Ensuring robust layer adhesion isn't just crucial for creating watertight components; it's essential for producing clean, durable prints. Insufficient adhesion between layers leads to fragile, peel-prone parts.
Understanding the characteristics of your chosen material is paramount. Each material demands specific settings, encompassing temperatures and printing speeds. It's imperative to utilise the appropriate settings for your material type, readily available on our product pages.
Increasing extrusion(hotend) temperature often resolves poor layer adhesion, a common issue stemming from printing at excessively low temperatures. Adhering to manufacturer guidelines is advisable, particularly with fast printing of flexible filaments. Experimenting with slightly higher extrusion temperatures can alleviate this problem, depending on different hotend, as some thermistor placement of hotend can vary and different nozzle/hotend materials can affect the characteristics of the hotend.
Changing or increasing nozzle diameter, as explained in the "Material Science" page, enhances layer adhesion by increasing interlayer entanglements. Similarly, reducing print speeds prolongs nozzle contact with the layer below, fostering stronger adhesion. This setting can be change, under layer goal by decreasing the value.
For materials like ABS or ASA, employing a 0.6mm nozzle and printing at high temperatures and slower speeds is optimal for robust layer adhesion. Settings such as printing ABS at 260°C and 35mm/s yield superior results, the faster you print the hotter you may need to print and more cooling for better overhang. Also factoring these materials required passive or active chamber for larger complex part, the higher you can get active chamber the better result you may yield but you need make sure chamber temperature does not exceed printer max temperature operational range
Under-extrusion exacerbates poor layer adhesion. Ensuring correct E-steps, especially after extruder swaps or on DIY printers, is crucial. Temporary under-extrusion issues are also addressed, emphasising securing the extruder gear to the stepper motor shaft.
Insufficient torque, evident in extruder motor skipping, results in under-extrusion and weak layer adhesion. Upgrading to a geared extruder is recommended to mitigate this issue, this is more application for single gear MK8/Creality extruder.
Disabling the active cooling fan, while beneficial for surface quality in most cases, is essential for materials requiring strong adhesion, for example PETG/ABS/ASA/PC and some PLA at lower printing speeds. Higher-density polymers benefit less from active cooling, so adhering to manufacturers' recommendations regarding fan usage is essential.
Proper material storage is often overlooked but critical for preventing printing issues. Old or moisture-exposed filament can lead to challenging-to-diagnose problems.
De lamination, a distinct issue from poor layer adhesion, primarily affects high-warping materials. It is addressed separately in the "Warping" page due to its association with warping rather than solely adhesion issues.
In summary, troubleshooting poor layer adhesion involves a comprehensive approach:
- Referencing the "Material Sciences"
- Adhering to manufacturer-recommended settings
- Considering alternative materials if issues persist
- Adjusting extrusion temperature within safe limits
- Using larger nozzles or/and reducing print speeds
- Verifying E-steps and extrusion adequacy
- Ensuring adequate extruder torque
- Adjusting active cooling fan usage based on material requirements
- Verifying material quality
- Addressing de lamination separately, focusing on warping issues.