ABS warping solved (I think)

Hey guys, warping probably will never be completely solved with RepRaps, but I did find a solution that has helped me tremendously. I added "tabs" to corners and ends of my model. The "tabs" (see pic) act as a sort of anchor and more surface area to keep model attached to heat bed. The bigger the tabs you make, the better chances of it sticking.
Keeping the thickness to at least 2mm seems to work, and still thin enough to clip off with basic hand cutting tools. Notice I have small/thin notched areas for easy clipping.

I'm still new to printing so this solution has probably been used many times, but searching for warping solutions has led me down wrong paths (sticky messy glues, rafts that don't work well). One tip I found works well is reducing model mass by adding holes/notches... but that's normally not an option simply because of cosmetics or functionality of desired print results.

Anyway, wanted to throw this out in hopes it will help someone out (it made my printing life so much more enjoyable!) plus, it has saved me TONS of time and plastic because of many fewer test prints and warp problems. I don't have a specific system of size/area of "tabs" i build, just go off of feeling, and looking at my model and thinking: if my entire model wants to shrink, what areas would most likely lift off the print bed first.

Please let me know if this helps you out, or anyone has any criticism or improvements... I"m all ears!

-PixelPusher

***note: I used this method along with spraying a paper towel with a little hairspray, then rubbing onto the bed before heating. No tape used. Surface is a PCB heatbed. Have not tried on glass but imagine results would be same.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2016 09:11AM by PixelPusher.

Do you have something against brim?

I was just going to say that.
They have the brim function and it works great. Check it out.

The next discovery you'll make is that if you try to print more than a couple cm high the prints will delaminate. The cure is to enclose the printer and keep the enclosure warm, 45-50C.

Adding glue, hairspray, or other stuff is only necessary if the bed isn't flat, level, evenly heated, and zeroed properly. I print ABS all the time (almost exclusively) on nothing but clean kapton tape applied to a cast aluminum tooling plate bed.

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Thank you!!!
I honestly forgot all about brim... lol. I used it when I first started but still got warping and assumed it was a useless function (never saw any tutorial videos of people using it). My assumption was that it was only 1 layer high and not enough of a "hold". Although, it's been a while since I used brim and I've learned so much (better heating numbers and other adjustments) I probably would have better results if I tried again.
it takes just a few minutes to model those "tabs" and the results are perfect. It probably works best (for me) because I have totally cheap-ass PCB bed from China. I suppose I should have titled this post: "warping fix for anyone with a cheap ass RepRap like me."

Thanks for comments and reminding me about brim!

Doc- Thank you for the comment, I have read about kapton tape but it's price kinda threw me off. But, I'm sure you don't have to apply it each time you print right? I do realize now the print bed is where it all starts... if that's off, everything else will be off. Thanks for the suggestion I certainly will invest a good aluminum bed and tape.

Appreciate it guys.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2016 05:20PM by PixelPusher.

Tabs are a great add-on to the prints: who prints with ABS and says that never has a print warp... well, he is not saying completly the true... warping in abs is a big issue specially when the contact surface is big and also is affected by the kind and amount of infill. Tab, and circular tabs added to the corners are almost a must for some particular abs prints. You can use brim... yes, but the warping always happens in corners, you almos dont need the brim in the rest of the print. If you wnt to have a good stick to the plate you can put a 30mm brim... al around a big object is extra material and specally extra time. You can be much more ifficient addign just 3 or 4 mm of brim to the object and putting 4 circular tabs in the corners big enough to have the same effect.
And of course you nneed to have a heated chamber for pieces taller than 5/10 cms, to avoid delamination.
Hoppe it helps you!

Tinchus-

Just did some tests, one brim was okay (simple object) but complex objects brim didn't help at all. Tabs worked great on the complex object.

I'm glad I posted because I forgot about brim, I'll use those on basic pieces.

Appreciate the feedback Tinchus!

Sure would be nice to have these sort of tabs added as an advanced brim option to the slicers. Define a diameter and a thickness and have them generated for each corner of more than some threshold angle.

It seems like in terms of warp prevention, the more the merrier.

A brim is the simplest solution. If it works, it works! If that's not enough, add some tabs. And if delamination starts to be a problem, try a heated chamber. PEI, BuildTak, and various bed treatments might also be nice. Unless something has a significant downside (e.g. hairspray smell) you may as well use it.

I only print in ABS and thankfully ive only had mild issues.
Im trying to get away from my current i3 setup to a better platform