Help printing with PC Blend without warping
I am so far unable to print with PC Blend without warping. Attached zip file contains step file of want to print and .3mf file. I have an XL with enXLosure. Heater and ventilation installed. I tried with mouse ears to start with but that didn't help. This time I added extra .5mm thick brim all around inside and 20 and 30mm wide outside in Fusion with no separation, then in PS another 6mm brim. I printed with nozzle temp 275, bed temp 115 and enclosure temp 60 degrees. The result still lifted 2mm off the bed in the corners. I am using 3DLAC on the original satin sheet. I didn't think this so big as to cause problems. The XL is supposed to be able to do this. How do I get it to work?
RE: Help printing with PC Blend without warping
This model is quite big and has almost square corners, I’m not surprised that you have warping trouble. You took the most obvious steps to fix the issue but maybe increasing the width of the brim would help. Set the gap between print and brim to zero instead of 0.1mm and elephant’s foot compensation to 0.1 instead of 0.2.
Another thing. Time ago I used to have warping problems with PC blend on a satin plate, even with medium size objects. Now I print PC only on the smooth plate because it has much better adhesion and there’s a noticeable difference If you own a smooth plate, try it instead of the satin. Take into account that, in this case, glue is compulsory, you need it not only as adhesive but also as a releasing agent, or you may damage the PEI layer of the plate removing the print. 3Dlac is the glue that I use most of the time, but for extra adhesion I prefer Dimafix. It works better with the bed at high temperatures ( 90C and above).
RE: Help printing with PC Blend without warping
Thanks Artur. Yes I could round the corners more. As far as size goes it didn't consider it big at 160mm is it? I wanted to print the parts for the enXLosure, some of which take up the whole diagonal of the print bed, but until I got an enclosure and got used to printing with PC Blend I thought I would just stick with PETG for now. Is printing at 160 degree enclosure temperature with a light PETG enclosure frame is pushing it? I've only printed with PETG up until now. What enclosure temperature do you use for PC Blend?
I only have the satin and textured sheets so far. I guess I need to look at a smooth sheet. Rats! I just did an order from Prusa and shipping to get it to Canada is about 80 CAD 🙁
Regarding glue I have never been a fan of glue sticks. I can't get an smooth coating, That's why I like 3DLAC. I did just order some Magigoo PC because it seemed to be recommended on the forum here but I see Dimafix is available in spray so I might like it better, but I don't see it available in Canada.
RE: Help printing with PC Blend without warping
You’re right about those messy glue sticks. I stop using them after discovering 3Dlac.
Possibly I got you wrong, but do you mean that your enclosure is at 160 degrees actually ? ( I hope it’s Fahrenheit and not Celsius ..LOL ). 160F/71C seems very high even if you use an additional heating device. At that temp. you’ll probably run into issues with some of the printed parts ( if they’re in PETG ) and the electronics too (steppers, mainboard.. ). Besides, the printer frame would expand a lot due to the heat and that might affect auto Z, bed mesh leveling and who knows what else.
I don’t own a XL, but a MK3S and another non Prusa printer comparable in print size to the XL. In all cases, the only heat comes from the bed. I never surpassed 50C inside the enclosure and that in summer. Usually I don’t go above 45C. That’s enough for printing PC and nylon without issues, if bed adhesion is good. I have to say that I never print really huge parts ( 25 cmtr or more ) from PC or nylon, so I can’t say what would happen eventually in those cases.
RE: Help printing with PC Blend without warping
160 degrees was a typo. I meant 60 degrees.
RE: Help printing with PC Blend without warping
That's more reasonable. Even so, I think you'd be on safer ground if you stayed around 50C. Some of the electronic components or the steppers will overheat a bit too much working at 60C for long periods of time. That might shorten their lifespan.
RE: Help printing with PC Blend without warping
Okay. I'll go back down to 50 degrees and see what Magigoo PC does for me when it arrives. And put smooth sheet on my list to buy. And redesign my part with rounded corners. Thanks for your help.
RE:
Try adjusting the End G-code of your printer, go to prusa slicer, tab: Printers, from the overview on the left menu choose Custom G-code, scrolll till you see End G-code, click on edit icon and paste this code (it cools down the bed gradually so for PC the whole printing is a bit longer 😉 but worth waiting cause your part should not warp anymore... at least mine doesn't warp anymore, btw you should have a whole bed heating on - you can set it in your printer):
G4 ; wait
{if layer_z < max_print_height}G1 Z{z_offset+min(max_layer_z+5, max_print_height)}{endif} ; Move bed down
P0 S1 ; park tool
{if layer_z < max_print_height}G1 Z{z_offset+min(max_layer_z+97, max_print_height)} F300{endif} ; Move bed further down
; turn off extruder heaters{if is_extruder_used[0]}M104 T0 S0{endif}{if is_extruder_used[1]}M104 T1 S0{endif}{if is_extruder_used[2]}M104 T2 S0{endif}{if is_extruder_used[3]}M104 T3 S0{endif}{if is_extruder_used[4]}M104 T4 S0{endif}
T-1 ; Dock all active tools safely
; === End G-code: Safe Tool Park + Gradual Bed Cooldown ===
; Lift nozzle and park safelyG91 ; Relative positioningG1 Z+5 F600 ; Lift 5 mm Lift Z to avoid scrapingG90 ; Absolute positioning
; === Gradual Bed Cooldown ===; Starting at 105°C, decreasing in 5°C steps, wait 5 minutes per step
M140 R100M190 R100G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R95M190 R95G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R90M190 R90G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R85M190 R85G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R80M190 R80G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R75M190 R75G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R70M190 R70G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R65M190 R65G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R60M190 R60G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R55M190 R55G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R50M190 R50G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R45M190 R45G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R40M190 R40G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R35M190 R35G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R30M190 R30G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R25M190 R25G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R20M190 R20G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
; Finally, turn off bed and all systems
M140 S0 ; turn off heatbedM107 ; turn off fanM221 S100 ; reset flow percentageM84 ; disable motorsM77 ; stop print timer; max_layer_z = [max_layer_z]
RE: Help printing with PC Blend without warping
Just realized that your bed is at 115C... in this case add 2 lines above the first line of the gradual cool down g-code
M140 R110M190 R110G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R105M190 R105G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min
M140 R100M190 R100G4 S300 ; Wait 5 min