Easy PA filament.

[loanrangie]

Bought a spool to print some wiper gears and window reg clips, info says that an enclosure is required i guess to keep the heat in ?
Might have to knock up an alloy frame and get some perspex to cover it.

[Tins]

Bought a spool to print some wiper gears and window reg clips, info says that an enclosure is required i guess to keep the heat in ?
Might have to knock up an alloy frame and get some perspex to cover it.
Yes. My printer has one. But I’m not sure how much difference it makes. Maybe in winter. Mine is just perspex, a little like a turntable lid.

[Tombie]

Makes an enormous difference.

Preheat the chamber too, using the build plate if you don’t have a heater, with the door closed before printing.

[incisor]

as tombie says, it make a really big difference

i have used a cardboard box to get around it in the days when i had the prusa i3 before i built an ikea enclusre for it

worked well apart from the lack of vision

[cjc_td5]

I print with ABS, which can distort when cooling, so an enclosure makes a huge difference to print quality. It is easy to make up an enclosure using coreflute sheets with a clear polycarb sheet for the front flap. Just tape the joins with cloth tape.

Chris

[loanrangie]

I print with ABS, which can distort when cooling, so an enclosure makes a huge difference to print quality. It is easy to make up an enclosure using coreflute sheets with a clear polycarb sheet for the front flap. Just tape the joins with cloth tape.

Chris

I have a lot of qubelok 25mm alloy tube and joiners so i'll make a frame and cover it with poly carb sheet.

[loanrangie]

Frame made, I will wrap it with shrink wrap for now.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20260220/203644dda543768dbc52fb2170831152.jpg

[loanrangie]

My DIY enclosure worked quite well, bed adhesion was good and came away from the bed easily and was still warm.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20260222/abb3e0e0f560f6a4d95cf26fa3cc3068.jpg

[loanrangie]

First print of this clip was a disaster but I adjusted the settings and gave it 100% infill and now it's good and strong.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20260224/91e27d21380eefe55ec3972dbf864901.jpg

[Tombie]

First print of this clip was a disaster but I adjusted the settings and gave it 100% infill and now it's good and strong.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20260224/91e27d21380eefe55ec3972dbf864901.jpg

How many perimeters did you set it for?
You’ll find more strength is gained in the shell than by printjng solid. Still use a higher infill level, just not normally requiring 100%

[loanrangie]

Not sure on the perimeters but the default infill was 10% which made it spongy and too flexible, i was going to try a 60% infill but decide i didn't want to wait for a 6hr print time to find that 100% was better.
I'm printing these for someone else so i'll do all 4 parts at 100% so at least i know they'll be strong.

[Tins]

Do you have a drier or similar enclosure? I have not printed with PA yet, but it would seem to a pretty versatile material. I have to check if the printer supports it.

[loanrangie]

Do you have a drier or similar enclosure? I have not printed with PA yet, but it would seem to a pretty versatile material. I have to check if the printer supports it.

No drier just the diy enclosure, really impressed with the filament. Prints cleanly and when it was finished it just lifted off the bed without any effort , i will get a roll of black PA as i think that will work well for car parts with its 120 degree tolerance.

[loanrangie]

So first few prints were mostly without issue while i dialed in some settings, then got COVID so didn't touch the printer last week until yesterday.
Did a small print that came out stringy and had bed adhesion issues so i checked the PA filament and it was like cooked spaghetti , i did read that this type of nylon PA-6 was quite hydroscopic but i was surprised how much moisture it sucked up.
Put it in the oven @70c for 1hr x 2 and is printing fine now so will need to keep it in a zip lock bag with desiccant and maybe a stretch in the oven prior to printing.
Before this drama i had a print that stuck too well and removal ruined the bed, replaced it with a magnetic flexible bed which is much easier to remove prints from.

[loanrangie]

After some trials and tribulations I have 2 sets of clips.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20260325/0ecd81f512e9cf364b211e17887377fa.jpg