Diagnosing Print Quality Issues - MakerBot Replicator 2X Troubleshooting And Maintenance

DIAGNOSING PRINT QUALITY ISSUES

File Name: Frank's Head
Design by: michaelmelcone
Thingiverse: 142860
Sometimes little things can go wrong with a
print – things that are easy to fix, but only if
you know what's causing the problem. This
guide can help: just find the picture of the
problem you're experiencing and read the
tips on how to fix it.
Warping or Cracking
Are your prints curling off the build plate?
This can happen during printing when the
air around your print is too cool. Thermal
expansion means that warmer layers closer
to the extruder are shrinking, causing strain on
the cooler layers below. The shrinking layers
Fig. 1.5
pull at the stable layers, warping the object. If
the bond between two layers isn't strong, the
strain of the warping layers can actually cause
cracks in the sides of your objects. [Fig. 1.5]
Warping occurs more often with ABS than
with PLA because ABS expands more
when it's heated. For either type of plastic,
warping can be reduced by warming up the
area around your object. When your print is
surrounded by warm air, newly-printed layers
will cool at a slower rate and adjacent layers
will be closer in temperature. This is why the
MakerBot Replicator 2X is fully enclosed. The
enclosure keeps the heat from the extruders
within the build area and keeps prints at a
more constant temperature.
TROUBLESHOOTING 23