About printing ABS and steel sheet bump
Hi there,
we've noticed and issue when heatbed temperature is at 100ºC and is that steel sheet on the sides is perfect (because of magnets) but in the center it makes a bump... you can push it down with your finger (very fast to not burn it :P) and see how it goes up again...
I think it's not a problem of our printer only, it's a design issue... but how is that possible?
RE: About printing ABS and steel sheet bump
Thermal expansion of metal. The center of the metal is warmer than the edges, and expands more. It's a serious problem for railroad tracks in summer.
Let the printer bed temperature stabilize before printing and the heat bubble won't be as large.
RE: About printing ABS and steel sheet bump
I know is metal expansion, the thing is that I think this issue should be fixed or at least not saying that can print ABS normally, because for sure it's not ready for that with this metal sheets.
Letting the printer stabilize is not solving anything, and if we lift the metal sheet from one side to take out the bubble, it appears again.
RE: About printing ABS and steel sheet bump
I know is metal expansion, the thing is that I think this issue should be fixed or at least not saying that can print ABS normally, because for sure it's not ready for that with this metal sheets.
Letting the printer stabilize is not solving anything, and if we lift the metal sheet from one side to take out the bubble, it appears again.
You can't change physics unless you are an alchemist. Metal will expand when heated and contract when cooled. If you are unhappy with the way the Prusa sheet works, try a different manufacturer; or mod to use a glass or plastic plate heat bed.
As for printing ABS -- hundreds if not thousands of users on this forum print ABS without issue using the stock Prusa sheets.
RE: About printing ABS and steel sheet bump
Ok, I see how works this forum... prusa is GOD and you can't say any reallity about a fail in design... because this is a fail in design, not a problem of physics, because you can't change physics you change design, and if a printer is bought saying that prints ABS at 100ºC I don't have to mod anything to make it works.
And if I put the printer at 100ºC and have a bubble in the middle is not good for printing ABS, so those hundreds or thousands of people printing ABS maybe mods or print on the corner of the bed xD
Anyway, for sure I'll not buying other Prusa printer, if that's the quality and help/opinions you can get from the forums.
RE: About printing ABS and steel sheet bump
Juan - you have it all wrong with me. I am NOT a super fan. I have issues with things Prusa does as much as anyone; maybe more.
But I also have issues with trying to blame something like metal expansion -- a simple fact of physics -- on anyone.
And yes, as my printer warms up, all sorts of expansion takes place and the bed warps. Mesh level compensates, but if I do mesh level at the wrong time, or don't wait for the printer to stabilize, mesh level isn't as good as I want it to be.
If your bed is warping, and you feel it is a manufacturing problem, have you contacted Prusa support to ask them to help resolve your issue? It might be as simple as a missing magnet.
Otherwise, let us know what printer you move to ... and how much it cost and how they solved the thermal dynamic issue of expansion.
RE: About printing ABS and steel sheet bump
And - it occurred to me - do you understand that ABS is subject to warping when printing? That it is accepted practice that ABS must be printed inside an enclosure to minimize that warp? And this is above and beyond whatever small errors the metal plate warp will introduce?