ABS Printing with Makerbot

[hootie]

I am completely new to the world of 3d printing as it exists today. I used to be a plastics product designer for all sorts of products. But in those days... we spent thousands for SLA models. That was the only way to get some kind of part to see, touch, and feel.

Now... I am designing product for myself at home. They will ultimately end up machined aluminum parts, so I want to print using ABS for the strength. I just ordered a Makerbot Desktop and a Makerbot Mini. i ordered only ABS material. Is there anything I should know up front so I don't waste too much time printing crap?

[hootie]

A little off topic... probably better for an existing post. Holy crap are there allot of 3d printers out there. Every time I thought I had one picked out... I'd read allot of bad reviews. The Makerbot had plenty of them too. I just had to say f it... pick one and go with it. Should I have picked a b better brand? I didn't pay retail on either unit which helped. The mini is brand new in the box and I only paid $399. The Desktop only cost me $1200 brand new in the box. So price wise... positive and negative reviews, I felt ok with the selection. Hope I was right. Sounds like allot of 3d printers do better with PLA. I will probably be doing mostly ABS for my needs.

[Mjolinor]

You will be surprised how much easier PLA is and though not as tough it is not far from being as strong as ABS.

[hootie]

Interesting... wish I had researched that better. I bought 10 xl rolls of abs. I'll get some pla as well and give it a try.

[3dex ltd]

ABS has its advantages but the majority of people don't actually need the advantages. PLA is a really easy plastic to print with and gives great results. Also its non-toxic so safe too.

If you need any more information about what filament to buy then please either check out our website www.3dexfilament.co.uk or you can email us at support@3dexfilament.com

We are always happy to help fellow printers!

[hootie]

I'm not worried about using the ABS. I really do need the extra strength it will give me. That being said... I want to try the PLA too.
I'm developing a pretty complex product that will eventually be mostly machined aluminum. I need to have a working product tested though before hitting that road. To expensive to do R&D on machined aluminum.

I will definitely check out your website before purchasing more filament.

[LambdaFF]

well, coming back to your original question : ABS is a high shrink ratio material. This means you have a higher probability of warp.

Warp puts stress on the contact surface with the bed and may create issues with adhesion to the bed : to be taken care of.

To fight this, try to enclose your printer and ensure a warm homogenous temperature. Therefore, it is generally recommended to have a heated bed and to let it all heat evenly for 10 mins before hitting print.

[iDig3Dprinting]

10 xl spools was a significant commitment to one type of material. ABS can be tricking to print with, as @LambdaFF points out. It is very prone to warping which means that you will need to get on top of your printing environment before you will be getting any functional 3D prints.

The Makerbot is a ABS specialist though which is an advantage. And, depending on your makerbot model, you are probably better off creating an enclosure out of polycarbonate or some such plastic sheeting. The difficulties you encounter with ABS will be, to a large extent, dependent upon the size of the model, larger models are more prone to warping at the corners.

Petg may also be a suitable filament, we have always found it easier to print with than ABS but it is also strong.

But you have a lot of ABS so you should use that. There are different types of bed adhesive you can use that improve bed adhesion and so reduce warping, PVA, glue stick, PEI build plate, branded build plates and adhesives. Basically you will have to experiment to see what set up consistently produces good quality prints.

[curious aardvark]

just out of curiosity which makerbot did you get ?

The current 5th generation DO NOT have heated printbeds - and that is one thing that is essential for printing abs.
2nd gen - you should be okay.

Basically what everybody else said - abs is a pita.
It stinks, you use a lot of acetone, which also stinks, it warps like a bastard.
Because the print bed needs to be real hot it takes longer to start a print and the calibration on the bed goes out of whack much more frequently.

After about 18 months of printing pla and other non-abs plastics I recently tried abs again - and that will be the last time :-)
Strength wise, pla is as strong, more rigid and not as bendy. That said you can get pla that is stronger in every aspect than abs and does not warp at all.
It's not cheap - but worth the money if you need super strong and super tough plasti that also doesn't smell or warp and very easy to print with.
http://www.polymaker.com/shop/polymax/

Like you I read and believed the hype about pla, so when I bought my first printer, I too bought a lot of abs.
I fought it for about 6 months, till I saw just about all the printers using pla at the tct show in 2014. Tried pla and was astonished at just how much crap there is talked about it. And how wrong most of the prevailing opinion is.

My pla parts have been more durable than the same parts I've made in abs. It's a real pleasure to print with, and it does not stink up my workshop.
And there are so many different types of pla based filament - that you can find just about any characteristic you want in a pla based plastic.

So yep, bulk buying abs is a rookie mistake - made it myself :-)

Try it for a bit and then get some decent pla and move on :-)

[Mjolinor]

ABS shines when you want to machine the part afterwards. The low melting point of PLA makes it very difficult to machine as it melts too easily.

Having said that PLA is machinable, just takes more care and longer to work because you have to keep the temperature low.