3D Printing with ABS - Tips for Success

[@GeekDetour]

That was the MOST AMAZING CLASS I watched recently around so many aspects of good 3D printing. I learned A LOT! Thank you so much. Your custom extruder is a piece of art.

[@willbaden7563]

Never thought about using the mouse ears to help adhesion. Had the mindset if only using brim. Thanks for the video!

[@dylanh2501]

14:40 "I prefer to go oldschool" *proceeds to bring out mega extruder with servo arm bed leveler*

[@ShaunBennett]

i know...lol right? too funny

[@rachaelb9164]

I’d like to learn more about this old school setup.

[@simplexdesigns9571]

2:15 What is ABS? 3:22 Why ABS is hard to print with? 6:43 How to reduce ABS shinkage issues? Bed Adhesion Hair Spray PEI Sheet First Layer Height percentage tweak 20:27 Control draft air near the printer especially the hotend 26:44 Tweak the design to reduce the shrinkage force 29:34 Mouse ears technique 32:20 How to add mouse ears using Simplify3D

[@taha.2401]

You are an angel

[@TiGuyDuQuebec]

Probably the most useful comment that I've seen in the last 10 years. The full video is very good, but for a second review of the video, your pointers are gold nuggets. 8-)

[@kalbotero9232]

My men 🔥

[@user-xm1ts5dt9v]

Exactly I wanted!

[@WaffleStaffel]

You forgot the magical incantation you recite which endows a face shield with the ability to repel viri.

[@Spartacusse]

Finally, I keep having to repeat myself, with long text replies on reddit to explain these concepts to people, now I can just link this video. Thanks.

[@DanMoridin]

One thing you can do is make your own pinned posts on Facebook or something, could even be on notepad and saved to your desktop. Then whenever you need to put out that same story you just find where you put it and copy n paste it. I got sick and tired of posting the same long rants about various things and started collecting them so I can ctrl C & V it.

[@JustTony72]

Was about to give your video a miss because it's half an hour and I'm impatient but then decided to listen to the first few minutes. Glad I stayed for the rest of it as this has been great info and insight into design for manufacturing.

[@notbuyingit8047]

Love the way you address the peanut gallery with “go ahead and put that down in the comments.” You got the KZbin version of the Louisville slugger complaint department.

[@mlt3258]

I'm researching these machines to see if it's something I want to play with as I'm a woodworker. You have one of the best channels for knowledge and I like it.

[@thehangardesigns]

The 3D printer has become one of my most used woodworking tools. You will find way more uses for it that you can imagine….

[@steinbierz]

I am a woodworker as well and in the past year have added a CNC router and am getting a Thunder Laser delivered in December. My wife is interested in a 3D printer but most of what I have read or been told is "you better get good at Fusion 360" before purchasing a 3D. I have played around with 360 but have not spent a great deal of time since I have had to learn Vectric Aspire, soon will need to learn LightBurn and I have been working on improving my Adobe Illustrator skills.

[@Blondihacks]

What a fantastic video James, thank you! I have long struggled with ABS and I learned a ton about it (and 3D printing generally) from this video. Can’t wait to try these tips.

[@Clough42]

Thanks! I hope it's helpful.

[@jayinmi3706]

Every time he said "Deburr," I thought of "Deburr, deburr, deburr." lol

[@HitBit_Gaming]

I started printing in hard mode (ABS) from the start just for the reason that PLA can deform easy on hot days in several places and I wanted my prints to last. The 3D printer I use is the WanHao Duplicator v2.1 and I learned a lot from the start and what works best for me. Don't try to print ABS if you don't have a heated bed on your 3D printer. I made a cheap enclosure by stacking 2 Ikea Lack tables on eachother and used polycarbonate plates in combination with 3d printed parts to fill up the gaps and added led lights. An enclosure is almost a must to make sure that the the whole print stays warm without any drafts that can cause cracks (and it makes a big difference with prints that are higher), and it can even help a bit with the electricity bill because it is easier for your hot end and bed to keep the temperature. When the print is done I keep the enclosure closed while it cools slowly as a whole, because if cool air hits the side fast it can still crack even when you are done printing. Mostly when it cools down enough the print pops off the glass plate with a loud noise and that is the moment I know I can safely take out the print. I use 3DLAC (comparable to hairspray) as an adhesive to make the print stick to the bed. With the settings I disable the fan that normally blows on the hot end, and I print slowly so the layer has more time to cool. I also use a setting to pause between layers if the layers are printed within seconds so I can prevent burning the plastic or a molten blob of plastic on top of my print. When you start printing ABS expect many failed prints and it is trial and error. Just Look at what happens (keep an eye on it while printing), find tips on how to solve it, adjust settings and repeat. Start with small prints first to solve adhesive issues with the bed and to make sure the first layer sticks well enough. After that challenge yourself by printing higher, and later try prints with a bit of overhang and find the limits on what your printer can do with ABS.

[@Clough42]

Yeah, I started from the beginning in hard mode as well. I've only ever printed about 100g of PLA, compared to maybe 40Kg of ABS.

[@ewingfabrications]

I thought i ordered PLA but it was ABS and have been trying to print for two hours with PLA settings ....was not going well, That is why I'm here now thanks for the help and I"m subscribing thanks for the help.

[@Jabberwoky]

Excellent video, no over the top production or gimmicks and full of useful information, thank you.

[@fmaleknia]

I love how good people around the world was helping each other during the pandemic by their thoughts and experiences. this is certainly the best guide on printing abs I found here. thanks for this great information.

[@RomainDepin]

You saved my Life (and my nerves!) with the Mouse Ears! Thanks a million Sir!

[@isaacvonleu]

Every other video I saw trying to solve this just kept saying to through bonding agents and heat at the problem. It did help some, but I am printing tall mold frames on an open printer. Those magic dots, or increased adhesion is not recommended enough. Thank you for covering this so thoroughly.

[@EverettsWorkshop]

Again, for someone hoping to get a printer, this was very educational. The layer and warp explanation makes a lot of sense.

[@KabilPrograma]

As usual: I learned a lot. Thanks

[@kimlalji5886]

Really informative. Thank you

[@3dartstudio007]

Jan Feb Mar all printers working great. April shows up and two of the printers can't print right and everything looks like junk. Ridges are warped. Parts won't adhere to beds. The difference... Air conditioning vent behind the shelves. Yes. It 100% matters with any extruded medium. Your insights on channeling air around the print head are going to help me plan future upgrades. Thinking about building a walk-in closet in the shop with a dehumidifier and temp control. Gotta keep the dust and humidity off of these spools. Great channel and thank you!

[@charliemopps4926]

I had not thought to look for a "Draft" from my cooling fan... sure enough, that was the problem. Solved my warping issues. Thanks!

[@vedranlatin1386]

@Clough42 I struggled with ABS for a long time and then added a simple chamber around printer. No additional heater, bed at 110C for first layer, 90C for the rest and the chamber heats up nicely. I have a 80mm fan on top connected to an air duct going out the window. With the fan running very slow I get a bit of negative pressure inside the chamber so no smell in the room and the chamber is kept nice and hot - I measured it just above 40C. The non obvious part of the equation is turning on the part cooling fan 50-100% of what you'd normally use on PLA with no enclosure to help cool the part enough so small features don't curve up. My surface is aluminum tooling plate (and badly warped MK2 aluminium bed on the second printer) treated with glue stick or similar product. Now-days I use a fluid variant formulated for 3D printing, but regular stick works just fine - just apply over 50% of the bed, take a moist cloth and smear it all over it. You can re-smear it between prints for a long time without adding additional glue from the stick. Putting it on thick mostly works, but it's visible on the part and not necessary. Only negative is my chamber is made from cardboard so flammable. On the other hand printer is Ultimaker cut from plywood so also flammable. Consequently, it never runs completely unnatended but fashioning the box out of thin aluminum sheet is not beyond most peoples capabilities (leftover sheets from offset printing are usually available and cheap secondhand). I haven't had an ABS part fail from warping in two years now and I printed some questionable designs.

[@Graham_Wideman]

Nice report -- thanks for the details. You have link for the liquid glue formulation for 3D printing?

[@airborne0x0]

An enclosure is key for printing ABS. I use an insulating enclosure built of 2" foam taped together with an acrylic door. A remote probe aquarium thermometer lets me keep tabs on the temperature- it reaches over 90F typically.

[@samueljohnson1362]

One of the better info videos I've watched. Always had problems with ABS so now I can use the accumulated spools I have laying around. Thanks for the 'mouse ears'.

[@Clough42]

You're welcome. One more trick for the tool bag.

[@Ilan-Aviv]

I'm so glad I came across this video!! After a long wander and watching dozens of videos that explain about gluing the models to the bed, I learned the most important information here and I'm going to try the tips you recommended. The video is clear and professional and I encourage you to make more videos like this and contribute to anyone who is dealing with problems in 3D printing, especially ABS.

[@HarvardBob]

Thank you. Very thorough and specifically addresses my problems with printing face shields. I’m printing a DtM-v3.1 which is a modified Prusa design. I’ve printed hundreds of PLA, but have yet to get an ABS one come off of my Ender3 Pros. Now I just have to do it. :-)

[@coreyb4073]

This came out about a month too late for me, I had a part we prototyped in pla on our ender, the boss liked it so much he said to start printing production at which point i decided to print in abs. I tried glass, I tried a chamber(cardboard box). I finally ended up on the factory build tak and puting a .015 stainless shim under the center to take the warp out of the bed, couple that with a glue stick and a brim= bed adhesion to where you have to work to peel them off. first production run ships monday.

[@tpax3p]

Thank you for the great video. Just a small comment on the flat/curved bed. I had Anycubic for 2 years and bed on that thing is really bad and not flat. They way I compensate curved bed is by doing "perfect first layer" - name of the video is "Removing Initial Layer Strings Cura UPDATED". I did use his suggestion and achieved perfect first layer that did compensate bad bed level. So I had stock bed and all the hardware from Anycubic and I dont have to modify my printer to battle flat bed. Also "perfect first layer" does help with adhesion. PS: For Anycubic users you have to do "perfect first layer" for the part and the brim if you use the brim for PETG or Abs. Also I dont use glue doing "perfect first layer"

[@aseemmishra7644]

this is probably the best video tutorial on practical issues in 3D printing. helpful information with absolutely no-nonsense or drama. thanks a lot. will look out for more.

[@AB-fo3hj]

Probably the best tutorial on this topic, I'll follow your channel it stands out, unlike the usual content about 3d printing that is overwhelmed by teenagers and amateurs playing experts.

[@badactor5627]

A very helpful guide. I've struggled with ABS and revert to ASA when I can. But customers will ask for ABS, especially for automotive parts, and it's rare to get the part printed right of the Bat. I hadn't considered mouse ears, but will certainly be giving them a go.

[@Clough42]

A better printer with a heated chamber completely solved all of my issues.

[@PyreRat01]

Good info. I print quite a bit of ABS on my older machines. I still have plenty of 2.85 laying around. We've been only printing PETG for PPE because our local hospitals don't want ABS parts due to its susceptibility to solvents.

[@marcusgray3525]

Incredibly thorough explanation of ABS and its properties as it prints. This was EXACTLY the information I needed, thank you so much for your helpful video! And brilliant trick using the mouse ears for more bed adhesion, a much appreciated tip.

[@electronpath]

To put holes in long walls is a neat trick! Thanks, I'll be using it from now on!

[@goom1001]

Excellent work and rich info. It is alway a paint to print with ABS, but for some reason even when I print something with ABS and comes out warped on the bed I still like how the plastic just come out clean. For the hot end cooling, I would actually rather make it water cooled and use a larger cooling fan on a radiator and get rid of those tiny loud fans. Thank you for the brilliant presentation.

[@simplexdesigns9571]

I blame myself and the youtube algorithm for not finding this channel/video before. ~48 minutes of wisdom.

[@scottklar1712]

Great tips and explained them well. I will be trying all of the above I think to get my ASA filament to stay put on my P1S printer

[@kavorka8855]

I must say this video is impressive! It's a complete guide to printing with ABS. It's also a good, indirect advise not to use ABS unless you've massive time and energy to insist and use this awkward filament. I'll continue using PLA and PETG. No need to modify anything, no need to dedicate a special place with special environment for the printer, simple and easy.

[@Clough42]

I've been testing a printer with a heated build chamber, and it's an ABS beast. Of course, it has a price to match, which is the way these things often work.

[@kavorka8855]

@@Clough42 I learnt a great deal from this video about printing in general. I'm sure the tips and information in this video apply everywhere, to every material! Thank you very much!

[@karlkiernan6863]

This is a really detailed guide into printing with ABS full of helpfull tips. I liked the real world examples of problems encountered and how they were solved. The most benificial part to me was the re designing of a part to stop warpage as me as a person wouldnt have given that idea any thought before seeing this guide. Thankyou James.

[@RobytheFlorentine]

This video was much better then those made by 3d printing channels. Very very helpful my dear. Best regards from Florence ITALY

[@1607rosie]

Thoroughly enjoyed your tips on abs and things to watch out for and consider. Don't want to reinvent the wheel. Thanks for time and advice.

[@Flatwoodsdad]

Ss I put off using ABS for a long time because people say it's so hard. Now I prefer it for a lot of parts. My tips are - Make sure your bed can hold the high temps, the larger the bed the harder it has to work. My 300Xx300 has a hard time even with a 24 volt power supply. My 220X220 has no problem even with 12 volts. I set my bed temp to 90. I turn off all part cooling in the slicer. Sticks best for me to blue tape. Print at a slower speed, you know just don't go crazy fast. I keep a large 30 gal. garbage bag I cut down the sides to wrap around the printer to hold in the heat. You don't have to go crazy with the fit or it will get too hot. I have the stuff to build an enclosure but the bag works fine. It does, have an odor but nothing overpowering but I could see if you had multiple printers going at once it could be get bad. So if your putting it off give it a try makes great strong parts that aren't as rigid as PLA.

[@Mary-bs3rq]

Great Video…….the use of sesperate STL files for the mouse ear rafts are nothing short of pure genius! Thanks for sharing.

[@clearlake2112]

A great deal of valuable info on the subject and from a guy that designs his own extruders! I learned a lot today. Thanks James!

[@Clough42]

Glad it was helpful!

[@barrypearce9170]

Hi, I've learnt so much from this video. I've never seen the tip about breaking long strands and mouse ears (against a full brim) in any video before! You explain everything with so much clarity and and if if you (meaning me) understand something its now simple. I've always watched your videos, that I've clicked on, to the end because you make them so interesting and I always go away having learnt something that you have shared. Keep up the great work.

[@crawlerin]

With Prusa Slicer 2.2.0 you don't need extra STL for mouse ears, it has few simple geometric shapes including cylinder built in.

[@MrBrechtD]

I've had success with abs, but still learned a thing or two :) Recently I have discovered ASA, a plastic that is similar to abs, shares a lot of the properties and unlike abs, is uv resistant. It even smells the same but has a lot less warpage and is over all easyer to print

[@elminz]

Found the same with ASA. Remarkably good prints for how close it is to ABS, with UV resistance. ABS maybe cheap, but you'll very likely end up wasting more parts anyway.

[@michal_king478]

@@elminz thats also important to realise. It might actually end up costing more

[@f.johnson2247]

Wonderful video, thank you. Equally useful for PLA (though PLA can be more forgiving). Example: "Drafts are everything." As a newbie, I had an air conditioner located 5 feet from my printer, and was seeing warping. You tuned me in to the importance of the whole thermal environment.

[@spock6692]

You are quite right about drafts. Why do so few people use actively heated chamber and water cooling??? I took efforts once making these two things out of scrap and have a constant good results with ABS. These two measures solve the warping/delamination problem forever. Thank you very much for such a comprehensive video! You actually quite right about everything you described.

[@bitsurfer0101]

I like the mouse ear tip. I will have to try that when I have trouble with a part not adhering.

[@JamesZJi]

this is just pure gold.

[@cocogana]

Beautiful tips James, as a heavy ABS i know all the tips you said, but I do find this video highly valuable, well done!

[@TheDefpom]

@18:03 the “freezing” point is called the glass transition temperature.

[@TheDefpom]

Dick Fageroni - no, when I was studying for my Diploma in Plastics Materials for my advanced trade qualifications... how about you?

[@user-yk1cw8im4h]

@@TheDefpom not even a phd? lol

[@thomassutrina7469]

Nickle plating is a common material to make resistor. Copper 1.68 where Nickel 6.99 relative resistances. The metal doesn't get that hot by since it can not exceed the insulating material temperature. Could even you tin.

[@IanBradbury]

Thank you for this video. I'm definitely going to try ABS, this video has given me some confidence.

[@kenlee5461]

Thank you for that concise tutorial on ABS 3D printing. I found it extremely useful and has made me more prepared for using ABS.

[@MurrayDawson]

Excellent video James. Very well explained. I've printed over 100 face shields of a different design, and I wish I'd seen your video a week ago! Your mouse ear addition would have saved me a lot of trouble. I'll definitely give it a try on the next batch.

[@patwicker1358]

Very nice presentation, I would like to hear you explain more about 3d printing because nobody else presents the details and reason that you present.

[@firearmsstudent]

Neat trick with the mouse ears! I've tried (as in lots of it) printing with ABS and even lately PLA and it warps like no one's business. It seems like my printer has moods (I think it's just plain damn lazy) where it will print fine for a week or two and then it simply refuses to print anything until I put it away for a couple months.

[@jacobkudrowich]

You nailed that pronunciation of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene.

[@MrButuz]

Wow what a brilliant video have not been brave enough to try abs yet but will do now.

[@RodrigoRodrigues_info]

I got really good adhesion printing on the aluminum side of MK3 beds, without hairspray or anything, just kicked the bed temp up to 110C

[@Jason-gt2kx]

Very thorough, thx! I am choosing to use ABS for its ability to hold up in high temps and because I can use acetone to bond pieces together. I build an enclosure fairly cheap and easy.

[@rodbacon9489]

I've watched video after video about this subject, and this is by far the best. Thank you so much.

[@bongsurfer]

THANK YOU SO MUCH. This is by far the greatest video I've watched on a filament. You are a true inspiration.

[@MrKJPBorg]

So many great ideas! You have beautifully demonstrated that understanding a problem goes a long way to overcoming it. Thank you.

[@thisiscristian]

This is GOLD! Instant subscriber. First time watching your content. 1) Mouse ear technique - this should be a feature incorporated in slicers and named after you (assuming you thought of it.) 2) The hot end cooling technique where the fan sucks air and ejects it upwards has just moved to the top of my design list. 3) Part design where you break up long layers - brilliant! I recently got into 3d printing and this video explains so much - thank you for sharing your knowledge!

[@pastagandalf]

Doesn't Prusa slicer support this kind of stuff?

[@antalya360]

esun abs + is the best filament that i used ever. but pain in ass to print. but when you get your settings done. it is flawless

[@nikossavvakis7262]

Best video on youtube, from every aspect. Well done son.

[@fsouzajr]

Congrats on a great and technical video!! absolutely correct so many things!! ALOT of variation between makes and even colors! To remedy the whole warping thing what i have found that works well is pre heating the enclosure to about 50°C. Bed adhesion goes without saying, hairspray is also my go to, ABS Is way more sensitive than PLA, but the main difference I have found from PLA is the mere viscosity of the plastic when melted. Bed temps from 80 to 90°C is fine. To print ABS well you have to get the extrusion (and retraction) really dialed in. Again, this will vary from make and colors.

[@robgoodsight6216]

The ABS qualities and differences are sometimes enormous...depending from chemical composition, Acrylonitrile is the crystalline part, Butadiene is the rubber part, Styrene is the third part of the compound...True it can be a pain in the neck if you swap roll and the material compound mix is not similar. If the ABS is shiny then the Acrylonitrile % is higher...referring to the rest of the compound,,,and so on... What I did is to heat 45°C to 50° C the bed, hair spray, which is part Acrylate, and then also have a reduction of the cooling...from 75 to 80%....keep warm but not too hot...because the material could also warp... ...my printer also has 3 side covered...but I made a cowl for the top to avoid heat dispersion. ABS is a good material ..the parameters ...once gotten right...it is almost a pleasure!

[@sinandulger9100]

An extremely useful and informative video. Thank you so much.

[@TootEmCarMan]

Great video. I have some ABS that I gave up on but after watching this I plan to try it again. Thanx

[@thomasleftwite]

A lot of tips for the ABS printing, thank you.

[@frankleinbachjr5480]

Excellent video, very descript! You've put me on the track to be successful with ABS. Thank you!!

[@slartimus]

Admittedly very belated at this point, as I'm only just now going on a binge of past videos as a new viewer, but starting at 8:45, it occurs to me that the way you're describing the hair spray on the print bed sounds a lot like the process of seasoning a cast iron skillet.

[@jmtx.]

Thanks for an excellent collection of information to print with ABS. Sort of makes me want to try the stuff now! Regarding auto bed levelling, the model will always print vertically - it won't get tilted, the levelling routines actively adjusts Z for the first few layers to compensate for surface irregularities. This results in a "flat" surface to print on.

[@jrgenneess762]

I have seen your video, Excellent. I brought my printer about ½ a year ago. for printing the nubs for the control panel. I thought I would ned a lot of filament for other project . I brought 4 reels ABS and 1 reel TPU It was not a succes. But now I found out that ABS is not a easy filament. Now I know that it is possible. Thank you for the informative video.

[@Clough42]

I have a roll of polycarbonate that has been sitting on a shelf for five years for the same reason. I'm also interested in nylon, but haven't tried it yet.

[@loukiankostovic9022]

That’s a very good video, you are clear, dense and globaly true ! That’s so good to see someone who knows well and helps everyone, so for this : THANKS YOU! I doubt about only one thing: i don’t think that the fan(s) that are cooling the extruder are also cooling the print in a closed chamber, because the air witch is sucked by the fan(s) is already hot (because of the chamber obviously)and heated by going throught the extruder. Sorry about my english, i’m french 😁 do not hesitate to correct me.

[@rennkitllc6800]

Excellent real world explanations clearly articulated! I’ve been down the same paths and have found many of the same solutions, still learned a few more tricks. Thank you for the vid.

[@Ignitionite]

I've always printed with ABS, I find I have more success printing ABS than PETG. I use an acetone slurry on glass to get my bed adhesion, gives a glasslike finish. I have my printer enclosed, with an acrylic sheet as the front of the enclosure to view the print. Works like a charm.

[@jimfun4144]

Hey James, Great video. I have been printing almost exclusively ABS for the last 4 years. I have tried all the hairspray, glue stick, tape, glass and flexible sheets. I pulled my hair out for months till I went with an enclosure and Printbite. Honestly I leveled my bed 3 years ago. I have not used a glue or hair spray or any consumable nor have I used a spatula or any tool to remove prints. I have printed well over 600 prints on a single piece of printbite and never touched my bed. I don't work for them. I don't get any kickbacks from them. They just make a really good product. I now have 3 printers, all now have printbite on them and I no longer use any consumables other than filament. Printing is good and easy now.

[@johnduffy7502]

Such a good video! I am thinking of getting into 3D printing and found your channel. So easy to listen to and a lot of really good information. Thanks!

[@Sandwich4321]

I don't have any experience with printing abs but have printed some asa and the way to get good adhesion is to use an asa slurry, once you start using slurry, bed adhesion stops being a problem

[@Engineerd3d]

I also enjoy abs due to the post processing abilities. Machining it with a sharp HSS bit works wonders if needed as well as the old acetone smoothing tricks etc etc. I like the material allot.

[@Clough42]

I didn't mention it in the video, but I have machined prints after cooling to control critical fits. It also taps easily and holds M3 threads well.

[@Engineerd3d]

@@Clough42 I have tapped abs as well, much less finiky than pla to tap. Ppa taps a bit more brittle, vs abs actually taps very nicely.

[@karlfimm]

Great video. Picked up plenty of ideas applicable to my PLA printing as well.

[@ericcsuf]

Subscribed. Excellent delivery, well researched content. I don't print ABS, but learned a lot of interesting and useful tricks, particularly the circular cutouts and mouse ears.

[@mirkomueller3412]

Your attention to detail is just amazing and really helpful. Subscribed immediately.

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

I cut my teeth on borosilicate with Aqua Net. It gets the job done, but I'm spoiled by spring steel and PEI these days. Fun trick: If the glass is really crusty and gross, you can clean it off with a generous dose of hair spray and a little elbow grease. After working with BuildTak for a while, my conclusion is: Never work with BuildTak, it's a consumable item. The BuildTak sheets one of the office printers I use would last a month or two under heavy printing and regular cleaning, while their PEI sheets are easily lasting more than 5 months (the PEI surface on the MK3S sheets cracked and failed after over 2 years of service). They're probably designed more for their flex plate system, because you don't need to take a metal tool to pry off the print and scratch off the acrylic surface. Certain shapes will shrink more than others, especially corners. The reason why brims, rafts, and mouse ears are suggested for ABS bed adhesion is because slicers will put round corners on them (brims and rafts), and circular shapes distribute the contraction force evenly around the curve. Sharp angles, on the other hand, will concentrate the force on the point of the angle, causing it to warp right off the print surface. Enclosing the build volume could probably help more than a brim. I've had a brim ripped apart by warping ABS. Probably too much mass extruded in a cold drafty environment, but it was still impressive. Quick tip about mouse ears: Since the point is to increase bed adhesion through surface area, you can put them to one side of the part, meaning it's just 1 snip with flush cutters to get them off (I do this because otherwise the MK3S print bed can't accommodate more than 1 visor). It worked with PETG and blocking the draft from the office HVAC system, but I don't know if it'll work with ABS.

[@JamesTharpe]

Great advice and I love the clever solutions! Really helped me with a print I was having trouble with, thank you!

[@jamessowin2505]

For anyone wondering, CURA has this as a plug-in. Go to marketplace in the top right corner. Download the plugin anti warping tabs. Then restart cura. It will add a button to the bottom left corner for adding the tabs.

[@chrisnurse6430]

I learned heaps from this - many thanks - understanding why there’s no silver bullet for bed adhesion. Have you tried sugar dissolved in water as an alternative to hairspray. I get bottom layers that shine and it’s reused many times like you’re baked on comment.

[@Tensquaremetreworkshop]

Absolute gold- a masterclass.

[@VAXHeadroom]

2 years late, but my go-to surface for ABS is heavy kapton tape + ABS slurry (natural ABS dissolved in acetone). The heat will make the slurry film tacky, and the kapton will not ITSELF bond to the ABS print, so worst case you may have to replace the tape on the glass if the print is difficult to remove from the tape. 14:30 - please don't use paper to measure surface to head distance, go get a set of feeler gauges - they're only a few $ from a auto parts or hardware store. Automatic and more modern software is, of course, the gold standard.

[@KindHeart]

Thank you, James. That was very helpful to me, especially non obvious solutions and your clever tricks!

[@SianaGearz]

ABS isn't a blend, it's a copolymer. Specifically it's a graft copolymer, where they take butadiene (rubber) flake and catalytically polymerise the two other ingredients, introduced as gaseous monomers, onto it. Indeed the properties of the material can be varied in a large range by changing the mixture or even the shape of the graft base flake. This is a spectacularly weird material like that. PETG i believe is a true copolymer, where there are no continuous chunks of a given monomer in the polymer chain, and it can be varied as well fundamentally, but for some reason it's fairly consistent in its properties...

[@easymac79]

I bought a BL touch sensor for my printer. Only to learn, while modifying the firmware settings, there is an option for "mesh bed levelling". I have found this to be far superior to the automatic sensor, and at a cost of zero dollars. This is regarding a Neptune 2S, similar to Ender 3, and many other brands.

[@GrandpaBill]

At last someone that goes into the details in a way that I can understand! Now I've got to see of you covered PLA and PETG so I'm "IN" subscribed!

[@oliveraspden5057]

Love the hairspray tip! Will definitely try it out

[@charleshill9401]

I solved my ABS adhesion problem by turning off my cooling fan, turning my build plate temperature to 0 degrees, upped the nozzle temperature to 230 degrees, and put strips of masking tape over the center portion of my build plate. The ABS sticks to the masking tape just fine and I use a razor blade scraper to peel the tape and print off the build plate, I peel the tape off the bottom of the print and anything that sticks to the print can be sanded off with some fine grit sandpaper. Its just a little more labor involved but my prints come out fine.

[@DAVIDROLAND78]

and for a bigger parts( fast plate size ) printed is not shrinking , so the edges are not lifting up from plate?first layer thickness to you? or any difference?

[@goma2809]

In PrusaSlic3r I use the setup that print the center first and the perimeters at the end of the first layer. That prove to help specialy in some big circular prints I made.

[@montesbye9264]

Thanks for the run down, you explained perfectly and my prints are sticking nice... turns out my hot end fan was dumpling a ton of air strait down and cooling my prints. Used a piece of tin foil and redirected air flow out the back. Stock Ender 3 pro.. Thanks again my man!! 💪💪

[@jmc_fpv]

About this Thema, i agree with you. That improve a lot in regards to have warping with abs. I accidentally found another God way to avoid warping and it consists in have a very thin first layer. Almost transparent by reducing the extrusion flow and layer height for the first layer. But you will need a very good leveled bed. Once you can print this such as almost transparent first layer the warping will disappear forever! Maybe 0.05 first layer height. With 50% less extrusion material.