Little air bubbles after extruder made a short stop.
Hi guys,
when printing PLA the extruders stops from time to time for a little and relocates himself, that is normal when changing location. But after a stop and the print continues a little air bubble comes out after a few seconds, not immediately, leaving a small gap in the extrusion (see attached image) It could be retraction but I am not sure. Anyone else having the same issue and what can I do to resolve this?
Diamondback 0.4 nozzle, Eryone silk PLA, Bed temp: 65, Nozzle temp: 208, retraction: 4mm, retraction speed: 35mm/s
silk PLA
Foaming filaments are always tricky, they mess with the extruder's internal pressure. Try printing with regular PLA.
I would advise against printing silk filament or any foaming filament unless you have an overwhelming need for it.
Users think PLA is a simple-to-print filament and regular PLA is - but foaming filament of any type should be considered a technical challenge.
It is unfortunate that foaming PLA has been tagged 'silk' by the manufacturers as it suggests the difference is purely cosmetic, it isn't. It does have a place as a lightweight engineering material where density matters (and foaming TPE has a place when the ability to vary the flexibility matters) but it's semi-controlled expansion, thermal resistance and changes in strength and resilience mean that it's always going to be tricky to use and newbies should be made aware that it's going need a couple of years experience before attempting it.
If you just want the cosmetic effect then it's often easier to print regular PLA and give it a careful, multi-coat, spray-paint finish.
Cheerio,
RE: Little air bubbles after extruder made a short stop.
Thanks for your answer, I have printed the same filament before and had no troubles then, I will however not be using it anytime soon, just because there is no real need for it, it just looks nice. 🙂
I might try and give it a good dry-time in the oven and try again over some time.