I currently have a lulbot Taz 6 with a Made Solid enclosure for it. I’m trying to print a large enclosure and the walls of it are shrinking inward near the top. The bottom edges of the box also curl up too. Also the handle prints uneven. I’m not sure how to fix these. The main settings i need/want are 1 mm or higher wall thickness walls or 100% infill.
Attached are photos of the print. I did apply some abs to some areas, but it wasn’t on the problem areas. I also circled in red the problems.
I also included pictures of the model in software.
I also made a “heat box” to be printed with the print to trap heat as it prints. I found this improves the shrinkage and lifting.
I printed this with the lulzbot Taz 6 profile for ABS fast print with wall thickness to 1.5 mm. I have printed this model multiple times with varying wall thickness and infill to 100%. I got the same result with each print. I can reprint this model on request for this form.
A couple things. First off, a large box like that, you 100% need brim to print it. Bump the bed temperature up 5 degrees, add a 6-7mm brim layer, that should help with the adhesion. The lifting is causing most of the handle adn wall issues.
Next, White ABS is a pain in the ass to print. My theory is that Titanium Dioxide is used as the white colorant, and it alters the material melt point, but for whatever reason it’s much more prone to warping than other ABS colors regardless of manufacturer. You will tend to need to raise or lowert the temperature 5 degrees, and It seems to vary by manufacturer which way you need to go.
The other issue you are going to run into is the thin walls. 1.5mm thick walls would be difficult for even “My” taz to print. If you can double the wall thickness, your success rate will go up exponentially. As is, you are going to have to play with nozzle temperatures and possibly enabling a bit of fan even to get a good print, and adding fan is going to weaken the part by reducing the interlayer adhesion.
Long story short, thats literally the most challenging style of print you could possibly make with ABS, and its going to be difficult to get right. Especially on a stock machine.
I’m open to printing in a different color since the final print will be sanded and spray painted.
I tried printing with 100% infill to make it solid. and still the same warping and lifting. The walls of the model are 4mm thick. If i set the wall thickness to 2mm does it make a different if the infill is 100%? Does either setting overwrite the other?
The one in the photos was printed with a brim and still warped and curled up.
I use Esun white abs 3mm. Is there a filament or color you can recommend that would perform better for this print. I bought some of Esun abs+ to try out too.
Are there any modifications to the printer you can recommend? I print this model a lot and i’m willing to mod my printer so it can print it better.
I usually use Push Plastic ABS. Black, blue, green all print just fine at 240c (110c for the bed). I usually print structural stuff at 85%. I print without an enclosure in an interior room of my house that is generally around 68-72 degrees.
As for modifications, the best ones for ABS are the Aluminum core build plate (spreads heat more evenly to allow for better adhesion) the enclosure you already have, and then possibly consider the openbuilds X and Y axis, though the 6 openbuild x axis is still under development (mainly because I don’t have a 6).
