ABS Woes - am I asking too much from it?

[Bigbrit 8]

So I tried to print a long thin object over night and came downstairs to this, delaminations and even a layer shift. Very disappointed, this was printed with standard cura ABS 0 2mm profile with a new roll of filament.  Am I asking too much from ABS? Should I consider an alternative such as TPLA?

[ultiarjan 1,223]

What brand of ABS did you use?, Any should work but I think most brands of ABS need a higher printing temperature than the Ultimaker ABS default. Also (partially) closing the top of the printer to get a heated chamber can help when printing ABS. 

 

something like this...  though I myself just put a curver box on top of my UM3 in the rare occasion I printed ABS,

https://www.makerpoint.nl/nl/s5-cover.html

 

Anyhow, depending on the specific need, many alternative materials are easier to use for sure...

 

[Bigbrit 8]

Ultimaker ABS.  There was no warnings that it would not work so thought it would be ok, obviously its cooling and peeling up as it does so.  Maybe I can do TPLA or PLA.  It doesnt need to be mega tough to be honest - just needs to be tall and thin

[Smithy 1,144]

Use TPLA which is tougher than ABS, but with a lower glass temperature.

[vitalsparks 8]

I used to have problems like this with thin tall sections using ABS in my early days of printing with it. It is obviously to do with warping which ABS is (in)famously known for. Eventually I found a brand which is advertised as using 'zero warp' technology, which also boasts excellent layer adhesion, and reliable bed adhesion coupled with greater strength over previous ABS filament. Sounds too good to be true? Well, I've been using it now exclusively for over a year and I can honestly say - yes, it's all true. And the price is very reasonable - £23 incl vat and postage for 1kg reel. It is called Filaprint ABS-X from 3DFilaprint in the UK, although I believe it is manufactured in the Netherlands. Here is a link to the black version (there are several other colours too). This is also available as a 5M sample from 3DFilaprint at a modest price to try it yourself.

 

To illustrate how good it is, I knocked up a simple model similar to that which you posted. The panel is 120mm x 80mm x 2mm, and it stands on a base 120mm x 15mm x 2mm. I printed this twice - once using Reprapper ABS (green) and secondly with ABS-X. Both were printed using 255deg, 80deg bed, zero fan, and at 70mm/sec. I enclosed the front of my UM2.

 

 

 

As you can see, the regular ABS has split and, although difficult to see in this picture, had lifted off the base at the right

On the other hand, the ABS-X was a successful print.

 

Hope you find this useful, because there are many instances where ABS can still be a go-to choice.

 

 

[Bigbrit 8]

Amazing man thank you so much! You didnt have to go out your way to do that so again thank you. I'll give them a try for sure, very reasonable price too.

 

 

[vitalsparks 8]

10 hours ago, Bigbrit said:

You didnt have to go out your way to do that

 

No problem - I was about to make a new post in this forum anyway, to highlight this amazing material, but I couldn't think of an easy way to demonstrate visually how good it was at solving the warping problem. Your posting gave me the inspiration to build a model that reproduced your problem, and demonstrate how good ABS-X was at overcoming it.

 

What may be of some interest too, is the best glue-stick I have ever found for use on the buildplate.

 

 

It has the attribute that it is blue when applied, and turns clear when ready for printing on a hot buildplate. The blue colour makes it easy to ensure the glue is spread evenly. It is easily removed from the build plate when cool with a suitable scraper, and it is soluble in water. It has worked well for me over the last couple of years except for those that warp excessively. In those cases, adding a wide brim usually succeeds.

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Edited March 14, 2019 by vitalsparks
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