Now why did that work?

Hello, I am new to 3D printing, I bought a Prusa Kit from 3D stuffmaker and spend a few days putting it together and calibrating it. For the first few days I had great prints with the PLA I ordered with the printer. Then the weather turned hot and I couldn't get anything to stick to the printbed. After much fighting tonight I finally was at the try anything stage and I taped a piece of card stock onto my printbed, and it worked!

Now what did that change that raising and lowering the printbed; running the temp up and down; checking and rechecking my calibration ect ect didn't? I am glad the voodoo worked, but I would be much happier knowing why it worked. Any thoughts

Thanks Mike

Cardboard worked because it is very porous and allowed the plastic to "sink in".

The variations in room temp, humidity, airflow all effect how the print reacts. I began to notice a pattern as the seasons changed here. I live in Iowa (USA) and we can very between -20f to +100f during the year. I have had times where yesterday the printer worked great, and today it won’t stick or it warps or the layers don’t bond. The only thing that changed was the weather, so I started logging those differences and results to see if my theory was correct. Yep, it is ..

Windows open, more airflow, more warping.
A/C on- warping and won’t stick.

This is why people build the enclosures, to eliminate or at least better control those effects. I am working on my enclosure now; I figure it will pay for itself in time by not wasting print after print.

Is there anything I should be worried about printing on cardboard? Say the fibers getting in the hotend? Because I must say this is working wonderfully.

Mike

Quote
Miertam
Say the fibers getting in the hotend?

You extruder is an _ex_truder, not a vaccumer :-)

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