I recently built a Voron V2.4R2 and have my 0.4mm nozzle on my printer. I have been printing PLA 1.75mm with no issues however, I want to try to start experimenting with ABS 1.75mm. Will there be any issues when it comes to extruding the ABS filament? Do I have to worry about any excess PLA within the nozzle while the ABS is heating up? Any tips and tricks with ABS printing besides changing the settings and having my printer fully enclosed? I have been printing PLA for the past couple of years so I am still really new when it comes to ABS since I have never tried printing it and still learning new things with my Voron printer. Thanks
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ABS Experimenting
- Thread starter S24
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Oliver1975
Member
Largely, apart from slicer settings and having a suitable enclosure that can support 40-60C passively heated with ABS or ASA you should be fine. As far as nozzles are concerned you do not need anything special; unless you want to print abrasives of some kind - in which case you want either a hardened steel nozzle, or ideally a tungsten carbide nozzle such as the West3D Undertaker 0.4mm nozzle. Once you buy a TC nozzle you will never need to buy another nozzle in your life again unless you want higher flow or something.
When it comes to printing higher flow, you will likely achieve far more by using a better higher or ultra high flow nozzle rather than a nozzle type anyhow. I personally use the Rapido UHF v2 with an Undertaker TC 0.4mm nozzle.
When it comes to printing higher flow, you will likely achieve far more by using a better higher or ultra high flow nozzle rather than a nozzle type anyhow. I personally use the Rapido UHF v2 with an Undertaker TC 0.4mm nozzle.
You'll need to purge the PLA from your hotend before anything. I recommend getting an ABS spool of a contrasting color in comparison to the PLA you last printed. Easiest way is to go for the light/dark contrast: if the PLA was a light color, use a dark ABS color to purge it, and vice versa. That way you have an easy visual indication of when the purge is complete. I'd recommend setting your hotend to about 230C, and once you reach that temperature you should immediately start extruding ABS.
Some tips for printing ABS successfully: make sure your printing surface is clean by avoiding touching it with your bare hands; if you did, there will be skin oil on it, warm water and soap are great to remove the contamination (IPA is great for cleaning a lot of things, skin oil isn't one of them); be patient and let your printer heatsoak before starting the print job. How long will depend on how big your printer is; inside a chamber with higher ambient temperature ABS *does* need cooling, although not as much as PLA, 20% to 35% should do the trick, you'll need to experiment. ABS can be as easy as PLA to print on a Voron, you just need some experience.
Some tips for printing ABS successfully: make sure your printing surface is clean by avoiding touching it with your bare hands; if you did, there will be skin oil on it, warm water and soap are great to remove the contamination (IPA is great for cleaning a lot of things, skin oil isn't one of them); be patient and let your printer heatsoak before starting the print job. How long will depend on how big your printer is; inside a chamber with higher ambient temperature ABS *does* need cooling, although not as much as PLA, 20% to 35% should do the trick, you'll need to experiment. ABS can be as easy as PLA to print on a Voron, you just need some experience.
Oliver1975
Member
I'd be surprised if you can extrude ABS at 230C, for me I can't until at least 245-250C and I print at 260-270C
I think he means just for the purge, as I do it this way as well. It's a good compromise between the two filament temps. In the end you have to calibrate for your brand/color filament before printing a part.
I also agree with Vinny, Heat soak for a minimum of 15-30 minutes or longer if possible. Clean surface, and just about 20%-30% of part cooling.
You have to use a lower temperature for ABS on that purge operation, otherwise you risk pyrolising the PLA inside your hotend and that is far from being fun to solve.
I swap between ABS and PLA all the time, no problems. I preheat about 240 and purge until I only see the ABS coming out. Printing is at 250 for about all the ABS varieties I use.
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