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3D printer enclosure temperature


ABS print temperature considerations: Nozzle, bed, enclosure

ABS filament is a must-have for FDM 3D printer users. Cheap, wear-resistant, and heat-resistant, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene offers a few important advantages over PLA, such as superior ductility and durability. A good example of the thermoplastic’s value is its use in LEGO bricks, which require a good degree of toughness and flexibility so they don’t break during playtime.[1]

But although printing ABS has its benefits, newcomers to the material should be aware of the challenges it poses, the most significant of which is the high required ABS print temperature. Because ABS has a higher glass transition temperature and higher melting point than PLA, extrusion of ABS plastic requires a higher nozzle temperature. Additionally, since the material is also prone to warping as it cools down, it requires a heated print bed and ideally an enclosure to prevent that warping from getting too extreme.

This article serves as a quick introduction to ABS print temperature considerations. It discusses the ideal nozzle temperature, build plate temperature, and heated enclosure temperature, as well as other important additive manufacturing considerations like print speed and retraction settings.

Recommended reading: PETG temperature considerations: Nozzle temperature, heated bed & cooling

LEGO bricks are made of durable ABS

During FDM 3D printing, a key print temperature consideration is nozzle temperature (sometimes called extruder temperature or extrusion temperature), which relates to the amount of heat generated by the printer’s hotend.

The hotend must heat up the tip of the solid strand of filament until it is pliant enough to be forced through the nozzle and onto the print bed. Some filaments, including high-performance materials like PEEK, require very high temperatures in order to melt — sometimes up to 300 °C — while more basic materials like PLA need relatively gentle heat.

ABS isn’t a high-performance material and doesn’t require specialist high-temperature equipment. However, due to its high temperature resistance, it does require a higher nozzle temperature than PLA. Using PLA nozzle settings (around 210 °C) on ABS would result in problems such as poor layer adhesion, i.e. the individual slices of the printed part failing to stick together.

When 3D printing ABS, the ideal nozzle temperature for the 3D printing material is around 220–250 °C. Some researchers have suggested a figure of 231°C as “optimum for highest tensile properties.”[2] This slightly elevated temperature — similar to the ideal PETG temperature — helps to improve first-layer and inter-layer adhesion in ABS parts. Unfortunately, selecting a precise temperature within this range requires a bit of trial and error, as FDM hardware can vary from model to model and produce different results.

The usual ABS print temperature settings may have to be adjusted slightly when using a nonstandard nozzle. Nozzles with a wider diameter than the standard 0.4 mm typically require a higher temperature in order to heat up the larger amount of plastic passing through. Conversely, small-diameter nozzles can extrude ABS at slightly lower temperatures.

Recommended reading: Nozzle diameter and layer height explained

ABS requires other temperature considerations besides nozzle temperature. Using a nozzle temperature of 220–250 °C is great for extrusion, but that’s only part of the overall printing process. Once deposited, the thermoplastic material must adhere to the print bed, cool down, and then solidify, and this is when problems like poor bed adhesion, shrinkage, and warping can occur.

One way to improve bed adhesion and mitigate problems like shrinkage is to use a heated build platform.[3] Not all FDM printers have this feature, but a heated bed helps to ensure good first-layer adhesion and to prevent there being too much of a temperature discrepancy between the hotend and the bed. When parts cool down too quickly, they can exhibit a high level of shrinkage and warping, sometimes making the parts unusable.

ABS is a material that generally needs the assistance of a heated bed — both for adhesion and shrinkage prevention — with the ideal ABS bed temperature being around 95–110 °C.

To further improve adhesion, additional considerations like build surface material should also be taken into account. One way to improve adhesion is to coat the print surface with ABS juice: a mixture of a small amount of ABS filament and acetone. (When a higher concentration of ABS is used, this mixture is called ABS slurry.) Alternatives include glue stick, hairspray, and kapton tape.

A heated bed leads to improved ABS parts

Some 3D printers allow control over a third print temperature parameter: the enclosure temperature (or heated chamber temperature). Of course, some FDM 3D printers have an open rather than an enclosed design, and to these this parameter is not applicable.  

Enclosed printers offer an advantage when printing ABS because they allow for a more consistent printing environment, keeping out cold air and drafts and keeping the air temperature at around 30 °C or slightly higher. This helps to improve inter-layer adhesion and reduces the likelihood of shrinkage and warping. Lots of printers have enclosures, but it is also possible to obtain or construct a DIY enclosure to fit around an open-design machine. Although ABS prints better with an enclosure, it is difficult to control the exact ambient temperature within the enclosure, so users should be careful not to let it overheat.

A more advanced solution than a simple enclosure is a heated build chamber. 3D printers with a heated build chamber contain thermal regulation equipment for heating and maintaining the build area to a precise temperature. The temperature can be adjusted digitally, and this feature is useful for printing high-performance materials that require very high print temperatures. A heated build chamber is not required for ABS, but typical temperatures can be around 60–70 °C.

Configuration of temperature settings is key to getting good results from ABS filament. But a few other parameters should also be considered.

Build surface

When printing ABS, the heated bed should be complemented with a fairly adhesive build surface such as a PEI sheet. Alternatively, a glass build surface can be coated with ABS juice / ABS slurry, glue stick, or another adhesive substance.

Cooling

A 3D printer’s cooling function is closely related to printing temperature, with the cooling fan serving to reduce the temperature around the part to help the plastic solidify faster. In general, a cooling fan is not required for ABS printing, so fan speed can be set to a low setting, or off.

Ventilation

ABS releases fumes and strong odors when printed. For safety reasons, it is best to situate the 3D printer in a well-ventilated area. Of course, users will then have to balance the need for ventilation with the need to prevent drafts of cold air that could cause warping of the part.

Other print settings

Besides nozzle and bed temperature, the most important print settings when using ABS include:

  • Print speed: Should be kept to a moderate rate, and especially slow for the first few layers.

  • Brims and rafts: Should be used to lock the part to the build surface and prevent warping, though this can add time to post-processing as extra material removal is required.

  • Line width: Should be increased for the first layer to increase contact with build surface and improve adhesion.

  • Retraction: Should use a moderate speed (~50 mm/s) and distance (~0.8 mm) to prevent stringing.

ABS print temperature rules can be boiled down to the following key parameters:

  • Nozzle temperature of 220–250 °C

  • Bed temperature of 95–110 °C

  • Enclosure to maintain even ambient temperature

By sticking fairly closely to these guidelines, printing a spool of ABS filament can be straightforward, leading to high-quality parts with good mechanical properties such as durability and ductility. And if the pitfalls of shrinkage and warping can be avoided during the printing process, the resulting parts will be highly resistant to heat and suitable for use in fairly demanding environments.

[1] Horikoshi R. Teaching chemistry with LEGO® bricks. Chemistry Teacher International. 2021 Sep 1;3(3):239-55.

[2] Foppiano M, Saluja A, Fayazbakhsh K. The Effect of Variable Nozzle Temperature and Cross-Sectional Pattern on Interlayer Tensile Strength Of 3D Printed ABS Specimens. Experimental Mechanics. 2021 Nov;61(9):1473-87.

[3] Lelinski M. How to Succeed with ABS Filaments When 3D Printing [Internet]. Zortrax. 2018 [cited 2022 Apr 12]. Available from: https://zortrax.com/blog/how-to-succeed-with-abs-filaments-when-3d-printing

3D Printing PLA, PETG and ABS while Protecting Your Lungs with an Encl – 3D UP Fitters

A lot of 3D printer enthusiasts start out putting a cardboard box over the printer, but there’s a lot more to it than that!  This article will explain a how enclosures work, and how to manage the temperatures to get quality prints while protecting your lungs.

We generally get two types of customers:

  1. Those interested mostly in air quality.
  2. Those interested mostly in print quality.

Think Airflow, Not Fishtank

The problem is those two goals use two different techniques in terms of airflow.  For the best air quality, we use the same design as industrial equipment, which uses airflow to manage air quality.  Because of physics, the amount of air moving into the enclosure has to be equal to the air moving out of the enclosure. When the air moves out of the enclosure carrying volatile organic compounds it can then be vented to the outside or run through an air filter.  

People often ask us if the enclosures are airtight and have a bottom.  After living with enclosures that do and do not have a bottom, we believe the utility of being able to just lift the enclosure off of the printer is a huge benefit, while having a bottom doesn't provide any benefits.

If your main concern is air quality then being airtight doesn't buy you anything since the particles will just float out when you open the door.  It's only by maintaining a negative air pressure that the particles are reliably kept away from human operators, which means having openings for air to both enter and exit the enclosure.  This is the same technique used at hospitals to prevent the spread of airborne infectious diseases, and on industrial lasers to maintain indoor air quality.

If the maximum internal temperature is the goal, then being airtight also doesn't help since the main cause of heat loss is through conduction through the sides and top of the enclosure, not through tiny amounts of air loss. A bottom doesn't help either since while heat doesn't rise, hot air does, and thus almost all of the heat loss of an enclosure is at the top.  A bottom is helpful, however, if your table is too small for the enclosure.

Since airflow is key, all of our enclosures come with fans chosen for CFM ratings to match the cubic size of the enclosures.  This ensures that for cool-loving filament types like PLA there's enough airflow to keep the temperatures in the safe zone.  

Room Temperature

Passively heated enclosures are completely dependent on the room temperature as a starting point.  If you're trying to print ABS in an unheated garage in the winter the temperature inside the enclosure is never going to get hot enough.  The reason is the bed heater has only enough energy to increase temps from the baseline.  If that baseline is 72F, then you've got a good chance of getting into the sweet spot.  If the baseline is 50F, then you'll be lucky to break 72F in the enclosure itself. 

ABS, ASA, and Nylon

You want the internal temperatures higher for filaments like ABS or ASA, which happens naturally because the recommended bed temperatures are much higher.  With the fans turned on we shoot for internal temps between 38C and 42C for 3D printers that use E3D hot ends because E3D recommends that temp range to avoid clogging.  Keeping the temperatures in that range it puts the least stress on the equipment and follows the manufacturer's guidelines.

This works great for people either interested mostly in air quality or those who are risk-averse and don't want to take a chance of clogging their hot ends or decreasing the useful life of their printers.

More experienced 3D printer owners though, those for whom a clogged nozzle is a known risk, might want to run the temperatures higher for less chance warping of ABS parts or to print nylon.  In those cases, you can turn off the fans or even print one of the vent covers and just not vent at all.  For our internal print farm, we do the later on a couple of machines where the temperature when printing ABS gets as high as 46C.  They've been running like that for years with no filament clogging.  Even with no venting of the power supplies, we've never had a power supply fail either. Obviously, your mileage may vary, as it depends on a lot of variables such as filament quality and the quality of the power supply in that particular printer.

If you're looking for the highest temperature's possible, try turning the bed heater on for an hour before you print.   

Perfect Enclosure Printing with PLA and PETG

Since PLA and PETG are perfectly happy at room temperature, the only reason to enclose it is for improved indoor air quality. PLA typically prints with a bed temperature of 60C, so it's going to heat the enclosure less than ABS right off the bat. Always make sure to print with an enclosure fan and monitor the internal temperature, which ideally should be in the 30-35C range or lower if you can get it. 

If you'd like to lower the temperature further you can always buy a more powerful fan, but the easiest thing to do is just crack the front door a little to increase airflow.  But won't that let out all of the volatile organic compounds coming off the hot end?  The key is the negative pressure combined with the fact that the particles are extremely small and light. 

As you can see in the video, the fan keeps the air flowing in and the harmful particles flowing into the vent or filter. 

3D Printer Design Matters

The other part of the equation is the printer design. Those printers where the hot end is at the top of the enclosure make it easier to achieve higher temperatures because the hot air rises to the top, and the vertical hot end position is fixed.  Those printers with the hot ends at the bottom are always going to have more problems managing temperature simply because the temperature is more likely to vary as the hot end goes from the bottom to the top of the enclosure.

Let Us Help

If you're looking to achieve a particular temperature with your enclosure, let us know and we'll give some advice on how to manage, but it's really not that hard:  

Lower Temperature = More Cold Air
Higher Temperature = Less Cold Air

Pro Tip:  measure your current temperatures before attempting to make any changes.  We get support calls saying "my enclosure is too hot" or "too cold" but they didn't actually measure the temperature.  Without measurements, it's impossible to say if a printing problem is temperature related or not.

 

 

 

 

 

Optimal table and hot end temperatures for 3D printing PLA

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