Can the UM3 print Polycarbonate?

[LeckieInstalls 0]

I purchased an UM3 extended with one of each Ultimaker filament materials. I just read through the UM3 manual and found that Polycarbonate is not supported by this machine but the UM2 does support printing with PC! Is the UM3 not an upgrade machine from the UM2? We need to print very strong parts, I was told that PC is the way to go.

[valcrow 144]

Yup you can do it. We've had pretty good success printing UM:PC on the UM3. For large parts you may need an adhesion sheet if you find it's peeling off. Otherwise clean glass with no fans at 260C will work.

Since you're in Canada send us a email if you're having trouble.

[LeckieInstalls 0]

Ok great! I actually bought the machine from your store online. I have only had one successful print using PLA and PVA support. been trying to print a focus gear for a lens out of ABS with no luck. The teeth keep turning out to be blobs. Im using the ABS profile to print PC as we speak! set 260c and the bed max at 105c. about 6 layers in and looks pretty good so far. Are there optimal settings for this material that you can recommend? Thanks in advance!

[valcrow 144]

Hi,

We usually have our settings posted up on each material on our website, so if you're not sure you can always check there. https://shop3d.ca/product/ultimaker-pc/ They may differ a little bit from what UM recommends.

In the case of PC its:

Print bed: 100-110 C

Nozzle temp: 250-260 C

Fan: 0% (Your print will fail if not set to 0)

Bed Material: Clean glass

But as I mentioned if your part is very large, you may need a way to contain any kind of drafts or use an adhesion sheet. I would try with these settings first however.

As for ABS prints failing, are you trying to print with PVA supports? ABS doesn't stick to PVA so it's difficult to use dual extrusion in this instance. If you require a strong material that is also high temp with PVA supports, Nylon is the way to go. Nylon sticks to PVA even better than PLA so you will get much better results when using dual/support mode.

[LeckieInstalls 0]

Thats really good to know. I did purchase some Nylon from you and it does really print well! If I wanted to use Polycarbonate, what can I use for supports? I ran the settings for PC and it came out looking really nice but just fell apart. I did another piece at 300c and it is much stronger and came out even better than the first. Doing a 3rd one right now at 325c, I will let you know how that one comes out.

[valcrow 144]

Thats really good to know. I did purchase some Nylon from you and it does really print well! If I wanted to use Polycarbonate, what can I use for supports? I ran the settings for PC and it came out looking really nice but just fell apart. I did another piece at 300c and it is much stronger and came out even better than the first. Doing a 3rd one right now at 325c, I will let you know how that one comes out.

 

I find the fans really affect layer bonding for different materials. For instance, for carbonfiber nylon, if the fans are on, it visually looks OK, but it breaks into individual layers like it was made of stacks of paper if you try and flex it. But once you turn the fans off the whole thing becomes super strong. If you're running with the fan on check that it's not set to 100%. Also we recently changed the print settings to what Ultimaker suggests those settings may work a bit better too.

I'm not sure what material to use for supports for polycarb, I haven't tried any combos yet.

[LeckieInstalls 0]

This is great info thanks!

[kmanstudios 1,120]

I thought the problem with printing with Polycarbonites was with the nozzles. It would chew up a brass nozzle.

[fbrc8-erin 272]

I thought the problem with printing with Polycarbonites was with the nozzles. It would chew up a brass nozzle.

 

Nope. You're thinking of Carbon Fiber, I think. PC totally fine with a brass nozzle. And the latest firmware gives you the option to select PC as a material choice.

[kmanstudios 1,120]

I thought the problem with printing with Polycarbonites was with the nozzles. It would chew up a brass nozzle.

Nope. You're thinking of Carbon Fiber, I think. PC totally fine with a brass nozzle. And the latest firmware gives you the option to select PC as a material choice.

ooohhhhhh....OK. Then I need to find information to distinguish the two. Duhhhhh...Thanks

[tomnagel 126]

UM3 printing profiles in Cura is being worked on, to be launched later this year.

[Gigi 43]

Ultimaker PC Cura 2.5 beta default profile 0.1 layer

In Cura selected Print core AA material - Ultimaker - PC - White PC

On printer - Material 1 - selected - PC. (Firmware 3.6)

Smal ring 1.1mm thick

Big Ring 2mm thick

Seems that printer did not finish small ring accurate at the end.

Printed with support - Material 1

]

Edited April 12, 2017 by Guest
details

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

What's exactly wrong with the small ring? Are you not satisfied with the quality?

[Gigi 43]

it supposed to be round. The top is flat

Maybe Cura ?

or the suport bended the printed part ?

With PLA was round.

Edited April 13, 2017 by Guest

[kmanstudios 1,120]

it supposed to be round. The top is flat

Maybe Cura ?

or the suport bended the printed part ?

With PLA was round.

 

It looks more like a print resolution issue on the top. Think of the layer height as if it was a low rez jpeg type image. The lower the resolution, the blockier the image. Same thing here.

If you went to, say a 0.6 layer height, you would get a much cleaner surface and better 'curvature'.

If you printed the ring on its side, you would get the 0.4 nozzle size as your x/y resolution while the Z resolution would not really betray any issues since it is a straight/vertical line.

Edited April 13, 2017 by Guest

[Gigi 43]

Also with Nylon+PVA was round.

[kmanstudios 1,120]

Also with Nylon+PVA was round.

 

Could you show a pic of that?

[Gigi 43]

Profile PC from printer (3.6 firmware)(Ultimaker PC white)

Draft 0.2 mm

Edited April 17, 2017 by Guest

[engr 2]

Somebody above said

If I wanted to use Polycarbonate, what can I use for supports?

I have the same question.

[kmanstudios 1,120]

Profile PC from printer (3.6 firmware)(Ultimaker PC white)

Draft 0.2 mm

When I look at the circle in the side of the case, I see the same 'boxy look' as I was looking at in the original post.

I was looking at the curves of the vertical circle and not the sides as the sides or top.

To do a fair comparison, it would ideally need to be a print of the two shapes in the two materials as each type of shape presents its own challenges. I ran into that using cubes to test lamination and such and it failed miserably on something with curves.

Just curious of you could do a side by side comparison of the same shape with the two different materials.

I ask because I just did two prints of my first PC materials and it came out as well as any other material.

I did some tests this weekend with PVA and PC. Got it two work for the most part and will be trying to dial in settings and report issues.

I even got the thing to print on a layer of PVA like a raft.

But it had other issues.

The hard thing is that some of this stuff is so reactive to the environment (Temps and humidity) that it can alter a lot of properties in the materials.

I will be posting the print as it had no issues and bridged quite well in draft print.

But I am on 2.4 and firmware 3.5. I am not good enough yet to test software as I am not always sure when it is me or the software. And, until I can replace the printhead cable, I wait to upgrade to 3.6. It has been shipped, so, soon.

Edited April 17, 2017 by Guest

[Gigi 43]

What layer height did you print ?

[kmanstudios 1,120]

Here are my first prints with PC. I used my patent pending "Papa K's Slurry Slush" (yes, that is a joke.....) as the print bed adhesion. Put a nice layer down. As the plate cooled in open air, you could hear it release. Just came off like a charm :)I also used PVA as the brim. Printed as Draft and no supports.

Here it is just after 'lift off'.

The print was too fast to make clean spirals. Though....

I printed a smaller version with the same settings. But, I took the pokey things on top off the main model and used two separate models combined. This allowed for the Main Body and the Pokey things to have two different print speeds. These are images of the second version with only the pokey parts changed and it shows the nice circular bridging it maintained.

And finally, my first tests of PC and PVA together. I did manage to get the PVA to allow the PC to 'sit on top' of the PVA like a raft as well as using the PVA as a brim. The test is a series of issues that could arise, such as, Long thin pieces that would tend to warp, different support structures and types of supports.

Layers before PC is laid on top of PVA in circle region.

And then the first layer of the PC on top of the PVA. It was a real &$!!#@&!!! to get the PC to not just drag around when laying that down.

The print failed due to a different reason and I will get back to finalizing that as soon as I can. I just have to get some samples out and I lost time this weekend getting stuck on the PC/PVA problem. Dog without a bone and all of that....

One of these days, someone will hire me for those talents.....Asperger's does have its advantages :PLook at how much better the Pokey things look at this angle.

Edited April 18, 2017 by Guest

[Gigi 43]

https://ultimaker.com/en/community/37577-printing-from-polycarbonate?page=1&sort=#reply-178324