Testing with Prusament PC Blend  

RE: Testing with Prusament PC Blend

Posted by: @luca-vicini

Hello,

I am testing my first prints with the Prusament PC Blend. I am really impressed with this filament.

I printed also the Gear Bearing model.

While the same model in PLA or PETG rolls smoothly, in PC the friction level is much higher.

Is it due to a characteristic of the material or should I change the PrusaSlicer parameters?

I sliced the model with the default Prusament PC Blend settings and a Draft shield.

What do you think?

 

That looks already quite good. Maybe you could reduce the extrusion multiplier and experiment with the layer width.
What temperatures and fan speed did you use?

It is also important that the filament is absolutely dry.

RE: Testing with Prusament PC Blend

@karl-herbert

The filament roll was brand new, but I always print from a filament dryer machine. I left the roll one night in the dryer before printing.

Temperatures where 275C for the extruder and 115C for the bed (100C for the first layer).

The fan speed is 20% (30% in bridges).

I was thinking about slightly modifying the model and increase the space between gears.

Do you think it's a good idea? 

RE: Testing with Prusament PC Blend

I can't answer for the Prusa PC blend but I print quite a bit with Polymaker PC max and this wouldn't surprise me. There is a tiny join in this model that breaks easily if you print in PLA or PETG, but PC is much harder to break due to the properties of the material. You'll find the same thing if printing ANYTHING with supports - its very difficult to cleanly remove unless it come off in one piece. You might need to use a bit of force here.

Looks nice though - I might buy a reel of this when I run out of my Polymaker batch.

RE: Testing with Prusament PC Blend

@laura-f2

Very nice.  

RE: Testing with Prusament PC Blend

@laura-f2

Don't get me wrong, I broke the joints and the gears are rolling. Nevertheless with a higher friction than with PETG and PLA.

So I am wondering if this higher friction is normal for the material or if by changing the slicing parameters I could improve it.

If I compare with the pain sweat and tears of printing with Nylon (oozing and stringing all the time), working with Prusament PC Blend is a joy.

Here is my latest set of gears. Almost no defects.

RE: Testing with Prusament PC Blend

@luca-vicini

Hi, how do your gears turn with respect to the friction when you print them separately? 

Cheers, Bas

RE: Testing with Prusament PC Blend

Hi @bas,

When printed separately, the gears are rolling a bit better. 

I believe it's because of minor oozing when the print head is passing from gear to gear. By printing gears one at a time you don't have this problem.

RE: Testing with Prusament PC Blend

@lvet

Did you use a drill to free the gears up?

RE: Testing with Prusament PC Blend

I use a Hand Reamer

Like this: 

https://nl.rs-online.com/web/p/hand-reamer-bits/0696897/?cm_mmc=NL-PLA-DS3A-_-google-_-PLA_NL_NL_Hand_Tools_Whoop+(3)-_-(NL:Whoop%21)+Hand+Reamers-_-696897&matchtype=&aud-827186183686:pla-336100777667&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwf39BRCCARIsALXWETw0eVJ_N-2mO3FvBfh5fsiM8aB9WCHkxRqpV9QWu1oz9giNFZgBzhsaApuIEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

RE: Testing with Prusament PC Blend

Hi @lvet

Is the wind screen required?