps you could use a mask of some kind.

Here is the final product.