Black ABS

[ixlr8]

Ordered some black ABS and having a really tough time trying to figure out the right settings to print with. I keep getting goopy/sloppy prints. I've played with extruder temps from 226 down to 200, BP temps from 110 to 100, I keep my feedrate at 50 and tool feed at 80.

Any thoughts? Bad ABS?

I've done much better with white ABS and I've heard that was the tricky one to deal with....

Also I've noticed at lower extruder temps but even with a 110 degree BP the edge curl is insane. Currently using masking tape instead of kapton for the build plate coverage. The kapton had some air bubbles in it from the factory.

[Geoff]

Ordered some black ABS and having a really tough time trying to figure out the right settings to print with. I keep getting goopy/sloppy prints. I've played with extruder temps from 226 down to 200, BP temps from 110 to 100, I keep my feedrate at 50 and tool feed at 80.

Any thoughts? Bad ABS?

I've done much better with white ABS and I've heard that was the tricky one to deal with....

Also I've noticed at lower extruder temps but even with a 110 degree BP the edge curl is insane. Currently using masking tape instead of kapton for the build plate coverage. The kapton had some air bubbles in it from the factory.

Yes, had the same problems. The black I got with my printer was HIPS ABS dissolvable, which printed.. sort of ok. It didn't like high resolutions, otherwise it printed messy.

The curling is pretty common with black for some reason with me too, so what I ended up doing was OVER heating the bed, like 112c.. which did seem to help.

Then I got some cheap black ABS from Flashforge. Wow is this stuff Bad!!!! Flashforge white ABS is OK! but their black I will never buy again, no matter how you try it prints like stringy black crap.. I hate it. Full of particles and crap.. such a waste of plastic. I have a whole roll of it. I can't even use it for quick test prints it is that bad. Then I tried the guys in New Zealand, the UP Plus and UP Mini guys, nope.. their black is just as bad. I had a really really bad run with black.

Then I Stumbled across cncbilby on ebay, so far they are winning. No, it doesn't print as well as white, but this is the first black that prints normally, or at least like a coloured filament. Prints at 230c and 110c hotbed and yeah, isn't all that bad actually for a $36 roll.
The only thing is the spools are the big type, as in tall, not short and fat so while the fit fine on the flashforge, they tend to want to slip back after a while, easy to stop with a roll of tape or similar.



http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....m=131146070754

[Davo]

Here's the reason, as far as I can tell: There is no standard for what chemicals people use to colorize the BLACK ABS, and so not only is each vendor likely to use different chemicals, different batches from the same vendor may have different chemicals as they experiment with their processes to reduce cost and/or get their desired output. Different chemical composition (even just the coloring elements) means different material characteristics, including time and temperature variables related to getting the material to melt, flow, and set up.

Black ABS has proven the most challenging material to get the recipes dialed in for.

White ABS has been the second most challenging, probably for the same reasons as the black.

Pink, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple ABS - all fine.

Haven't tried any Grey ABS yet.

NOTE: also, check the thickness with calipers. We have seen material advertized as 1.75mm ranging from 1.60 to 1.80, and that can really throw off your flow calculations.

[Geoff]

Here's the reason, as far as I can tell: There is no standard for what chemicals people use to colorize the BLACK ABS, and so not only is each vendor likely to use different chemicals, different batches from the same vendor may have different chemicals as they experiment with their processes to reduce cost and/or get their desired output. Different chemical composition (even just the coloring elements) means different material characteristics, including time and temperature variables related to getting the material to melt, flow, and set up.

Black ABS has proven the most challenging material to get the recipes dialed in for.

White ABS has been the second most challenging, probably for the same reasons as the black.

Pink, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple ABS - all fine.

Haven't tried any Grey ABS yet.

NOTE: also, check the thickness with calipers. We have seen material advertized as 1.75mm ranging from 1.60 to 1.80, and that can really throw off your flow calculations.

I have one black that when extruded, displays some orange tinge to it, slightly rusty in appearance and will not extrude properly, it's unlike any other ABS I have tried -and this was from flashforge themselves, which was surprising.

I have heard that due to the fact it's black, you can use a myriad of things to dye it with, so that seems to be the issue as you said, who knows. I have not tried grey either, I've never had a need for it to be honest.

I find for me, and the flashforge, after buying the same colour of alot of different suppliers, Whites are the #1 for quality, followed by Reds, then Clear ABS, Purple (yes, purple prints great!) Orange/Yellow/Green, or anything in that colour range seems not too bad, just requires less heat.. im just looking at the pile of filament I have and I really couldn't be bothered writing them all down lol... needless to say they don't differ alot from the above, with the following exceptions..

The bastards - Navy blue, Black, Glowing filaments, Flexible Filaments - these took me ages to get right.

[ixlr8]

Then I got some cheap black ABS from Flashforge. Wow is this stuff Bad!!!! Flashforge white ABS is OK! but their black I will never buy again, no matter how you try it prints like stringy black crap.. I hate it. Full of particles and crap.. such a waste of plastic. I have a whole roll of it. I can't even use it for quick test prints it is that bad. Then I tried the guys in New Zealand, the UP Plus and UP Mini guys, nope.. their black is just as bad. I had a really really bad run with black.

Yep, this is flashforge black. I feel better now that I know its not all me. I may try the ebay guy! Thanks for the tip for sure.

[RobH2]

I purchase black filament (well, all my filament for now) from 'IC3D' and it has printed perfectly for me. They also have good customer service. I had a question and they responded within minutes.

[ixlr8]

I purchase black filament (well, all my filament for now) from 'IC3D' and it has printed perfectly for me. They also have good customer service. I had a question and they responded within minutes.

Well the ebay suggestion was for a seller in Austrailia and since Geoff said it was "ok" filament I figured I would leave that as a last resort. For now I have ordered this since it got quite a few good reviews. At least I should be able to work with it.

Might try IC3D next time.

[RobH2]

Can't beat the price if you have Amazon Prime. I got my IC3D filament via Amazon Prime. Two-day shipping, no tax and no shipping fees. Let us know how that filament works. I don't recall any bad reviews about their filament and I may try them next to see how I like it if you have good results.

[jimc]

90% of what i print is black. i have gotten quite a few rolls from www.pushplastic.com and the stuff has been really great. prints awesome and super reasonable. for the most part though i am going to run my supply of abs out completely and just print with the black madesolid pet+. way nicer than any abs, more durable parts and next to no warp.

[RobH2]

Tell me something about 'pet+'. It's not on my radar. Is it printable by a traditional RepRap configured printer? I'll have to go research it.