Chamber temp for tall, single-wall ASA

[mikedkelly]

I exclusively print R/C airplanes with my Voron 2.4 and would really like to use ASA due to its impact strength, temperature resistance, and slightly lower weight compared to PLA and PETG. Using Polymaker ASA at nozzle/bed temps of 240/90, my chamber reaches a passive steady state temperature of 50 degrees. However, with these single-wall, 25cm tall parts, I am still getting warping on the walls in the open areas where the infill grid is not touching. I believe I can get the chamber in the 70 degree range passively via insulation, but I am not sure if it will be enough. I don't want to invest in insulation and thicker panels if in the end it needs something more like a 100 degree chamber. Has anyone had success printing these types of parts in ASA?

 

[NoGuru]

You can help chamber temps by creating a convection oven by adding some bed fans. They help circulate the hot air and improve chamber temps by around 10-20 degrees depending on what you are printing.
Here is a good example https://mods.vorondesign.com/details/28xgztUufAtAfV4XUL5l4w

Insulation will help as well but it's still going to depend on environment variables and material used as well as speed you print at.
Some materials warp easier then others so maybe try and test a few different ones to see what works best.

I cannot access the web site right now but I know Bambu labs sells a filament specific to RC planes.

 

[mikedkelly]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. My question is not how to increase chamber temps, but whether doing so will solve my particular warping problem. I would normally "just try it" but I don't want to invest $100-$200 to get a 20 degree increase if it is not going to help. I have read about bed fans, but I believe in this case circulating convective energy around the chamber is likely to make the problem worse even though it causes the bed heaters to push more BTUs into the chamber.

 

[lord-carlos]

I don't know this specific brand ABS, but 90c bed seems somewhat low, have you tried 100 / 110C?
Either way, this seems difficult to print.

 

[mikedkelly]

Polymaker ASA recommends 75-90 degrees for the bed. But it was a good idea, so I tried to print the same part at 250/110 with several sweatshirts draped over the panels and was able to get the chamber up to 60C. Unfortunately, the warping looks about the same. I have to wonder whether the problems is as much about sagging from the weight of the part on the thin walls as it is about the material warping.

 

[n4ar]

I have printed 7KG of ASA recently. I have found that sometimes with thin parts you have to run the fan very low. You will sometimes get warping no matter what you do. Overhange performance is pretty bad without the fans at 10%. I am running the bed temp at 90c and running a small heater in the chamber from Amazon and getting about 50c chamber temps on my Non Voron Printer. I would make a test print by cutting off the model you are trying to print and run some tests to see what will work best for you. Currently finishing up a Micron+ R1 build that is made out of ASA.

ASA can be a real pain, but when you get it, the parts are strong and handle temps well so Good Luck.

 

[mikedkelly]

Thanks, I will try some cooling to see if it helps. I did another test with two walls instead of one, and it came out substantially better. I cannot use that profile on an airplane due to the doubling of the weight, but I believe it tells me that the warping is not entirely due to the temperature gradient inside the chamber.

 

[NoGuru]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. My question is not how to increase chamber temps, but whether doing so will solve my particular warping problem. I would normally "just try it" but I don't want to invest $100-$200 to get a 20 degree increase if it is not going to help. I have read about bed fans, but I believe in this case circulating convective energy around the chamber is likely to make the problem worse even though it causes the bed heaters to push more BTUs into the chamber.

Yeah I understand that. I would say insultation will help, but it may or may not fix it. Turbulent air is bad, but if you keep the fans on low it can circulate with little turbulence.
In the end, you will have to test.
Going slow should help so if you are okay with it try and print very slow and see if it helps.

 

[Dozer-3DP]

Don't be afraid of using part cooling fan with ABS/ASA when in a warm chamber. With one wall I would say slow print speeds and relatively high fan is what you want. You need to cool the part enough so it can't warp but not so aggressively as to induce warping. I routinely run my stealthburner part cooling fan at 60-70 percent with abs and asa in a 50-60c chamber. Overhangs get up to 90 percent fan. With such a thin wall, I'd run the bed at 100 first layer and 95 others to keep it from putting more heat than needed into the part.