PLA print Speeds

DookieBread

Hello all,
I’m quite new to 3D printing on my own device, so please bear with me. I’ve recently gotten an Elegoo Centauri Carbon and out of the box the printer printed well. I bought it at micro center so I go a few spools of the Inland Pla + (which is rumored to be Esun rebranded.) I did all of the orca tutorial settings and found what seemed to be best with my printer. After printing a few things for the wife and just to mess around, I decided to start 2A printing with something easy, an AR15 grip. I’ve read online about printing slow and hot for best results and strength with these parts, and upon trying two sets of settings I generally cannot tell the difference in the prints.

The first print was printed using the default speeds orca gave me for the filament (160 outer wall/200 inner) combined with my max volumetric of 24mm/s. The second I dropped down to what I’ve seen quite a few people say (sub 80) at 60/60 with the same max volumetric.
How important is speed when it comes to Pla+? I understand for nylons it’s much more important, and obviously I can’t see with my eyes the strength between the layers, but I can’t tell any difference. Any advice would be greatful.

undeadchew

DookieBread I like destructive testing with a hammer.

wolfblack

DookieBread i printed a glock 19 frame with polymaker pla pro on my elegoo CC didnt mess with the speeds used organic tree supports 8 walls 100 infill .15 layer height rails down and the frame shot 260rounds before cracking on a layer line between the mag release and the rear pin on the grip. its was a perfect layer crack and angled like way i orienteded it. now i didnt print at 230c with 50% fan speed on the tool head..i did 220c 65%fan(cuz i feel layers lines sags to much where supports go at higher temps). since the print was mostly walls i don't know if i should have at least lowered the speed on inner and outer walls too 60mms or 100mms. but hey man i dont know what u want to print but just sharing notes with you since we have the same printer!! feel free to share info on prints and settings also to anyone else feedback is always welcomed ! thaAnks !! 🙂

PPA_FTW

Even if you don’t have a proper testing rig, you could print some small test pieces vertically and pull them apart with your hands. See if you can tell a difference in layer adhesion.

DookieBread

PPA_FTW

PPA_FTW I actually did some testing today with just some 1mm thick tubes. Between standing on them, hitting with a hammer, and pulling apart with pliers I can definitely see and feel a difference between 80mm/s and the default settings. I’m unsure how low of a speed is needed, but I printed a handstop for my ar15 and tried to break it off with a hammer from multiple directions earlier, and couldn’t do so without bending the cheap chinesium mlok handguard first. I’d assume I’d probably get stronger prints slower still, but I feel as if this was much worse than anything real world and I’m happy with it. Thank you!

On a side note, is pla+ a recommended filament when it comes to hand stops and grips of any kind? The slower prints seemed to warp and break slowly, so I’m not too worried with it shattering like the faster print did, just don’t know what everyone recommends. I plan on getting into nylons before I do any important firearm parts

DookieBread

wolfblack I’ve printed a few smaller parts (ar grips, hand stops, vertical grips) and feel really good about where I’ve got it now. I’m sure I could slow it down more and get better strength but I’ve tried hard to break some of these prints and can’t get them to budge. One of the hand stops took me using a 5 lb hammer to actually shatter it. Printing inner and outer walls at 80mm/s, 225 degrees no fan (I’ve got my cc lid off and door open, if I closed it I’d probably turn the fan on about 50%). Mainly followed the readmes as far as the walls and infill goes as well. I’m pleased beyond what I expected, everything I printed lasted longer than the Magpul things I wanted to replace. Hammer testing is definitely fun, kinda bummed some of these 6 hour prints didn’t hold up too well to the hammer lol

Siemsmartin

wolfblack Hi, any chance to get a link to/of the Glock 3D models? Many thanks in advance, Martin

wolfblack

DookieBread thats great to hear. iv printed pla ar grips and mlok handstops with standard settings and they still holding up! but yeah 225c to 230c and 50% fan speed 60mms-100mms walls in the way to go just to be on the safe side! i had to learn to lower speeds and be more patient on prints. do you turn of the loud aux fan when printing pla ?? if so does it affect print quality ??

DookieBread

wolfblack I did and just opened the case up. The print comes out a little shinier but other than that no issues as far as quality goes

wolfblack

DookieBread good to know cuz i dont like how loud that fan is lol thanks for the info!