Filament temperatures

[blackomega 2]

I think it would be useful to start to compile a table of recommended temperatures for the different colours and manufacturers of the filament material since my own experience and that of others I gather is that the optimum temperature varies with those properties (more colour than manufacturer I gather). Real world, used in anger values is what we want rather than what the specs say.

Does anyone have such a thing started already and if not perhaps we can collectively pull something together?

Perhaps we can have both a UM1 and UM2 table?

 

[jonnybischof 59]

The ideal temperature setting depends on more factors than just the filament which is used.

Probably the most important factor is the printing speed. But then there's also the type of hotend used, temperature sensor tolerances and more.

Also, there may be differences between different batches of the same filament type of a manufacturer.

Imho, such a list doesn't make much sense...

 

[gr5 962]

Probably the most important factor is the printing speed.

 

Yes. This.

Then there is what you care about. If I am printing a part that no one will ever see and doesn't need to be strong I print it as fast and hot as possible (240-260C). If I want to keep stringing to minimum I print as cold as possible (190C) and very slow.

 

[blackomega 2]

The ideal temperature setting depends on more factors than just the filament which is used.

Probably the most important factor is the printing speed. But then there's also the type of hotend used, temperature sensor tolerances and more.

Also, there may be differences between different batches of the same filament type of a manufacturer.

Imho, such a list doesn't make much sense...

 

I can see your point but I still think such a table would be a useful guide. Yes there are always tolerances and deviations in batches (they shouldn't deviate too much though) but I think it would be a useful starting point for a lot of people especially newbies. As for the speed, such a table could easily be normalised to a standard print speed of say 50 mm/s (or whatever).

 

[blackomega 2]

Yes. This.

Then there is what you care about. If I am printing a part that no one will ever see and doesn't need to be strong I print it as fast and hot as possible (240-260C). If I want to keep stringing to minimum I print as cold as possible (190C) and very slow.

 

I've never managed to get my PLA (from Ultimaker) to extrude at 190C but then maybe I'm just not going slow enough once it starts flowing.

How slow is slow?

 

[gr5 962]

For the UM2, at .1mm layer, 190C, 30mm/sec should be around the top speed although my table predicts 70mm/sec but I always cut these values in half because this table was printing in thin air. So at .1mm layers I would say 20mm/sec is a good speed and at .2mm layer 10mm/sec (15mm/sec top speed). This is all for a UM2. The UM1 can melt faster because of either it's feeder or heat chamber (not sure which).

http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/3418-um2-extrusion-rates/

 

[illuminarti 16]

PLA is workable over a huge range, and for most purposes I find that temp isn't that much of an issue. A reasonable rule of thumb is probably just to print PLA at 225°C.

That's hot enough for most any type of PLA to print pretty well at 'normal' speeds (30-75mm/s with 0.1 to 0.2 mm layers). If you get under-extrusion try hotter or slower; if you get blobs, strings or bad overhangs, try cooler (and usually slower).

With good retraction and good cooling, temperature isn't really that much of an issue until you really start pushing the boundaries. And even then, finessing temperature settings to within a degree or two is overkill.