large mold for gypsum/cement

Zortrax M200 General Discussion
#1

Hey Everyone,

I have my M200 since X-mas and so far its been great and printed everything just fine. But recently I’ve started having warping issues even with small parts. I went through the instructions and cleaned the plate and used glue stick and now the raft sticks to the plate even on very large parts… for the most part. Sometimes a corner will still get loose and warp away. I also use large styrofoam boards as side covers.

Now I want to print a large mold for building an architecture model out of gypsum or cement, and I've tried lots of different settings and methods to get the raft to stick, but nothing really worked.

I'm about to try hairspray and ABS-juice I made, but I doubt it will work because the parts are very large, and I suspect that they will just start to warp in the middle if the raft cant warp.

So is this mostly an ABS issue? Would parts this size work without warping if I used Z-hips?

I've attached the files. So far I've only tried 0,39 mm layers because I didnt want to wait over a day just to see that the print has warped anyway. Other settings were:

-light infill

-auto fan / no fan / 20% fan (didnt see a difference tbh)

-normal speed

-normal seems

-bottom layer 3 / 6 (more bottom layers seemed to warp more)

Unfortunately I cant post pictures of the failed prints because I allready threw them in the trash, but I've wasted almost an entire roll of ABS trying this out.

So my question now is, should I even bother trying other settings with ABS (I have ordered HIPS but it will take a few days)? Would smaller layers work better to prevent warping? What are the ideal settings to print large parts with the respective materials? Maybe we could get a post stickied to the top of the forum, where each material is listed with the best settings for various sizes of prints?

I will try to print individual parts now, not the whole thing at once, using hairspray or ABS juice, and using smaller layers, but I doubt it will help. But I am looking forward to some helpfull replies.

Thanks!

#2

I made some molds (with polyurethane foam) and I experienced the same problems. The only solution (for me) for large precision parts : cut the molds to print in different parts and then assemble them by gluing or screwing (screwing work better because allows easier release without destroying the mold) . HIPS not tested but it seems also subject to warping . Good luck.

#3

I made some molds (with polyurethane foam) and I experienced the same problems. The only solution (for me) for large precision parts : cut the molds to print in different parts and then assemble them by gluing or screwing (screwing work better because allows easier release without destroying the mold) . HIPS not tested but it seems also subject to warping . Good luck.

Thank you!

 

I am now trying to print individual parts, if they are still too large I will cut them into smaller pieces. Screwing the parts together is a nice idea in general, that way I could assemble and dissassemble them more easily. I will keep that in mind for the next model :)

#4

UPDATE

The ABS-juice worked amazing. I almost could not get the raft of the plate, and while the parts warped a little bit, its so minimal that it wont be a problem.

I've included some pictures of the parts, and as you can see, the warp on the longest part is 1mm at most, the part is 160mm long.

I guess its a mix between the ABS-juice and the orientation of the parts, ie. flat on their back instead of standing upright, so that a larger surface is sitting on the raft.

Settings I used:

layer: 0,29mm

infill: light

support: 45°, normal

speed: normal

seams: normal

top/bottom layer: 3

fan: 20%

I will print the next part at higher printing speed, hoping to save some time and that it wont make much of a difference in quality.

Also, how often should I apply the ABS-juice?

I cleaned the platform with the spatula but it still feels very rough and looks like it has a lot of juice on it, so I'm guessing its not necessary to apply ABS-juice before every new print?

#5

i would only apply every 10 prints or around there..