Prusament ASA first layer adhesion issues  

ASA Adheasion

Posted by: @chris-28

Hello,

I have a Prusa MK2.5s and have printed with PLA and PETG multiple times without issues. Recently I purchased some Prusament ASA black (require high temp resistance) and I cannot for the life of me get the first layer to adhere.

I've used prusaslicer and the default profile for prusament ASA. I haven't played with the filament settings, as I assume prusa has that dialled in enough to get a print going. I've cleaned the print headbed with isopropyl alcohol and used a glue stick on the surface. I've recalibrated the XYZ, heated levelling and live z adjust. It's a new roll of filament, so it shouldn't have absorbed mositure already. I don't have an enclosure yet but I am printing in a 4x2m room with a heater running. But with all of this, I still cannot get it to stick and am out of ideas. It's failing even on the skirt. 

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks,

Chris 

Hi Chris

What kind of bed material are you using?  I always have trouble getting stuff to stick to the textured sheets. For ASA I usually print on a smooth PEI sheet.  

Z-Adjustment

Hey Chris,

ASA is always way more tricky to print than PLA or PETG for example. Without a heated enclosure, you won't be able to print larger parts or parts in general that tend to warp. Maybe you are able to let the parts finish but when it comes to layer adhesion / dimensional accuracy / repeatability,  printers that aren't enclosed won't produce a satisfactory outcome in my opinion, but for some it's may sufficient. 

The problem which you are describing sounds like the Z-Offset isn't calibrated properly. You can get the first layer to stick to nearly anything as long as the distance between the nozzle and the bed is tuned. When more and more material gets stacked on top of each other that's where things can start to warp and lose from the print bed. 

I'm personally printing ABS+ (should be similar to ASA in some ways) on the textured sheet on my Prusa Mini. I'm cleaning it with IPA after every 20th print or so. (that's possible if you are not touching the bed with your fingers, so there is no oil from your hands on the build plate which will ruin the adhesion)
When it comes to Z-Offset I'm going lower than with PLA, it already looks like it's too close, but I'm fine with that. With too close I'm not saying that the nozzle should scratch over the bed 😀
But if I'm using a 0.2 mm layer height for the first layer I'm going lower than that, for example 0,15 mm, so there is already material squishing up a bit. (after 4-5 Layers you're not seeing that anymore)

I'm printing with 4 walls and 40 percent infill, so there is a lot of material which can cause thermal stresses, but even though I'm not running into any issues when it comes to warping.

It's import for you to realize that you aren't facing any warping issues when you are telling us that the skirt doesn't adhere as well. Most likely it has to do with the Z-Offset.

can you post some picture of the just-failed print?