Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene
ABS
Requires Enclosure
- Temperature Sensitive
- Prone to Warping
- Produces Fumes
Things to keep in mind:
- Vent your printer outside
- Avoid humid climates
- Avoid AC vents
- Remove filament when not being used
Temperature
Recommended:
Nozzle: 255C
Bed: 105C
*Requires Heated Bed
Not Recommended in Most Applications
Tensile Strength: 43Mpa
Material Behavior:
- Temperature resistant
- Good impact strength
- Hygroscopic (absorbs moisture)
- UV degradation
- Shrinks when cooled
- Can be smoothed with Acetone
Debugging Prints
Stringing
Typically seen as a result of high traffic movements.
Main Causes:
- Retraction too low
- Temperature too high
Clean up:
Apply light heat
*too much heat will melt your part!
Cut off zits
Supports
Support overhang angles less than 45 degrees
How to fix: Reslice and add supports
Recommended settings:
Style: Organic
Overhang Threshold: 45
Top Contact: 0.2
Bridging
Typically caused by temperature and print speed
*Time consuming-Takes some time to tune
How to fix:
Lower temperature
Lower print speed
*Requires a good ratio between the two
Warping
Typically caused by sharp corners and poor cooling
ABS is very sensitive to cooling. An ambient temperature of 40C is recommended.
How to fix:
Insulate enclosure
Lower print speed
Lower temperature
Round sharp corners
Next step (if needed):
Clean nozzle
Dry filament
Bed Adhesion
ABS sticks easily and may require adhesives to mitigate damage to the build plate
What to use:
- Glue Stick
- Painters Tape
- Hairspray
Main Causes:
- Poor contact area with the build plate*
- Bed leveling
- Print speed too fast
- Layer height too high
- Not enough cooling
- Residue on build plate*
- Nozzle clog
- Moisture in filament
*Most Common
How to Fix:
Add a brim
Slow down the print speed
Turn on the cooling fan/Lower the temperature
Clean the build plate
