With higher glass temp materials (pretty much EVERYTHING besides PLA) a door is a bonus. With PLA I would expect overhangs to not look as good. Especially for small parts with layers that don't take long enough to cool enough before the next layer above is added on.
But with small parts you aren't as likely to get "warping" aka lifting corners. So you can lower the bed temp to 50C. And for large parts you will need 60C bed to keep them flat on the glass but it will take longer for a layer to finish so maybe the door/cover won't hurt.
You can also get doors from printedSolid.com if you are in USA. They are very nice. Not sure whose doors are cheaper (printed solid versus Ultimaker).
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rowiac 53
The enclosure would be more useful for printing ABS and other materials that print at relatively high temperature and tend to warp if cooled too much during printing. With PLA, which prints at a relatively low temperature, if the build area temperature is too high, you could get heat buildup in the print head beyond the teflon heat break to the point where the filament softens and deforms, resulting in a clog and/or underextrusion. Many retractions would exacerbate this effect because of the constant pushing and pulling of the softened filament.
Maybe someone else can explain it better, but that is basically my understanding of the effect.
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2go 6
Thank you. That actually makes sense.
I think I will try the door anyway since my printer is located between two large windows that sometimes get opened at the same time. Plus it should serve serve as an added protection layer for my child. Once she learns to walk and grows tall enough to see what's on the table.
I usually print at 200 degrees with heated bed under 60 degrees which is relatively cool so heat creep should not be an issue, especially with the top of the printer still open. If I decide to install the door and notice deteriorating print quality, I'll make sure to report back in this thread.
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