Can ABS be printed without an enclosure?
I carelessly ordered a 1kg roll of rigid.ink ABS. I tried printing the batman example, sliced in Slic3r Prusa Edition and then uploaded via SD card to the printer. I used defaults for Filamentium 1.75mm ABS. I got lifting on the tips of the 'wings' . I have researched solutions and common themes are 99% IPA bed cleaning, no fan, and an enclosure. I would rather not enclose the printer, so my question is ....
Does anyone reliably print ABS without an enclosure, and if so what are the killer settings that I need to work on?
Re: Can ABS be printed without an enclosure?
I switch between ABS and PLA often and do not have an enclosure made yet. Haven't smelled much of the ABS at all and if I do happen to, I have a window right next to my printer. I use eSun filament, so may be there filament doesn't give off as much smell. I would say try it and see how it does for you. If its too much smell, then work on making an enclosure with a HEPA filter.
From what I've seen, IKEA Lack Table enclosures are very popular. You can get ideas for them on Thingiverse.
Re: Can ABS be printed without an enclosure?
Thanks for replying chad.r could I ask a few questions?
1. How do you prep the bed before printing ABS?
2. What temperatures do you use for the bed and the hot end?
3. Do you find that you need to adjust the z-offset compared to PLA?
Re: Can ABS be printed without an enclosure?
The PEI on the bed doesn't need any special treatment. I use 91% IPA to clean the surface.
Depending on the filament you are using you may have different requirements for heat. I use eSun filament and they recomment 110 on the bed and 250 for the nozzle. I haven't had any problems using these settings.
As for your Z-axis, that all depends on how dialed in you are on your bed leveling. I use digital calipers to check the thickness of all my sides when I calibrated and I also periodically measure the skirt line that is drawn to see if I am still near what I was printing at. I haven't had to adjust my Z-axis at all switching between PLA and ABS.