Some advice what indicators you use to best judge Temperature of filament

[Vaughanza]

Hi Guys


Please can you give me some tips and advice of how you judge your best Temperature of the filament when printing for example PLA.
I know the recommended temperature temp of PLA and that's what I would set my filament , but while printing and looking at your print, what do you look for to turn your Temp up or down.
What are the indicators that you use to judge your print etc
Like to see your feedback.

[curious aardvark]

I print a known model and check it for stringing, cleanness of print and how it compares to the other models - in my case a cube with a sphere void. it's a real sod to print, so you can see immediately how things are going.

i've found recently that most pla prints really well at 210. so that's my current default.

[Sebastian Finke]

I use mainly ABS but this should be applicable to PLA too. In general you want to print as cool as possible but if you go too cool then the results could range from poor layer adhesion (resulting is delamination) to a clogged nozzle. Sometimes I purposefully go a bit hotter to get a stronger bond and consequently a strong print. However go too hot and you could increase warping (not an issue for PLA, I know) and possibly damage your PTFE tube, if you have one. Its best to start at the recommended temperature, do a test print, finetune the settings, do another test print, etc. With experience you'll get better and better at this.

Its also worth pointing out that printer read outs can be off too. I read somewhere that Makerbots run at a higher temp; in actual fact 'real' temperature is the same other printers but their hardware doesn't give an accurate reading the temperature is bumped up. Don't know if its true but something to consider.

[Sebastian Finke]

i've found recently that most pla prints really well at 210. so that's my current default.

Me too when I use PLA. And others go as low as 190...

I generally print ABS at 230-235, however when I do dual extrusions I like to lower that to 220-225.

[3dkarma]

I use a temperature calibration tower to get the best temp for a given printer / plastic combo. I generally stick with the same temperature for all colours of a given type (PLA, ABS, etc). Search thingiverse for calibration tower and you'll get some examples.

[Drivingtcks]

How does the calibration tower work and how do you read it?

[3dkarma]

How does the calibration tower work and how do you read it?

There's a better tower at the link below, plus a video explaining how to use it. Basically, you take the STL file from the instructables page, slice it and modify the g-code to increment the printing temperature every 10mm. You then print and inspect the print for the best uniformity and layer adhesion. The best 10mm segment is your calibrated temperature.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:337957

[Steve Loyid]

Hi Guys

Please can you give me some tips and advice of how you judge your best Temperature of the filament when printing for example PLA.
I know the recommended temperature temp of PLA and that's what I would set my filament , but while printing and looking at your print, what do you look for to turn your Temp up or down.
What are the indicators that you use to judge your print etc
Like to see your feedback.

Your printer should test and adjust the temperature itself. and maybe the PLA supplier should tell you what the best temperature their filament need.