Printing in a drafty room

[davec3275]

I could use some advice/assistance printing w/ my Max V2. It currently lives in my dining room and since it has gotten colder outside I have had no luck printing anything lately. My house is unfortunately quite drafty as it gets colder outside, and I believe that is the issue. The first layer just pulls up quite easily during the print.

I have re-calibrated the Z Height quite a few times so that should not be an issue. The issue first happened coincidentally after it got cold. I managed to print 2 rather tall objects and then the very next day I could not successfully print.

I know I should probably build some sort of enclosure, but what would work best in this case as a temporary fix? I have thought about migrating the printer in to my basement, but that tends to just be cold (sans drafts) and a bit damp at times.

[stevethatsmyname]

Is this with ABS? what types of failures are you getting? I don't seem to have trouble with drafts under similar conditions but I print with PLA.

[Jimustanguitar]

People have used everything from a cabinet to a cardboard box to a space blanket around a hula hoop... What do you have laying around?

*Keep in mind* anything that you do to enclose the machine will make the electronics hotter and could also potentially increase the risk of a fire, especially if the enclosure itself is a flammable material. Proceed with caution, be aware and informed.

[davec3275]

Is this with ABS? what types of failures are you getting? I don't seem to have trouble with drafts under similar conditions but I print with PLA.

I am actually printing with PLA. I have tried both the bare heated glass plate as well as with some glue on the heated plate.

In laying down the first layers of the skirt/raft the PLA will stick in some places but not others. As the hot end goes over it, the filament just gets pulled off the plate. And to add insult to injury, when I stop the print and home the towers any filament layed down stays attached to the nozzle.

[davec3275]

*Keep in mind* anything that you do to enclose the machine will make the electronics hotter and could also potentially increase the risk of a fire, especially if the enclosure itself is a flammable material. Proceed with caution, be aware and informed.

This is what I am afraid of.

I will take a look and see what I can come up with.

[JFettig]

Get a cheap shower curtain from walmart, wrap up the printer and use a few pieces of tape to hold it on - doesn't have to be much. Its what I did before I built the enclosure.
Here is the enclosure I designed for our printers: http://repables.com/r/447/

[davec3275]

JFettig, I plan on building your enclosure as soon as I can work some of these bugs out. I will try the shower curtain trick, or at the very least a larger sized box.

[nitewatchman]

Is this with ABS? what types of failures are you getting? I don't seem to have trouble with drafts under similar conditions but I print with PLA.

I am actually printing with PLA. I have tried both the bare heated glass plate as well as with some glue on the heated plate.

In laying down the first layers of the skirt/raft the PLA will stick in some places but not others. As the hot end goes over it, the filament just gets pulled off the plate. And to add insult to injury, when I stop the print and home the towers any filament layed down stays attached to the nozzle.

First layer is most likely too high.

[thedoble]

Is this with ABS? what types of failures are you getting? I don't seem to have trouble with drafts under similar conditions but I print with PLA.

I am actually printing with PLA. I have tried both the bare heated glass plate as well as with some glue on the heated plate.

In laying down the first layers of the skirt/raft the PLA will stick in some places but not others. As the hot end goes over it, the filament just gets pulled off the plate. And to add insult to injury, when I stop the print and home the towers any filament layed down stays attached to the nozzle.

First layer is most likely too high.

I agree, this doesn't sound like a problem with drafts. The first layer should go down perfectly regardless of temperature.

[davec3275]

I am actually printing with PLA. I have tried both the bare heated glass plate as well as with some glue on the heated plate.

In laying down the first layers of the skirt/raft the PLA will stick in some places but not others. As the hot end goes over it, the filament just gets pulled off the plate. And to add insult to injury, when I stop the print and home the towers any filament layed down stays attached to the nozzle.

First layer is most likely too high.

I agree, this doesn't sound like a problem with drafts. The first layer should go down perfectly regardless of temperature.

But as I noted in the first post, I have already adjusted the Z height. And I have also tried MatterControl and Simplify3D with default settings.

[nitewatchman]

Understand, suggest you try lowering your z zero a little at a time and see if it gets better or worst. Minimal time required just print a couple of layers.

[Windshadow]

Clean your plate with alcohol or acetone be careful after it is clean not to get fingerprints on it
I just Lost a print to a finger print I left when recliping the plate a bit carelessly. Next time I will only hold by edges after cleaning.

[thedoble]

What's your first layer height and width settings in your slicer?

FYI I generally do a 0.3mm first layer at 200% width.

[Eaglezsoar]

For a simple stop breeze device, take a piece of poster board long enough to fit the circumference of the plate and stand it up, wrap around the glass put 3 pieces of scotch tape on it and it will work well enough
until you get a chance to build a better enclosure. As stated, the layer height has to be correct and the glass has to be clean except for what you are using for the adhesive.

[barry99705]

For a simple stop breeze device, take a piece of poster board long enough to fit the circumference of the plate and stand it up, wrap around the glass put 3 pieces of scotch tape on it and it will work well enough
until you get a chance to build a better enclosure. As stated, the layer height has to be correct and the glass has to be clean except for what you are using for the adhesive.

This is only a few inches high! I did this as well at first, didn't make it that big though. Just made a ring about 8" in diameter and didn't tape it down. The head will move it if it gets in the way, and it's light enough to not effect anything.

[davec3275]

Thanks everyone! I will give those suggestions a try a little later today. I first have to remove the glue from my build plate.

As far as layer settings, I have it at 0.25 MM with a first layer setting of 90% height, 100% width, and 50% speed in S3D.

[img]http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt6/ti9327/Rostock%20Max%20build/th_S3D%20Settings.png[/img]

[JFettig]

Try a 150% layer height for your first layer. I even run 150% width sometimes, it lays down a fat bead, small variations in your z height can be taken up by it.

[davec3275]

Well, I tried a few of the suggestions and so far it is printing okay. As you can see in the picture below, I have a cardboard book on two sides of the printer as a draft guard.

It took a few more tries to get the print to stick, but it looks like I am finally back in business.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and help.

[img]http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt6/ti9327/Rostock%20Max%20build/th_20160114_193300940_iOS.jpg[/img]

[thedoble]

Glad to hear you got it going, what adhesive are you using?

[davec3275]

Nothing, just the bare glass.

Well, it sort of worked. I was able to print one small part successfully. When I went for a rather larger part, it didn't go so well. The first layers of the raft (yes, I found I have more success using rafts) didn't adhere too well particularly when laying down curved parts.

[Polygonhell]

FWIW IME with printing PLA on bare glass (and I did this for a long time), it's a complete crapshoot, heavily dependent on the plastic being used and the environmental conditions.
Ive had rolls if filament that would just not adhere to the glass, and others that were completely fine.

[thedoble]

Strongly suggest using some adhesive, I use UHU glue stick. People also recommend Elmer's Disappearing Purple. Cover the bed in horizontal and vertical 'stripes' - I find one application is good for a few prints, depending on how difficult a print it is.

Surprised you've made it this far without any adhesive, nice job!

[davec3275]

Strongly suggest using some adhesive, I use UHU glue stick. People also recommend Elmer's Disappearing Purple. Cover the bed in horizontal and vertical 'stripes' - I find one application is good for a few prints, depending on how difficult a print it is.

Surprised you've made it this far without any adhesive, nice job!

I may just try that too. I bought a few of the Elmer's for use with ABS. Although I was under the impression that PLA will stick to a heated glass bed w/out any adhesive.

I do plan on upgrading to a PEI sheet, but am a bit trepidatious about the whole taping process.

[geneb]

The ONLY time I've gotten PLA to stick reliably to bare glass is after I got FSRs installed on Blue MAX and ran OpenDACT on it. I use Elmer's pretty much exclusively, regardless of what material I'm printing with.

g.

[davec3275]

The ONLY time I've gotten PLA to stick reliably to bare glass is after I got FSRs installed on Blue MAX and ran OpenDACT on it. I use Elmer's pretty much exclusively, regardless of what material I'm printing with.

g.

Do you still heat the bed with the glue stick?