Can you print in PVA with an Ultimaker2+?

[HamzaShogan 0]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone has had experience printing PVA with an Ultimaker 2+?

Thanks!!!

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi @HamzaShogan,

Welcome to our forums!

PVA is water dissolvable material, so it is usually used to support a different type of material (like Nylon or PLA). In theory you could use it as a building material, but the applications are pretty limited I think. Keep in mind that PVA doesn't like retractions that much and works better with thicker layers. With a normal nozzle (due to the internal geometry) there is also a higher chance of a clogged nozzle, due to some PVA residue remaining in the nozzle. That is why we have a separate and dedicated printcore for PVA in the Ultimaker 3.

So tl;dr, it can be used but not without its quirks.

[studav 0]

You got me curious, so I did a bit of digging on the forum and these two posts are probably worth a read.

 

• Printing with PVA
  
• Any experiences with dual extrusion and PVA?
  

 

You won't catch me messing with it any time soon

[kmanstudios 1,120]

I have difficulties with PVA when the environment changes. Make sure your area is fairly dehumidified.

The first link was from 2013 and the materials have changed quite a bit since then. This link mentioned as the second one is the type of things I had to learn by reading a lot of posts. It is pretty much my experience with temps and such. But, when I started, it was Cura 2.3 and that had pretty much been incorporated.

For the record, I have no issues with PLA and PVA working together in any brand tried so far.

The only issues, as I stated are with humidity. It can really FUBAR the filament in the nozzle.