ABS engineering plastic is one of the main materials for 3D printing. The reason why it can become consumable for 3D printing is determined by its characteristics. ABS plastic has the characteristics of heat resistance, impact resistance, low-temperature resistance, chemical resistance, excellent electrical properties, and stable product dimensions.
Its application is also very extensive:
Such as car interior and exterior, notebook/desktop computers, copiers, household switches, plugs and sockets, cable and wire conduits, and some household appliances such as washing machines, hair dryers, and internal and external parts of microwave ovens, etc. Such a wide range of uses makes it highly regarded.
However, it is not as easy-going as PLA, and on the surface, it is more all-encompassing, but it actually has its own maverick side. If you're used to printing with PLA, you'll likely find printing ABS to be a little more complicated because more steps are required and the settings are different.
First, we have to set the correct nozzle temperature
When printing ABS, we would theoretically start printing at 230 degrees and then adjust up and down about 5 degrees to find the most suitable temperature to ensure the quality of the print and the strength of the part. But in actual operation, we'd better set with reference to the reference temperature given by the material supplier.
Because when the temperature is too high, it is prone to stringing, and you will see a lot of plastic leaking out of the nozzle as it moves between the various parts. If this happens, we can try to lower the temperature slowly, about 5 degrees at a time, until the nozzle doesn't seep out that much material anymore.
Of course, wire drawing is also related to retraction. We can set retraction before printing. Find the retraction setting in the slicing settings of Hongrui slicing software, and set the retraction length to about 4 to 5 mm, which can also reduce wire drawing to a certain extent.
When the temperature is too low, it will directly affect the print quality. For example, the layers may not fit well, the surface of the printed model may be rough, or the printed parts may not be hard enough and may even be separated when pulled hard. In any of the above situations, it is necessary to increase the temperature of the nozzle, and increase the temperature of the nozzle by 5 degrees each time and repeat the test until each layer can be printed perfectly.
In addition, we can also add a bottom pad to the model, which can also effectively prevent the model from being pulled and deformed.
However, such a strange phenomenon sometimes occurs after adding the bottom pad. The bottom pad is obediently not warped, but the model is stubborn and does not listen to the arrangement. At this time, we also need to increase the temperature of the nozzle, and we must remember to print ABS. When the model cooling fan is turned off.
If printing a large model, in order to reduce shrinkage, we must appropriately reduce the wall thickness and filling, and reduce the overall usage of model materials in order to reduce the degree of shrinkage deformation.
Due to the high shrinkage characteristics of ABS, we do not recommend using a frame structure 3D printer for printing, because it is more prone to warping and shrinkage problems. If you want to maximize the performance of ABS, it is recommended to use a closed 3D printer, which can make the local temperature meet the requirements and avoid the excessive cooling and large temperature change caused by the ambient airflow during the printing process, which will cause the model to deform or be too brittle.