Does anyone else have problems with black ABS plastic absorbing water?
It doesn’t seem to happen to any of my other ABS colors or PLA.
I think this is why I see a lot of people printing things in orange. Lol
Depends on the exact colorant/pigment used. I’ve had blue ABS bubble up before, but haven’t had an issue with black.
@Thomas_Sanladerer I heard that some places mix together colors to get black. I just think it is strange that I had 2 black ABS filaments from different suppliers get water logged on me. I keep them in the bag sealed up with extra dissecant packages just in case.
Black filament often gets cut with nasty regrind when you’re dealing with unscrupulous low end manufacturers. It’s easy to hide the regrind in the black. I don’t know your supplier but it’s something to bear in mind.
@Sanjay_Mortimer I didn’t have any problems with these suppliers before.
All ABS is hydroscopic along with polycarbonate and nylon just to name a few.
You can dry it in a 150-165 degree oven for 24 hours.
@Thomas_Douglas i’m pretty sure that would melt the spool and get the filament soft enough to clump together.
The heat distortion temp of abs is 180F degrees. We vacuum form abs sheet and frequently have to dry it if it has been on the shelf too long. We form it at 360-380 F.
Oh, nobody uses °F here for exactly these reasons.
I know those filaments are hygroscopic but I never had any issues before.
I have a big trouble with black ABS but I sure it’s not in absorption. Right now I’m waiting for blue one to test.
What does the ABS print look like? I get all of these small pits on the outside surface layers and it makes it look rough.
My head just clogged after few layers and must be cleared with acetone and fire. That never happens with PLA or nylon
You should be using a dust collector on your filament just before it goes into your extruder. I have a sponge that I fold in half and wraps around the filament for dust free prints. Never had jams since.
I thought black ABS was trouble, but lately I decided that maybe I am just cursed or my hotend does not have enough of a heat zone and has to apply a bunch of heat all at once to melt the filament and melts it too slowly.
You shouldn’t clear your hot end with fire, use a nylon cold pull. Fire will ALWAYS leave behind crap of some kind, which just ends up back in your nozzle. Nylon will actually remove it.
@NathanielStenzel what hot end?
@Nuker_Bot_NukerBot_3 The hotend that seemecnc makes. I do believe they turn it on their own lathe.
Well I had an e3d v5 for a while now and the only issue I had was jamming while printing PLA, but I fixed that issue.