Wrapping with PLA and 99% density

[3Dvisual @tresdevisual My Robox is a Blue Commercial Version]

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to print a part that has strong mechanical solicitations and therefore I chose the strongest filament I have available (PLA Designer Grey) and printed it with the 99% of density. Is quite a big part (139*73*12mm) so it has been scaled it in each axis previously in SolidWorks to get more accurated dimensions.

The biggest problem for the moment though, as you can imagine, has been the wrapping in the base. For the moment I have increased the brim up to 8 perimeters and lowered the bed temperature during printing down to 60º without improvements.

Do you think this is an impossible mission with PLA and 99% density?

Thanks in advance!

[Aimdy @mistsoul My Robox is a Blue Commercial Version]

@tresdevisual you could try to lower the density and print in honeycomb instead, or you could print it on a raft, you could search the forum for “raft” there are some threads on it and you will just need to edit the robox profile manually (you may have some difficulties with removing the raft from the part though), or you could use a different material such as Taulman T-Glaze, I am not sure how strong the Designer Grey is but i typically I don’t expect PLA to be stronger than ABS, yet T-Glaze seems to be as strong as ABS if not stronger. A tip for T-Glaze if you just want to try it, you can contact them and offer to pay shipping $11 for a sample, they honored this deal with me.

Moh

[BHudson @bhudson I have both RoboxDual and other Robox versions Arizona, USA]

@tresdevisual I suggest you try ColorFabb _XT. It is not really expensive and is readily available in the EU, UK, and US. I have the best results from this material for large prints. T-Glase shows mediocre performance for overhangs and the base layers are sometimes out of size. If you don’t have overhangs, use T-Glase if you can get it and print at 102% for size accuracy. Be aware though that T-Glase needs constant attention while printing large flat features. If you don’t watch it, large clumps of material will build up on the nozzle and then drop off into the print spoiling the surface finish. If you keep the door open and use the included tweezers, you can quickly and carefully pluck the buildup off the nozzle before it causes an issue. Once the print moves on to the walls the problem generally goes away. Otherwise, T-Glase is my preferred material due to extreme strength and excellent detail capabilities. It does not warp and the shrinkage is very predictable.

I operate two Betas and four Production Robox.
I am the US/Canada Technical Support engineer for the Robox.
See my 3D Hub site at https://www.3dhubs.com/phoenix/hubs/ben

[3Dvisual @tresdevisual My Robox is a Blue Commercial Version]

It needs to be as strong as possible so lowering the density isn’t an option…

The rafts didn’t give the expected results, they looked more like the option “forced support for first x layers” but I suppose it is about modifying parameters until getting the hang of it.

The idea was to use the Robox filaments I have but if it’s necessary I may take a look at these you propose.

Thanks!

[Aimdy @mistsoul My Robox is a Blue Commercial Version]

@3dvisual the honeycomb pattern is generally stronger than the other patterns we have available in slic3r, so definitely give it a try. This will take longer to print, that is why I had recommended to lower the density slightly, but you can keep the max density if you are keen on having the max strength possible. Note however that if you are generating your own stl files it may not print in honeycomb right off the bat and you may have to change the “solid_infill_below_area” in the detailed profile, I had this issue where my stls would only print in line even if i set another pattern and Cel recommended to set that parameter to a value above the default 60 like a 1000, but I have not tried it yet.

Moh

[Author]

Posts