All 3D printers and all hotends are not created equal.
We currently have four different 3D printers. Each one will run the exact same filament at a different temperature. One spool of filament - lets say white PLA, on each machine will print best at a completely different temperature on each machine. Machine 1 has an older hotend with the thermistor taped to the outside of the nozzle. Reported printing temp on this machine for the white PLA is around 165C Machine 2 has a generic J-head hotend with the thermistor installed in the heatblock. This one reports the printing temp of the same white PLA at 200C - 35 degrees more than the first machine. Machine 3 has an E3D lite6 hotend. Reported printing temp on this one, same filament, is about 215C - 15 degrees more than machine 2, and 50 degrees more than machine 1. Machine 4 has a full E3D v6. It and machine 3 are very close in temperatures (+/- a degree or 2 at most) because they share the same basic design. Fifty degrees difference from one end of the spectrum to the other, all with the exact same filament. So, when you enter the world of 3D printing, you need to be aware that there are no carved in stone rules about temperature. You have to find the temp that works best for your printer and hotend. Asking someone else what temperature they run a given filament at is, at best, a gamble. You might get lucky and they have the same type of hotend that you do and their temp range works for you, or, you may have complete and utter failure. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Time to go melt some plastic! Leave a Reply. |
AuthorA "Jack of all trades, master of none", I have dabbled in a lot of different things, but none have held my interest like these darn 3d printers do. Archives
May 2016
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