Proto Pasta HTPLA on the Mini  

RE: Proto Pasta HTPLA on the Mini

yes.  I had to increase the temperature a little.  I think it was 5-10 degrees.  

RE: Proto Pasta HTPLA on the Mini

@cwbullet

Good to know. I think I bumped mine too high which is causing burning. Maybe I’ll try a temp tower on my high five blue, I love their colors, but as a beginner it was really hard to dial it in. 

RE: Proto Pasta HTPLA on the Mini

Not looking to hijack this thread but I'm having similar issues printing with Proto Pasta HTPLA. I set my temp to 225 for my first print (2 hour print) and it came out great, tried reprint the same print and it failed with at the very end with a clogged nozzle. Reprinted a different 2 hour print at now at 235 and if failed again at the end with a clogged nozzle. For my next print (6 hour print) I bumped the temp up to 240 and after the first hour printed fine then it clogged (see pic). Tried to reprint the same 6 hour print with the temp bumped up to 245 and it failed after 2 hours.

I've been printing on my Mini for about 6 months and last month replace my nozzle with E3D V6 0.4mm Brass nozzle from Prusa. Printing at .20mm and 0.15mm, prints with Prusament PLA and Hatchbox PETG and those come out fine. 

What I don't understand is how I can have a successful first print at 225 degrees, but I can't repeat this.

RE: Proto Pasta HTPLA on the Mini

@cole-3

I still don't have a great solution, but if I'm being honest I have backed off of printing with HTPLA. I just updated to the new SuperPinda, and added a coated copper nozzle, which helps with sticking. 

I was going full steam on printing Toys for Tots with IC3D, and test product in PETG. I will update you if I come up with anything. 

RE: Proto Pasta HTPLA on the Mini

Proto Pasta MK slicer settings

This might be helpful as a starting point for building Mini profile. I'm about 40% thought my temp tower, and hopefully this will help me dial it in more. 

RE: Proto Pasta HTPLA on the Mini

@aaron-keigher

I tried using those settings for the MK3 and there is definitely some improvement over what I was doing. This basically gets me half way there. I'm getting  1 1/2  to 2 hours into a print before the nozzle clogs. Printing with a E3D V6 0.4mm Brass nozzle at 0.2mm.  I'm experimenting now to see what improvements I can add.  Right now it seems my temp must remain 240 - 245, under 240 the nozzle clogs with in an hour, 250 and over the nozzle will clog right away. 

RE: Proto Pasta HTPLA on the Mini

I think it might be a heat break issue. Has anyone tried replacing the Minis heat break with the "Bondtech Heat-break Kit"? 

RE: Proto Pasta HTPLA on the Mini

Posted by: @cole-3

I think it might be a heat break issue. Has anyone tried replacing the Minis heat break with the "Bondtech Heat-break Kit"? 

I've had problems in the past with Proto-Pasta on the Mini, even at recommended temps. I replaced the heatbreak with the Bondtech one a few weeks ago and it has been printing great with Prusament and various crusty, generic PLAs of unknown vintage. I just pulled out one of my ProtoPasta samples and am about to try again.

RE: Proto Pasta HTPLA on the Mini

As I've been restoring my Mini and reviving my MK3S, I ran into this HTPLA issue as well. Seems that a couple years ago the people at Proto-Pasta were aware that this issue plagues Prusa machines enough that they released a very informative blog post.

Basically, the issue is that the printer is annealing the print on its own when the temp drops just enough, which happens to be just below typical PLA temps. This tends to happen with aggressive fan speeds. Obviously this means it may start jamming up because the physical properties of the filament have now changed, but also thanks to the small cavity inside our hot end, it causes a hardened bulb to form.

Here's the link to the blog post:
https://www.proto-pasta.com/blogs/how-to/avoid-jams-to-print-reliably-with-htpla-on-the-prusa-mk3-e3d-hotends

RE: Proto Pasta HTPLA on the Mini

Posted by: @critter42

Posted by: @cole-3

I think it might be a heat break issue. Has anyone tried replacing the Minis heat break with the "Bondtech Heat-break Kit"? 

I've had problems in the past with Proto-Pasta on the Mini, even at recommended temps. I replaced the heatbreak with the Bondtech one a few weeks ago and it has been printing great with Prusament and various crusty, generic PLAs of unknown vintage. I just pulled out one of my ProtoPasta samples and am about to try again.

I probably should have updated sooner, but ever since I put in the Bondtech heat break, I've had no issues with PP HTPLA, including their matte fiber and woodlike filaments. Ever so slightly stringy, but I haven't bothered to fiddle with retraction as it hasn't been horrible enough to take the time to calibrate it.