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Posted · PLA Blue-Translucent - Which settings

I'm a newbie and would really appreciate some advice and guidance.

My UM2 works beautifully with the "standard" blue PLA filament that came with the printer, but it's a complete disaster when I try to print with PLA Blue Translucent filament (https://www.ultimaker.com/products/pla-blue-translucent). In particular:

 

  • There is some under extrusion
  • The model doesn't stick as well and eventually gets pushed away by the head (despite using exactly the same glue)
  • In some instances, I end-up with filaments all over the place (it looks a little bit like a cloud of very thin filament stuck to the head and to various pieces that are being printed).

All these problems disappear when I revert back to the "standard" blue filament.

I'm assuming that I need to use slightly different settings for PLA Blue Translucent than I do for the "standard" blue? If so, what settings do people use to successfully print PLA Blue Translucent?

Thanks

Phil

 

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    Posted · PLA Blue-Translucent - Which settings

    If you are printing at 230 with the standard blue, I would try dropping to 210 - 200 with the translucent. I`m not an expert by the way, but I did have a 1 meter sample of that PLA and it printed fine at 210.

     

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    Posted · PLA Blue-Translucent - Which settings

    Three of the arms on my spool holder were printed with UM translucent blue.

    https://www.youmagine.com/designs/spool-holder-for-loose-filament

    230C nozzle and 75C bed IIRC, no sticking problems at all. I find at 70-75C PLA sticks to the glass like s**t to a blanket and at room temperature it just lifts off (and no glue - never used it).

     

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    Posted · PLA Blue-Translucent - Which settings

    ...

    (and no glue - never used it).

     

    I'd say that is the main issue.

    I only tried printing with glue once. It did not stick at all, not even a little bit :)

    You might need to fine-tune your bed temperature. There can be slight differences even between 1°C steps. The material will only stick if the bed is not too cold, but also not too hot.

    If you think you found an acceptable temperature, you should still experiment with slightly higher or lower bed temperatures, it may get even better ;)

    And one more thing: Generally, you want to keep the bed temperature as low as possible (while getting good results of course). This will minimize shrinking and also draw less power. Don't underestimate the power consumption of a printer that runs all day long...

     

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    Posted · PLA Blue-Translucent - Which settings

    @WoofysPlace @JonnyBischof: Many thanks for your input. I will definitely try playing with lower bed temperatures tonight!

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    Posted · PLA Blue-Translucent - Which settings

    64 degree bed and no glue...works for me every time :)

     

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