Pause for cooling between layers

[gimungus]

I've noticed that when I print items with a small footprint in PLA my Cubex Duo often stops between layers, the print head moves back and the fans in front of the print head blow on the part for a second to cool them before doing the next layer.  This does not happen with large footprints because I guess it figures the part has had time to cool.

But...

when I print small footprint items in ABS this does not happen.  the print head zooms back and forth printing layer after layer.
I tried printing a small 1/2" diameter cylinder in ABS and by the time it was about 3/8 inches tall the whole thing was mushy and getting disfigured.

I'm very new to ABS but I've had good results with PLA.

Has anyone else seen this behavior?
Is it normal for ABS?

using the latest firmware.
the part was with ABS glowing green.
light fill, no detail.
z-gap is not the problem since it's set fine for larger objects.  I'm pretty sure the problem is heat build up on the part.  Insufficient cooling between layers.

[CubeX 3D Printman]

Hello gimungus,

I have seen similar things in some cases.

Sometimes having "thick" infill helps because it gives each feature more time to cool becaus it is printing more paths inbetween.

"Fine detail preservation" can help with that issue too, because it moves the printhead away for cooling (kind of like you saw for PLA), but it makes the part more stringy / fussy because it starts and stops some layers.

Another option is to turn down the printjet temperature a little bit. - See Post "Print Temperature control" in this group.

 

 

Rick

 

 

[gimungus]

Ahh, I didn't realize that "Fine detail preservation" is what caused the cooling cycle for the print head.
I think I'll give that a try first.

Thanks!

Chris

[CubeX 3D Printman]

With the "Fine detail preservation" on, the part can get quite messy because it moves away and then back, and leaves strings, and you can see where it starts and stops the print again. Just use or create a small part when trying out different settings.  Sometimes really small stuff comes out better in 0.25 than 0.10 resolution.

 

Rick