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I am having serious issues with my FFCP with ABS. I have tried Kapton tape with hairspray, ABS juice and gluestick (all separately) with no luck. I have tried bed temperatures from 110C - 115C and extruder temps from 230C - 255C. My filament is the stock red and white spools that came with it. My slicer is Simplify 3D and I have also adjusted the first layer height and first layer speed at various increments with no change. Initially printed the test traffic cones with no issue but anything else will not stick. The bed is leveled pretty well to the machine and I can print PLA all day with the bed where it is at so I am out of ideas at this point. Any ideas or settings that anyone is having good first layer results with?

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Just use glass, combined with hairspray. It works like crazy, superstick during printing & easy to remove after cooling down. Full kit can be bought here for the FFCP: http://metaquip.nl/en/product/glass-kit-for-3d-printing-on-glass/

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2 things - chances are the ABS that came with it is crap. I know ours was terrible.

Secondly, like Metaquip said - definitely go for the glass bed as that has yeilded the best results for us. and we LOVE the Airwolf Wilfbite. The wolfbite Nano is AMAZING for PLA and thier ABS stuff works awesome. They have a BOGO sale going on right now as well. A bottle could last you months. That said, the hairspray works too but not a huge fan of spraying that in the office all the time.

Hope that helps!

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Glass and ABSjucie (Slurry) tend to work really well,in most cases. Try a bit higher on you extruder heat (240-250ish) lower your bed temp to 100ish and print it with a brim of about 3 loops for 15 or so layers (less for smaller prints.) This could help, different ABS need slightly different settings, but a brim helps to reflect and hold heat a bit better on the first few layers where the plastic is cooling a bit quicker than later in the print when the enclosure environment is more stable.

Speaking of the enclosure are you enclosing your print area when you are printing with ABS? Environmental control is a key for any good ABS printing and it may be helpful to preheat the enclosure for a few minutes before you even start the print. I’ve heard that the plexiglass enclosure sometimes isn’t enough and people have used a plastic storage bin on top of their printers to make sure the heat stays in the print environment… I’ve also seen a few people who have plugged up the side hand holes as well.

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i’m using blue tape with school paper glue stick only on a aluminium bed. printer bed temp at 100° and it works well for smal or medium ABS 3D parts creations. for big creation with a high level Z, this operation is random, sometimes it works well, sometimes not. apply a thin layer of school glue and place immediately your sticky blue tape before glue could be dry. once your 3D piece realised, when you take off the blue tape, just clean the glue residue with a damp cloth , so as to have a new thin layer of glue stick. reapply an adhesive blue tape so during the surface is always damp , the result is even better than first laying glue. for the third operation of blue tape operation, apply a new glue stick laying. i’m using Simplify3D too, only thing i do, i select skirt outlines in addition onglet, more the 3D piece is large or big, more i select skirt outlines to 20 minimum. with 2 layers not more.

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- Buy the 1/4" glass plate off Flash Forge’s website.

- There’s a file on ThingUniverse or similar website with plate holders; search “plate holders flash forge”, a comparable product should come up. Try to get two of them to stick on your kapton tape one last time ( You can reprint them again on the glass plate).

-Also print (this can be done in PLA) the 1/4" z axis spacer to fool the sensor the plate is at level.

Once you got the glass plate, holders and spacer in place and level, use a glue stick to coat the glass. Multiple prints should stick; I print between 105-115C. You’ll want to wait for the prints to cool around 70C, or else you’ll pull the plate off with it.

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I use ABS on kapton, and i dont use any glues, treatments or other adhesives. There are only 4 things you need to ensure

1. Use good quality ABS, i use eSun.

2. Your bed must be leveled and have its z height set right, spend time on it. If you are having adhesion problems then its likely that your z height is too large.

3. Cleanliness, even the slightest trace of a contaminant is enough to cause seperation, a single finger print can ruin a print. Your kapton must be clinicaly clean, no trace of grease or other contaminants. Use a lint free cloth, and rubbing alchohol to clean the bed until it is pristine, give it a wipe before each print.

4. A bed temp of 110 works best.

Use the s3d defaults for flashforge cp, they are good. Start with medium resolution.

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Hi,

Here’s what worked for me so far I only print with abs, large or small objects with no problems.

1. FFCP Upgrades

Build Plate : Glass with blue flashforge sticker (Install a spacer at the back of the build plate to fool the z limit switch)

Adhesive : Hairspray (Applied before preheating)

Extruders : Removed one stepper motor and replaced it with dummy stepper (You can find them on thingiverse). Make sure you attached the fan by mating the bolt that holds it with a 3m nut. This will improve quality since there is less weight on the carriage.

2. Procedure on Bed Leveling

I only use a sheet of 1 whole bond paper, .10 mm exact thickness. Use the levelling utility and make sure you feel a scratchy feel before you stop turning the nut on each corner or point if you are using 3 point leveling.

3. Pre Printing Preparations

- Spray your build plate with Hairspray, one layer will do.

- Preheat at 250C Extruder / 112C Build Plate (Do this for 20 Minutes, this is important to give nozzle and bed time to really warm up)

4. While printing extruder is set to 240C while Bed to 110C, observe the purging process that simplify 3d does, the purged filament should stick to the corner of the plate. As for the filament, it should have a look of squished filament on the bed and the skirt should also stick as well, if not, then your nozzle is too far away from the bed.

5. After printing is done, remove right away the build plate while it is hot, use cloth or mittens to avoid getting burned. Set aside the build plate and put it facing down on a table with cloth on it. This way it cools faster, both the glass plate and the built in bed on the FFCP.

Hope this helps.

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I’ve been using FrogTape Painter’s Tape and ABS Glue to much success. Keep the board about 110C. How old is the filament you’re using? If it’s been out for awhile it could just have absorbed enough water (and become sentient enough) that it’s done with you and don’t have time for your printing shenanigans.

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I had the same issue. Even went so far as changing the build plate covering (boy that was a mistake). I finally just started wiping the build plate down with alcohol before each build and for some reason that helps, a lot! I even have trouble getting some parts to come loose now. I print with extruder temp at 240C and bed at 110C with ABS and it is working well so far. I also have a FFCP.

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The reason is fingerprints, the grease left by a single fingerprint is suffient to stop a print from sticking to the bed, wiping with alcohol removes all the fimger print grease.

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Besides all the other tips regarding leveling, etc. be sure you have a flat surface face down. The way you tell us you use the sliders on the print preview screen to see what the first layers look like. I find that using a brim a few mm out helps because if your print isn’t level, the brim won’t encircle your print. Also slight curvatures will cause problems because s3d won’t create a 1 layer support structure. So look carefully at the first layer and watch as you add layers (single layer checkbox is good for this) to make sure each layer is fully supported by the layer below (except for small overhangs on the edge for 45+deg overhangs)

Hope that helps,

Lyle

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You can try pausing your print after the first few layers and putting extra glue down. If you have tape down you could even try super glueing the first few layers down.

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I use a regular glass bed with ABS Slurry. The key for me was how to apply the ABS Slurry. For me se solution is apply the slurry with a sprayer, this way the slurry is applie uniformly and the ABS stics verry well, no warping at all even y big prints.

It is essential to preheat the bed before printing!!

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i would recommend bed temp 105 extruder 210 make sure that surface is clean if you used alcohol be careful some liquid they have some kind of lubricant for the human body so it cleans but it also leaves a residue of grease of slick surface you dont want that also used a new clean cloth never used with any liquid and it should work.

also i used this in the past and it work for me .

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Okay, I’ll say it… for ABS use a raft. You have Simplfiy3D? Your prints will work every time and no glue, slurry, or magic juice is required. Plus, because you arent going to be scraping the hell out of the blue Buildplate, it will last ages (weve had ours on for literally months, with daily printing)

Without a raft, large pieces will warp and begin lifting. For PLA, its not needed.

I considered not using a raft, but then decided life was too short. For ABS, print with a raft and spend time doing other stuff.

hope that helps

:slight_smile:

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It amazes me that everyone is still touting hair spray, ABS slurry, and glue sticks when you can eliminate all that hassle forever by simply putting a sheet of PEI on your glass bed. ABS and PLA stick with no effort on PEI and remove easily when the material cools. You can use less heat on your hot bed because the ABS sticks easily to PEI.

The only caveats to consider are 1, you have a level bed and 2, you be careful not to scratch the surface. A level bed is a must regardless, but often overlooked.

Bring your hot end so that a sheet of paper just slips under the hot end and the PEI when at zero with the bed heated to the temperature you will be printing. It is very important to level your bed when it is at the temperature you wish to print on!

If you try to squish the ABS into the bed like you have been used to with glass, you will find it much more difficult to remove! Use canned air to cool the part and it will pop right off if you are in a hurry.

Since I went to PEI as a bed surface, I have enjoyed 100% success rates with no mess, no fuss, no wasted time or material, and no need to use rafts or other crutches.

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I use ABS exclusively on my Replicator 2X. I use Simplify 3D and the MakerBot software. I found that the actual surface temperature of the Heated Build Plate was about 10 deg C lower than the display on the 2X was indicating. I measured the surface temperature at multiple points of the bed over a half hour period using an infrared thermometer. I checked the temperature with the infra red unit exactly perpendicular and at various oblique angles, to ensure that reflectivity of the Kapton surface was not affecting the readings. I have a stainless steel replacement nozzle and run it at 238C indicated. I have not been able to get a repeatable temperature reading from the nozzle using the infra red thermometer I have.

Using Simplify3D I use 2 brims about 4mm from the part to be printed, I have used rafts only once and was totally unsatisfied with the bottom surface finish and the effort required to improve the finish apearance. I have not used them since and have no need for them. Properly set up they probably should not be necessary. They waste filament. They take longer to print. They cost in clean up time. You should work to eliminate the need for rafts. I feel they are a crutch for an improperly set machine.

I buy bulk rolls of Kapton from Asia. I wipe down with alcohol every couple of prints. You could use those white cotton gloves that are used to handle museum artifacts, if you want to keep fingerprints off the surface. I preheat the build plate and the nozzle for 10 to 15 minutes before the first print of the day and before restarting after the surface may have cooled down. I use the Makerbot supplied clear cover to keep the entire interior of the unit warm. I never use slurry, hairspray, painters tape, or any other surface treatment. I just use clean Kapton. Most times I have difficulty getting the prints off, not making them stick. I keep a wood dowel and a mallet to pop some of them off. Others I use a long, 25mm wide, wood chisel to get under the edge and pop them off. Getting prints off the build plate is my biggest problem.

As others have said a flat surface and correct gap are key. BEWARE. Test the tightness of the bushings of the print carriage before levelling the bed. Do this when the unit is cold. To do this, lower the build plate. Move the carriage to about the centre of the build space. Now try to lift the print carriage up by pressing up on the bronze bushings of the carriage. If you get movement, you will have to take extra care in levelling the bed.

My unit has movement. So to level the bed you want to avoid having the carriage be lifted while placing the measuring media under the nozzle. You could have too tight a nozzle clearance or too loose if the carriage is not down evenly on all the bushings of the print carriage. I now have linear bearings on order to see if that helps. The weight of the carriage should keep the carriage assembly down. If you are not careful you could be lifting the carriage with your bond paper or feeler gauge and have one corner high and another low, causing uneven adhesion.

Finally, if I see the first layer is not sticking or is too thin, I open the front door and make a slight turn on the bed adjusting screws to raise or lower the bed. In the worst case I will pause the print job, from the front panel, reload the filament, and resume the print job.

Summary. Clean Kapton bed. Raise bed temperature. Make sure bed is level. Keep build volume warm.

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I have to reiterate what was said before on PEI.

You won’t worry about ABS sticking ever again when you add a thin sheet of PEI to a glass.

My problem with PEI is actually getting the prints off! Not had quite the same luck with PLA though, my PLA has trouble sticking to my PEI bed.

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I have printed alot of ABS. I found that there are 2 different issues you can experience while printing.

First one mentioned in the question is keeping the ABS to stick on the buildplate.

Personally I used to use PET tape ( much stronger then Kapton and high temp resistant wich prevents it from crumbling like kapton does after a while combined with ABS juice) This works very well but after some tome I changed to using Buildtak (don’t mean to promote it but that 's what I use to avoid bad acetone fumes from ABS juice)

Second issue, prevent ABS from warping when the z height of your print increases.

For this it is best to have an enclosed chamber. As someone said before plexiglass doesn’t give the results I would want.

Keep the extruder temp as low as possible. This way the temp difference between extrusion temp and chamber temp is kept as low as possible. This way the filament can cool down less drastically.