Printing with Water Soluble PVA filament on the Flash Forge Dreamer and Creator Pro
Printing with Water Soluble PVA filament on the Flash Forge Dreamer and Creator Pro
Water Soluble PVA filament is a great option for supports, especially on intricate objects and complex mechanical parts. It also has the advantage of being able to place supports inside objects where physical removal would be very difficult or impossible.
However, it has very different temperature characteristics than PLA and other filament.
I have been using JAYO PVA with excellent results.
On my Dreamer, I always use the Left nozzle for PVA, and the Right for PLA, because the Left nozzle seems to get a little better cooling from the Turbo Fan than the Right nozzle. Quick cooling of the PVA is essential for successful use.
The first thing to do BEFORE you load the PVA filament is go into the Dreamer Tools Menu and set the Left nozzle PreHeat temperature to 200C. This is high enough to clear PLA out of the extruder, but not hot enough to smoke the PVA filament loading in.
If you try and load the PVA with the default PreHeat temp of 230C, it will load fine, but it will smoke and leave carbonized residue inside the nozzle that will eventually start clogging up the nozzle.
Once you get the filament loaded, you will want to go into FlashPrint and set the Left extruder temp to 185C and try printing a simple test print using the PVA. Heat the platform to 60C.
I have had excellent results at 185C, which also limits how much material oozes out of the nozzle while idle. Since you’ll be using a wiping wall, expect a bit of a mess. Even at 185C, there will be nozzle drool, but I’ve found any cooler, and the layers may not properly adhere.
You may need to adjust the temp up or down a little, depending on your room temperature and printer. Just don’t exceed 200C max or you’ll run the risk of a clogged up nozzle.
FlashPrint 5 – When you are ready to add supports and print, right click on the object and select Choose Left Extruder To Print, and then add your supports. After adding the supports, right click the object again and select Choose Right Extruder To Print. This leaves the supports to print on the left extruder in PVA, and the object to print on the right extruder in PLA.
Enjoy
