Is a heated bed required to print with ABS filament?

A heated bed can help but working with ABS in general is challenging. You end up with a lot of curling issues with larger parts. We have successfully tested the Stepcraft machine with ABS using a slurry of ABS mixed with Acetone and then brushed onto the bed. This worked very well for us. PLA is more common now and the new custom PLAs give you strength, flexibility and even conductiveness. All of which do not require a heated bed.

Another note on 3D printing… we have seen varying results from one spool of filament to another. As an example, we have two brand new rolls of PLA (white and Black) and the white printed fine at 185 degress but the black needed to be raised to 195 to get a good quality print. So some experimenting with various filaments, temperatures and slicer settings can help optimize your prints, not just with the Stepcraft, but with other printers as well.

By | 2015-08-12T06:16:50-04:00 August 12th, 2015|0 Comments

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