Warp Test for Print Bed Adhesion

thingiverse

This model is a torture test to see if you can print it without any warping or lifting of the ends. I'll bet you can't. I have not found a single FDM 3D printer that can print this model in ABS without warping and still allow a clean release of the finished print, unless my new printing surface is installed. The thing that makes this model such a bear to print is the fact that it has only a 1/8" wide contact patch at the bottom of the V-shaped body. This tiny contact patch does not allow very much adhesion, so the forces of the contracting cooling plastic from each successive layer want to pull the ends up off the print bed, causing warping. There are three versions of this model as follows: 1) Completely solid, 2) A hollow shell, and 3) A hollow shell with a vertical partition in the center to impart even more warping force on the ends. This is the hardest thing that I have ever tried to print without having the ends lift up and warp off the print bed. Many of you know that I have been working on a novel printing bed with a special surface specifically designed for printing in ABS. I have been trying to solve the ABS adhesion problem for many years, and I was the first one to publish the method now known as ABS juice or ABS slurry. The new print surface is the perfect combination with ABS slurry. I built this model as a torture test for that new print surface. I am recording GoPro videos of the build on my new surface material today (4/19/2016), and will update this post as soon as the video is done. My new build surface is designed to still use ABS slurry, but the great thing is that this surface has tremendous adhesion when it is hot, but no adhesion when it is cool. It is also completely resistant to acetone and solvents, and can be heated to 1150 degrees F without damage (your printer will be damaged at that temperature, but not the print surface). This new print surface is also not made from any kind of glass (all types of glass including borosilicate and tempered glass are prone to thermal shock and can chip or crack or even shatter if the temperature of the glass changes too rapidly). Instead of glass, this new surface is made from a very thin sheet of a very special form of ceramic metallic oxide, which is extremely rigid. It is then coated with a special compound and fused to the rigid material in order to produce a bed that has nearly identical thermal expansion characteristics to ABS when it is hot, but radically different thermal expansion characteristics when it is cool. This allows for perfect adhesion when printing in ABS, without any warping or lifting of the ends. We will be testing the surface with a number of selected beta testers, as well as at all our 11 TechShop locations worldwide and all our TechShop Inside maker trailers. If you are interested in being a beta tester (at a 50% discounted price) and you normally print in ABS with your heated-bed ABS printer, please PM me with your information and the type of printer you have, along with the dimensions of the print bed, and I'll put you on the consideration list. I'm hoping to get beta testers all set up starting in May 2016. Anyway, try printing these models on your printer in ABS (or PLA if that's all you have) and post a photo here showing how much you can avoid warping, and print a finished part with a perfectly flat bottom. Good luck! -- Jim Newton Founder, TechShop Print Settings Printer: FlashForge Dreamer Rafts: No Supports: No Resolution: 0.2mm Infill: 100% Notes: To Print: Orient this model so the small flat surface (1/8" wide by 9" long) is in contact with your print bed, then print it. I'm printing on a FlashForge Dreamer in ABS using Simplify3D with the following settings: No support No rafts 100% fill 0.2mm layer height ABS slurry on the special print bed surface 105c print bed temperature 230c extruder temperature Black HatchBox brand ABS filament