Need help to figure out printing settings for FormFutura TitanX White ABS filament

[Orthopus 0]

Hi everybody,

 

We've just bought an Ultimaker 2 extended + and being new to the 3D printing world we are trying to print out simple objects with different filaments. I couldn't figure out the right settings to print out a micro catapult from Thingiverse with FormFutura TitanX filament (datasheet).

 

Here are the settings of my last try :

 - Material : FormFutura TitanX White

 - Printing T° : 260°C

 - Build Plate T° : 85°C

 - Fan Speed : 20%

   - Regular fan speed : 5%

   - Max. fan speed : 20%  

 - Nozzle Ø: 0.4 mm

 - Layer Height : 0.15

 - Infill density : 30%

 - Wall Thickness : 2 mm

 - Flow : 106%

 - Retraction : enabled, +/- 5 mm

 - Speed : 40 mm/s

 - Build plate adhesion : Raft

 - I've thermally insulated the whole printer

 

With these setting I got :

 - poor layer adhesion giving a very weak catapult

 - poor printing precision

 - no warping

 

You can find enclosed some pictures of the catapult printed with these settings.

 

Thank you so much for your help !

Thibault

[Orthopus 0]

And I'm using Ultimaker Cura 3.6.0

 

Thanks !

[Smithy 1,146]

The chosen object is not the easiest one to test or try new filament, because the layer is very small and therefore the filament cannot cool down enough. So you should set the "Minimum Layer Time" to 10sec or so, maybe higher.

 

Second, I think you print too hot, but I don't know the specifications of your filament, but normally ABS is printed cooler and when I look on your layers at the base, I still think it was too hot.

 

To get a good layer bonding, you should put the printer in an enclosure or cover the front. Depending on your room temperature it can also be necessary to cover the top of your printer with some cardboard. This is needed to keep the air warm inside, round about 45°, which is needed for printing ABS. But now I have seen you wrote, you have isolated the printer, which is ok if it gets not too warm inside. So you definitely need some ventilation to get the warm/hot air out o your box.

 

Flow: Why have you set flow to 106%? Keep it at 100% and check it again.

[Orthopus 0]

Hi Smithy,

 

Thank you for your answer.

I will change the minimum layer time from 3s to 10s.

 

About the printing temperature I've followed the guidelines from FormFutura. They advice temperature from 240°C to 260°C and I've tried 240, 250 and 260°C. I will try again at 240°C.

 

I've enclosed the printer in a chest made from heat insulation material. I felt the temperature inside was much hotter than the room temp so I will lower it down.

 

I've set the flow to 106% following guidelines from FormFutura, I will set it back to 100%.

 

I will try again with the settings you advised and keep you updated.

 

Thank you !

[Smithy 1,146]

6 minutes ago, Orthopus said:

I've enclosed the printer in a chest made from heat insulation material. I felt the temperature inside was much hotter than the room temp so I will lower it down.

For ABS it is good when it is warm inside, approximately 40-45°C but not more because then your stepper motors begin to overheat. For PLA prints you should print it "open" without any cover, otherwise, your PLA prints will fail because of too much heat.

 

If you reprint it with 100% flow and 240°, check if you get under extrusion, if so, increase the temperature by 5°. You will get much better results when you print as cool as possible.

[njic 2]

I have rtitan which should be similar to your filament.

They also advice 240-260 C. I found that 232 is best temperature and 98-99% flow, fan 30-60%. 240 is also to high in my case. At 250-260 C i hear popping...

This material can also be printed at 205 C (almost the same as 232 C). It is weard because datasheet says it is way below melting temp (235 +-10 C).

Anyway, I think it is great material for mechanical parts, but not so good for overhangs and complex models

Also, I use heated bed at 85 C and I print on clean glass without warping at all. Parts come out easely when bed cools down.

Edited December 22, 2019 by njic