What type of plastic is used in the construction of the Lulzbot Mini Mk1?

Hello, I am thinking of building a heated enclosure for my Lulzbot Mini Mk1 but am not sure what plastic is used to build the printer. I’m worried that if it is PLA I risk softening it with the heated enclosure and deforming my printer.

-Thanks!

ABS is the most used plastic.

Also, 0.38mm layer height, 78% infill.

If you are getting the enclosure that hot then your heat-break on the extruder will fail long before the plastic. At that point your are investing in a water cooled heat-break.

1 Like

It is unlikely that you will ever use enclosure temperatures that would put PLA at risk. I believe some PLA+ filaments have higher temperature tolerance than plain PLA.

ABS would be the best choice and most (if not all) of the printed parts on your Mini are ABS. The only problem here is that ABS can be difficult to print without an enclosure. Maybe something temporary if you want to go this route. Be aware that ABS has some fumes that you will have to deal with.

PETG might be a good compromise. Higher temperature tolerance (and higher temperature to print) but you can probably print with it without an enclosure (I have).

1 Like

Alright, good to know that there is no chance of melting my printer. I was a little concerned that 45C was a little close to PLA’s softening temperature of 60C so just had to be sure. Extra thanks for mentioning the water-cooled heat break, will defiantly remember that if I decide to print more difficult materials.

I built an insulated enclosure for my printer but the garage gets so cold that even PLA has warping troubles with an enclosure on certain prints. Good to know that the printer is made of ABS.

You can always do the large trash bag over the printer and point a small space heater at the bag, don’t blow it directly on the print bed or parts being printed. Then it gets the heating without the actual air movement which is the biggest culprit for warping even in enclosures.

I get the monster cheapo transparent bags from Sam’s Club and they barely fit over the printer. Then I just set the little space heater to blow across the back of it. Works like a charm. Probably costs me a penny in materials and a buck for the winter in electricity. If you have multiple printers like I do you can back them all up against each other so one heater can warm about 4 enclosures together.

PS. I learned this while printing ABS many, many moons ago. Put a digital thermometer in the bag with the printer and keep tabs on the temps. 45C sounds really high. I keep it around 35C with good results. The trick is eliminating the moving air. Which is hard considering the stupid bed is moving back and forth :stuck_out_tongue:

PSS. Mosquito® Liquid – Slice Engineering

1 Like

Actually, since I am reprinting Taz Pro parts on a Aerostruder equiped Taz 6 using ABS, my “enclosure” (garbage bag?) is reading 50C.

–jb

1 Like

I thought I saw something several years ago where Lulzbot said they printed in their enclosures at 90c? I have an insulated enclosure for my mini that contains the entire printer - electronics and all. I think that reduced the life of the Z driver on the board. I had to replace the board. I printed some ductwork to run from the vents on the printer electronics box to cooler air from outside the enclosure. Hopefully this will extend the life of the replacement board.

1 Like

Yup! Don’t run the full printer in that temp. I have a printed channel that slips under the bag or tent that allows the printer to pull cool air from outside into the bottom air inlet. The top is exhausting the warmed air so it actually help to heat the tent.