bad layer adhesion / low Z-axis strength in Prusament ASA?
I printed some parts with Prusament ASA and I really love the printing quality of this material! However I noticed that the layer adhesion seems to be really low compared to PETG and PLA. Some objects that I reprinted with ASA (I printed them before with PLA and PETG) broke much more easily when applying a force. The fracture line was always parallel to the layers, meaning it always split between layers. PETG does not show this behaviour, fracture lines are always randomly oriented.
Looking up the datasheet of Prusament ASA ( https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/prusament/976-prusament-asa-natural-850g.html ) I noticed that the Tensile Yield Strength in Z-direction is only 20% of the X and Y direction, which explains the weakness.
Unfortunately other manufacturers don't publish similar data on X, Y and Z-direction.
Do you have any experience if ASA from other brands has the same problem?
RE: bad layer adhesion / low Z-axis strength in Prusament ASA?
You can try increase filament flow and temperature slightly or eventually reduce fan speed to keep material hotter and more pushed together to allow better binding.
PLA and PETG will allways bind better than ASA but if you say that layers easily break, thats not normal.
RE: bad layer adhesion / low Z-axis strength in Prusament ASA?
You can try increase filament flow and temperature slightly or eventually reduce fan speed to keep material hotter and more pushed together to allow better binding.
I tried that and didn't feel much of a difference. I guess if it would make a difference, Prusa would have already taken these setting to print the strength-test samples.
PLA and PETG will allways bind better than ASA but if you say that layers easily break, thats not normal.
It depends on the cross-section. I have a very thin cross-section in an otherwise pretty bulky and massive part and it always breaks at the this cross-section. If I print this part from PETG, there is no problem with it.
RE: bad layer adhesion / low Z-axis strength in Prusament ASA?
I too have been disappointed with the layer adhesion of Prusament ASA. Got a roll of galaxy black and printed the whole roll with various parts large and small. Found parts to easily break apart along layer lines. Used the Prusament ASA profile, tried increasing temps too but print quality suffered a lot with higher temps. Touted as an ABS replacement but the only thing it may be better with is UV resistance, certainly not with strength. Not happy that Prusa is making this filament without testing and fixing this problem. Maybe all ASA suffers from this?
RE: bad layer adhesion / low Z-axis strength in Prusament ASA?
Not happy that Prusa is making this filament without testing and fixing this problem.
Actually Prusa tested it very thoroughly, they even report the values in the datasheet. It just seems that some people don't care about the bad layer adhesion.
RE: bad layer adhesion / low Z-axis strength in Prusament ASA?
I noticed that all the Prusament ASA materials and not available anymore in the store. Mabe they want to improve the material before they start selling again?
RE: bad layer adhesion / low Z-axis strength in Prusament ASA?
I've been testing out modifications to the print profile to get better layer adhesion, and I've found that each color prints slightly differently. At present the best adhesion is with the Natural ASA, 8% fan, 1.25x infill width. The orange is next, and black has the worst. I'm also printing Fillamentum ASA which does pretty well. 3DXTech ASA filament, OD green is the worst, but the brown and blue are usable. I print with 0.4mm nozzle, .15 layer height and 100% infill. Due to the specific geometry for the part I'm printing I also use 4 perimeters to avoid waves on the outer surface from the infill heat transfer.
The gcode files I print have from 2-8 parts per file, with each part covering about 8% of the print area. Best adhesion occurs with fewer parts, since the prior layers are still a bit warmer.
Room temperature variations are killing layer adhesion ( 65F to 80F) and I've moving to more control of the ambient temps in the print volume.
RE: bad layer adhesion / low Z-axis strength in Prusament ASA?
Stefan from CNC Kitchen confirms our findings:
RE: bad layer adhesion / low Z-axis strength in Prusament ASA?
I've been having decent luck with adhesion since I started printing in the new enclosure. I've been sticking to Prusament natural and Orange and things were going so well I decided to get adventurous with some Fillamentum ASA. The first 3 colors were a bit underextruded and just a touch stringie at the retraction points, but when I tried the 4th the material was blobbing at the nozzle tip. Okay, change nozzle (which was a pin in the enclosure) and flow looked normal with Prusament. Go back to the Fillamentum, do first layer cal, and launch job. Came in today to a mess. Have the printer taken apart and did not find any issues. Finally got the calipers out and measured the filament- the average diameter is about 1.71-1.72mm. Looking at the gear tracks on the unloaded filament I can see where the gear teeth marks almost disappear at the point where it stopped printing. Obviously need a bit more tension in the spring and plan on updating the filament diameter print settings.
Anyone else noticed Fillamentum rolls being a bit thinner than Prusament?