Compared to other materials, PLA and ABS are cheaper and have stable quality. However, the quality of other materials fluctuates greatly, and the price of high-quality materials is higher. Therefore, PLA and ABS are commonly used as 3D printing consumables.
ABS is an engineering plastic that has been widely used in traditional industries and has good mechanical properties. However, this material is prone to edge warping and deformation during printing, and can produce some odors. PLA is a biomaterial derived from corn grains and can be degraded without polluting the environment.
The printing temperature of PLA is lower than that of ABS, and the shrinkage rate is small, making it less prone to edge warping during printing. This material has a low odor and is not pungent when printed. Therefore, this type of material, which is not easy to overturn, has low machine requirements, and is friendly to beginners, has become the preferred consumable for FDM in 3D printing.
How to set the printing parameters for PLA?
The most basic setting for different consumables is the printing temperature and hot bed temperature. The parameters are not fixed and need to be adjusted according to the actual situation. For example, consumables that have been stored for a long time need to increase the printing temperature, and special PLA also needs to increase the printing temperature. We need to note that the printing temperature should not be blindly increased. When the temperature is above 220 ° C, it is easy to cause bubbles inside the PLA, resulting in poor printing effect. If the hot bed temperature is too high, it will cause the bottom of the model to melt.
How can we select high-quality PLA?
① The material purity should be high
② The thickness of the wire is consistent, and the cross-section is close to a circle.
We need to observe whether it has color differences, spots, and small bubbles. If the above phenomena exist, it indicates that it contains a lot of recycled materials.
Next, take out a wire about 1 meter long, use a measuring caliper or brush it with your hand to check if the thickness is consistent and the surface is smooth. Then use a caliper to clamp the line and rotate it for one circle. If the rotation is smooth and there are no scratches on the surface, it indicates that the cross-section of the consumable is relatively round.
When printing, observe the printing effect of the first layer (with the printing platform leveled), mainly focusing on its width and uniformity. The extruded wire is relatively uniform and flat, indicating that it has fewer impurities and high quality.
