UltiMaker uses functional, analytical and tracking cookies. Tracking cookies enhance your experience on our website and may also collect your personal data outside of Ultimaker websites. If you agree with the use of tracking cookies, click “I agree, continue browsing”. You can withdraw your consent at any time. If you do not consent with the use of tracking cookies, click “Refuse”. You can find more information about cookies on our Privacy and Cookie Policy page.
There are a couple of plastics in the world, but the most common that you can find are PLA, PVA and ABS. There was a time where they also had HDPE, but it didnt pick up and I still got a spool left somewhere.
PLA is mostly used by Ultimakers. Its made out of corn starch, and will last a good amount of years before dissolving. You can print at 200-220C, but it wont hold well when exposed to hot water (I have a cup made out of PLA and it works fine, as long as I dont pour hot water in it). See also wiki. Using a special kind of M3 tape or balsa wood will make sure that the plastic sticks to the bed. It just needs a rough surface to stick on.
ABS is most commonly used by other reprap users. The difference is mainly the fact that it is made out of petroleum, and can achieve relatively high temperatures. Its also much better for toys and casings because it relatively hard at room temperatures. However, it will warp a lot when cooled down. wiki.
I wont discuss PVA, it is the same as PLA but then it can dissolve in water.
ABS can be printed on an ultimaker without problems. However, you need to print rather slow and use the acrylic bed. This means that your acrylic bed quickly can break or crack due to the heat, and it wont stop the warping problem. Another problem is that you are really close to the heating limit of the hot-end (300C).
Some people try to counteract the warping problem with using their own heated build bed, but I do know that it is not needed for usage (I printed ABS & PLA without any heated bed). However, for ABS it is adviced since it will counteract the warping issue.
Link to post
Share on other sites
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Strap in for the first Cura release of 2024! This 5.7 beta release brings new material profiles as well as cloud printing for Method series printers, and introduces a powerful new way of sharing print settings using printer-agnostic project files! Also, if you want to download the cute dinosaur card holder featured below, it was specially designed for this release and can be found on Thingiverse!
S-Line Firmware 8.3.0 was released Nov. 20th on the "Latest" firmware branch.
(Sorry, was out of office when this released)
This update is for...
All UltiMaker S series
New features
Temperature status. During print preparation, the temperatures of the print cores and build plate will be shown on the display. This gives a better indication of the progress and remaining wait time. Save log files in paused state. It is now possible to save the printer's log files to USB if the currently active print job is paused. Previously, the Dump logs to USB option was only enabled if the printer was in idle state. Confirm print removal via Digital Factory. If the printer is connected to the Digital Factory, it is now possible to confirm the removal of a previous print job via the Digital Factory interface. This is useful in situations where the build plate is clear, but the operator forgot to select Confirm removal on the printer’s display. Visit this page for more information about this feature.
Recommended Posts
mr_seeker 0
There are a couple of plastics in the world, but the most common that you can find are PLA, PVA and ABS. There was a time where they also had HDPE, but it didnt pick up and I still got a spool left somewhere.
PLA is mostly used by Ultimakers. Its made out of corn starch, and will last a good amount of years before dissolving. You can print at 200-220C, but it wont hold well when exposed to hot water (I have a cup made out of PLA and it works fine, as long as I dont pour hot water in it). See also wiki. Using a special kind of M3 tape or balsa wood will make sure that the plastic sticks to the bed. It just needs a rough surface to stick on.
ABS is most commonly used by other reprap users. The difference is mainly the fact that it is made out of petroleum, and can achieve relatively high temperatures. Its also much better for toys and casings because it relatively hard at room temperatures. However, it will warp a lot when cooled down. wiki.
I wont discuss PVA, it is the same as PLA but then it can dissolve in water.
ABS can be printed on an ultimaker without problems. However, you need to print rather slow and use the acrylic bed. This means that your acrylic bed quickly can break or crack due to the heat, and it wont stop the warping problem. Another problem is that you are really close to the heating limit of the hot-end (300C).
Some people try to counteract the warping problem with using their own heated build bed, but I do know that it is not needed for usage (I printed ABS & PLA without any heated bed). However, for ABS it is adviced since it will counteract the warping issue.
Link to post
Share on other sites