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.