Routine maintenance
Filament handling
To get good quality prints, you need good quality filaments and you should stock them correctly.
Quality
The filament must comply with three basic requirements:
1. Polymer quality – composition must be even, without presence of foreign materials
2. Dimension – cross section size must be constant (diameter size as close as possible to
nominal dimension and section should be round not oval)
3. Aging – Some polymer may greatly degrade if not carefully stocked (i.e.: avoiding direct
sunlight / high humidity / near solvents or aggressive chemicals)
Stocking
Well conserved polymer will give better prints: keep your spools in dark, dry containers.
Some polymers are highly hygroscopic (i.e.: PVA,PA,PMMA,PEI) therefore extra care should be
taken to keep them dry: sealed container, with dehydration media (i.e.: silica gel, molecular sieve,
bentonite,...).
You may need to use drying oven (or other device) to decrease the humidity trapped into filament.
Printing tray cleaning
•
Upper surface (where molten polymer is laid) must be kept clean, free from polymer traces but also
from fingerprints: dirt, sweat, grease may prevent proper polymer adhesion to the tray
•
Use alcohol-based cleaner to degrease the tray (isopropyl alcohol would be great, but also the
household type can be used as well). To remove hairspray just wash the tray with soap and warm
water. There are no parts that can rust.
•
Lower surface (the part leaning against the heated plate) must be kept clean as well, as anything
trapped between plates is going to alter flatness. Just use lint-free paper towels to clean.
Print tray surface reconditioning
Once tray is completely clean, you may need to restore the adhesion agent (hairspray when using ABS or
PLA, glue stick when using PA) that may be gradually removed during printing process.
After many prints, it cold be necessary to change the protective media (PET or KAPTON films).
There are two established methods to lay thin film on large surfaces:
1. Dry method: just lay carefully the film on the tray, while pulling the roll and spreading the film using a
towel to avoid air bubbles. This is the preferred method
2. Wet method: spray a water-soap mist upon tray, then lay down the film and spread it gently
squeezing away water trapped below. When finished, tray must be left drying for 24-48 hrs
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