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Printing with Ultem on MK3 ?  

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Szafran
(@szafran)
Eminent Member
Printing with Ultem on MK3 ?

Hi,

I'm waiting for my MK3 (and later for the MM upgrade) and wanted to ask if someone has tried printing Ultem on this machine ? If it's even possible ?
I have some Ultem, and it's waiting for my custom built printer. But if the MK3 would be able to print it I think I would cancel my custom build and stayed with MK3 only (this would save me a lot of time and work).

Best regards... Szafran... MK3S + MMU2S + OctoPrint on DELL 3020m

Posted : 03/01/2018 5:49 pm
surfgeorge
(@surfgeorge)
Estimable Member
Re: Printing with Ultem on MK3 ?

Ultem is extremely demanding to print, and only some specialized FDM printers are capable of printing it.
It requires extrusion temperatures of far above 300°C, very high heat bed and chamber temperatures.
There is simply no way a RepRap printer like the Prusa will print Ultem.

The most adavnced material you can print with the Prusa will be modified Polycarbonate, like the Polymaker PC-Plus.
Even unmodified Polycarbonate will not work without (major) modifications.

Keep in mind the limits:
Extruder: 295°C (can be increased by replacing the Thermistor with a Thermocouple)
Heated bed: 125°C (can't be increased with the standard heatbed)
Heated chamber: limited by PETG parts and electronics

If you want to print anything above PC-Max, look for an appropriate machine and be ready to spend $$$$

Posted : 04/01/2018 7:13 am
Szafran
(@szafran)
Eminent Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: Printing with Ultem on MK3 ?

Yes, I know what temps are needed to print it.
125 on bed should be enough - the head is a E3D V6 so here I have to chenge the thermistor to a thermocouple with amp (have them from E3D allready on hand)
I will be building a chamber for it (since I'm not using PLA for anything, just ABS or something more demanding). Adding a heating element with some electronics to control it wont be a problem.

What do you mean PETG parts ? Thought that I3's where printed in ABS.

Best regards... Szafran... MK3S + MMU2S + OctoPrint on DELL 3020m

Posted : 04/01/2018 11:16 am
JeffJordan
(@jeffjordan)
Member Moderator
Re: Printing with Ultem on MK3 ?


...
I will be building a chamber for it (since I'm not using PLA for anything, just ABS or something more demanding). Adding a heating element with some electronics to control it wont be a problem....
take in mind that if the temperature inside the enclosure exceeds 45° - 50°C the filament inside the heatbreak of the E3D v6 hotend starts to melt above the point where it should do.... this will cause clogging after every print with "ordinary" filament (like pla or abs).

according to the E3D v6 trouble shooting guide, the whole coldend (the cooling element above the heatbreak) should be "cold to the touch".
this is often a big problem when you print inside an enclosure.

dem inscheniör is' nix zu schwör...

Posted : 04/01/2018 11:32 am
Frank
(@frank-14)
Eminent Member
Re: Printing with Ultem on MK3 ?

You could go bananas and order the water cooled Titan aqua.
https://e3d-online.com/titan-aqua-hotend-and-extruder

Posted : 04/01/2018 2:06 pm
Szafran
(@szafran)
Eminent Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: Printing with Ultem on MK3 ?

Watercooling is a bad idea IMO.
I'll try how is it going to behave with an enclosure - I do have some nice CPAP ( https://www.cpap.com/productpage/6-ft-19-mm-cpap-hose-22-mm-rubber-ends.html ) pipes that are very light and if neccessary I'll adapt (I allready have some printable adapters designed for them) them to provide cool air from outside the enclosure for the print head cooling (that was my plan for my custom build).

Best regards... Szafran... MK3S + MMU2S + OctoPrint on DELL 3020m

Posted : 04/01/2018 2:24 pm
Frank
(@frank-14)
Eminent Member
Re: Printing with Ultem on MK3 ?

Watercooling is not necessarily a bad idea, but yes it overcomplicates things to a high degree. In my eys its only good for engines (and of course many industrial applications).... Not for computers or hobby-level printers

Posted : 04/01/2018 6:15 pm
digibluh
(@digibluh)
Reputable Member
Re: Printing with Ultem on MK3 ?



...
I will be building a chamber for it (since I'm not using PLA for anything, just ABS or something more demanding). Adding a heating element with some electronics to control it wont be a problem....
take in mind that if the temperature inside the enclosure exceeds 45° - 50°C the filament inside the heatbreak of the E3D v6 hotend starts to melt above the point where it should do.... this will cause clogging after every print with "ordinary" filament (like pla or abs).

according to the E3D v6 trouble shooting guide, the whole coldend (the cooling element above the heatbreak) should be "cold to the touch".
this is often a big problem when you print inside an enclosure.

You're talking about PLA's glass transition temp.... the cold end's temp for best performance is material specific. Ultem won't soften until it hits ABOVE 200c.... But the parts the printer is made of, the electronics and steppers might have problems.... so the cold end can certainly be 100c just like the bed itself and PEI will be stiff and still print fine without clogs. But with ABS at 100c glass transition or PETG at 88c or so will certainly start to deform.

Posted : 04/01/2018 9:20 pm
Szafran
(@szafran)
Eminent Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: Printing with Ultem on MK3 ?


.... Not for computers or hobby-level printers

+1

Best regards... Szafran... MK3S + MMU2S + OctoPrint on DELL 3020m

Posted : 05/01/2018 12:27 am
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