Printable View
I'm looking for the best 3D printer that will work with the finicky ABS material.
I'm thinking about the most successful, consistent, hassle free prints with the least amount of human intervention (like bed-leveling). Not necessarily a large build volume.
I dont need the most expensive printer out there, looking for the least expensive rock solid ABS printer.
Which one(s) would you recommend and why?
Thanks.
Zortrax or Voron would be top of my list. However, most enclosed printers that can get to the right temps (so no ptfe lined hotend) will be pretty similar. The very best would be ones with a bed like Printbite+, and a heated enclosure that can get to 50+ degrees. These are usually custom jobs.
The next level down would be enclosed printers. These will usually be able to get to 40-50ºC inside the enclosure. The enclosure could be DIY, or part of the printer. Obviously larger build volumes may take a long time to heat the enclosure, or never get it particularly warm.
I've printed about 30 spools of ABS (MatterHackers ordinary blend) on a QidiTech X-Max. A new printer of this model is pricey, but I got an incredible price via craigslist. It's fully enclosed, but not heated and I experienced only minor delamination, which later disappeared when I changed the filament feed routing. The previous owner said he was having under-extrusion problems, which I think was due to friction in the feed path.
The printer has magnetic sheet coated with a BuildTak clone and the prints stick great, pop right off. One aspect of this printer for ABS is to do the leveling when the bed and nozzle are heated, otherwise thermal expansion causes the nozzle to dig into the coating.
If you are willing to go DIY, a Prusa MK3s with a home-made enclosure will probably do you well enough for a reasonable price. I've printed ABS on a MK2s without an enclosure but it was a small part, so no real test. The Prusa has all the right user-level features and known reliability. The kit is less expensive and assembly provides for some insight compared to an out-of-the box, ready-to-go purchase.
Any Makergear printer in a heated enclosure will print abs like PLA.. assuming you learn your printer and slicer.. ABS,PETG and TPU is all i ever print these days..
You may be confused why your previous account was banned or terminated or whatever the status became, but you shouldn't be surprised if it happens again.
Every post you make is a spam. It gets to be tedious to see these posts in an otherwise cordial helpful forum environment.
Fred- dot-u oh how I agree!