ASA Funk

[Bryan Murphy]

I'm half-way through my first roll of ASA filament and my printer already smells like a skunk and the window has a thin layer of residue on it.  How often do you clean out your printers and what should I use?  Will windex work?

Thanks,

Bryan

[Ed Street]

The film will build up and should be wiped down before every print.  You also should be using active carbon pellets and forcing the chamber air through that, see the Nevermore setup.  The gas will stick to CLEAN surfaces better than dirty ones.  In fact, it sticks MORE to a clean surface, which is the key to keeping down the nasties.

Rule of thumb: if you are smelling it, then your settings/setup/procedures are wrong.

[Bryan Murphy]

There is a carbon filter however I don't have an exhaust yet.  My process so far has been to crack the garage door, open the side door and place a large fan to get a cross breeze blowing to get everything out of the garage.  Not ideal and getting a better exhaust is at the top of my upcoming projects list.

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[markni...@gmail.com]

Bryan,

Here is a throw back to the covid era:

https://www.texairfilters.com/how-a-merv-13-air-filter-and-a-box-fan-can-help-fight-covid-19/

This become relevent again this summer as the Canadian smoke wafted down into Minnesota.

This combination works well for in door smoke, and I imagine, also ASA particles.

If you already have a box fan, just get a MERV 13 filter at Home Depot.

This will work until you get your internal carbon filter working right, and as an adjunct to it after.

[Ed Street]

You do not need, nor should you use, an exhaust with ASA / ABS, recirculate that into the filter and keep it contained inside the printer.  Easier to manage and better prints.

[Bryan Murphy]

The Centauri Carbon has a built-in filter but it only exhausts.  Would you route that back to the auxiliary fan input or put a separate filter+recirculator inside?

Anyway thanks for the advice everybody, but I want to return to the original question.  How do I clean the residue up?  Is Windex and a soft cloth sufficient?

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[Ed Street]

Windex is stupidly effective with ABS and ASA buildup.  The problem I have found is that cleaning materials/chemicals can quickly damage plexiglass, which is why I switched to glass on my Voron.   I did some looking at that printer, and they did something somewhat correct in taking out most of the electronics from the chamber, but they were placed below. Either way, the control board is not inside the chamber. For exhaust, you can clean up the chamber by clogging up the gaps and cracks; there seems to be some going under the printer.

I have tried soap/water, Windex, degreaser, alcohol, and other cleaning products.  While soap/water is listed as the most effective since the invention of fire, it does have drawbacks.  Alcohol will destroy plastics as well.  Cleaning cloths will also scratch plastics.

[Bryan Eckert]

50/50 dilution of Acetone (not nail polish remover - pure acetone) and water on a microfiber cloth. Or 90%+ Isopropyl Alcohol. 

Since acetone dissolves plastic don't get it on any plastic parts of the printer.

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[Bryan Eckert]

Is the Centuri Carbon door plexiglass? If so use dish soap and water is definitely the way to go since acetone/alcohol/windex will all harm the plexiglass. 

Mineral spirits/naptha is also acceptable on plexiglass I believe.

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[Bryan Murphy]

Thanks!  I had some isopropyl alcohol for cleaning the bed, so I gave that a shot.  It cleaned things right up and the skunk smell is gone.  I'll experiment with the other suggestions over time.

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[Bryan Murphy]

The website says:

"Stay engaged with your printing process in real-time through the sturdy tempered glass door and top cover of the enclosure."

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[Bryan Eckert]

Cool you're good to go with the IPA then. 

[Kurt The 3D Printer GUY!!]

Thanks Bryan for that confirmation - as I too thought for SURE that the front and top panels were indeed Glass. 

I did get some ASA when I pickedup my new Centauri printer. But, Wow - bummed the smell is SO Bad - kinda like ABS. I gotta figure out something Good - otherwise - I can't really be printing ABS NOR ASA here at my apartment. 

-K

[Ed Street]

The downside to using acetone is that it WILL damage metal and wood, regardless of how diluted it is. Alcohol will damage plastics, especially plexiglass. This robs plastics of the plasticizers, which cause them to become brittle, shatter, and seriously degrade. Nanptha is an interesting one; it is the source agent for most plastics, and it can damage plastics, but not to the extent that acetone will.  A simple cleaning cloth will scratch many forms of plastics.

Even Windex, in its classic form, contains ammonia, and that will damage most plastics, especially clear plastics.  The modern formula is different; there is Windex electronics, which is safe on plastics, most flavors (see the pun there) does not contain ammonia, but you can get the D version, which does contain ammonia.  For the printer mentioned that has a glass surface, you should generally be safe with electronic wipes. I would 100% wipe everything down before a print.  

For the smell, if you print too hot or extrude too fast, you WILL smell it more. You can try a more gentle extrusion speed.  Temp does matter greatly; the higher your extrusion speed, the higher your nozzle needs to be.  At 240-270 °C, Bambu likes to run these filaments at 270-280 °C, but that will cause more smells.  You can drop the extrusion speed to say 40-45 mm/s and use 230-240 nozzle temps.

Not many things are safe to use on plexiglass to clean it.