Printing PLA With Replicator 2X

[Joe Soap]

I am getting a Replicator 2X shortly, and am aware from the
specifications that by default the machine only supports ABS filament. I
would like to consider using PLA, googling on the subject advises that I
need to fit one of these:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:221306

Could existing 2X users confirm that that upgrade is all that is
required? I appreciate I am going to have to fiddle with slicer settings
(I have Simplify3D), but I would just like to confirm that hardware-wise
this fan duct should see me okay.


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[angelo...@yahoo.co.uk]

I have a 2X and can categorically say that it is an ABS printer only, I wouldn't even think of using PLA with it, if you really want to print in PLA then get a Replicator 2 with a Glass bed upgrade, these machines have now become very reliable printing PLA especially if you mod them and tweak them as per many posts on here and the internet.

Having said that the 2X is an excellent machine for printing in ABS (again after it's been modded and tweaked) and I find ABS far superior than PLA for  lot of the projects I am doing but admittedly there are a few projects that I know PLA would handle a lot better.

[Ryan Carlyle]

Quite a few people use the R2x with PLA very successfully. PLA is just a less reliable material (from the nozzle up) than ABS is. 

[Dan Newman]

On 29/04/2014, 1:52 PM, Ryan Carlyle wrote:
> Quite a few people use the R2x with PLA very successfully. PLA is just a
> less reliable material (from the nozzle up) than ABS is.

And even commercially -- Chris Milnes comes to mind. He's printed some
very nice pieces in PLA. Main tip I recall from him was to open the R2X
up while printing to keep heat from building up.

Dan

[Joseph Chiu]

Yes, and stick a fan nearby to blow a breeze through the printer for even better success...

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[Scott K]

Before giving the advice of "go buy another $2000+ printer if you want to print PLA" just do the pro thing and spend an additional $100 and upgrade to Carl's Aluminum block, and two Makerbot Thermal barrier tubes.  Then you don't have to have a magical concoction of fairy dust, rabbit's feet and crossed fingers to make it print PLA reliably every time.

It will run just as good as a R2 (if you add a nozzle cooling fan) but have the added benefit of a heated build plate and two nozzles.

I used to not understand why the R2X sucked so bad at PLA until I read a ton about it and Jetguy/Dan/David/Ryan/etc all helped me realize it really had to do with the hotend / cooling block arrangement of the machine.  Why do you think the Rep 1's print PLA so well?  What I am saying is basically duplicate what a Rep1 hotend/cooling block does and you will be set for PLA.

Don't fool around with trying to make a better extruder, the problem lies below the extruder and no matter how much force/grip you have above, you can't combat the heat rise that occurs in the R2X cooling setup.

On Tuesday, April 29, 2014 8:03:31 PM UTC-5, Joseph Chiu wrote:

Yes, and stick a fan nearby to blow a breeze through the printer for even better success...

On Tue, Apr 29, 2014 at 3:20 PM, Dan Newman <dan.n...@mtbaldy.us> wrote:

On 29/04/2014, 1:52 PM, Ryan Carlyle wrote:

Quite a few people use the R2x with PLA very successfully. PLA is just a
less reliable material (from the nozzle up) than ABS is.

And even commercially -- Chris Milnes comes to mind.  He's printed some
very nice pieces in PLA.  Main tip I recall from him was to open the R2X
up while printing to keep heat from building up.

Dan

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