Anyone with MF1 extruders? Questions regarding ABS

[Nico D]

Hey guys, anyone out there using the MF1 extruders to print ABS/HIPS etc?

I've got a replicator 1 clone that i've completely rebuilt with MBOT mightboard and MF1 dual extruders. I really like the MF1 extruders and they print PLA GREAT, the only problem is that when i tried to print ABS the PEEK component melted and the extruder fell out. Could be a bad extruder from factory, but now i'm scared to print ABS.

Mbot has been fanatastic by sending me a replacement, but now that i got my printer back together I want to hear from other people printing successfully with ABS before i try it again. I'm sure they won't send me a second.

Anyone else out there printing ABS/HIPS with the MF1?

[Nico D]

Nobody has the MF1's?

[Nico D]

Yeah. What happened there?

On Monday, June 9, 2014 10:38:12 AM UTC-4, Carl wrote:

MF1?  Is that the same as this one?

[Nico D]

Whoa! Has it printed successfully in the past with nylon? It looks like the nylon came out of the join?

I'm thinking that my original problem was that the head was screwed in too tight and stripped the screws which caused it to fall out. Was only at 240 myself for 30-40minutes.

I'm planning on doing some Nylon printing myself, just ordred a spool of Nylon "Bridge" filament. I also ordered a replacement tube (the PEEK part) from shapeways in stainless steel, hopefully it can hold up to higher temps much longer.

Would love to know more about your Nylon testing, do you have pictures of successful prints? Any tips for a Nylon-newb?

On Monday, June 9, 2014 11:04:38 AM UTC-4, Carl wrote:

That is the result of printing Nylon 618 at 245 deg C over a period of roughly 24 hours! :-)

[WifiGuru10]

So just an update, got a new spool of BuMat ABS and it's printing great with the standard PEEK part. So this might be overkill, but since i'm printing with Nylon as well i want to be very sure since it's at the 240-250 mark.

Didn't stop me from upgrading my MF1 extruder anyway to stainless steel. Check it out.

[happyman]

How do you seal up these 2 parts? I know from Mbot tech that they use tool to press them together by force. My MF1 single, The peek and nozzle part seems to become loose and I try to press them back together but can't, Do we need to heat it up before able to press them?

[WifiGuru10]

The head is threaded and so is the tube. Sounds like you had the issue I had, where the nozzle came loose at around 240C when i was printing ABS. Tried to pull it apart and re-thread it but the thread itself got soft and melted. Hence why i went stainless, i think maybe some PEEK parts were overthreaded/torqued and damaged the threads.

[happyman]

Thank. I think the thread on the Peek is damaged as it wont screw down all the way, leaving a gap between peek and nozzle parts.

Is your stainless steel version working well for high temperature print? Do you remove the teflon tube inside peek part too?

[WifiGuru10]

I haven't tried printing with it yet. Just got it together, waiting on a replacement PTFE tube before re-installing it. I'll post notes when i get it up and running.

[Robbie]

I'm looking at upgrading my dual extruder on my 2x. Erratic clogging. The MF1 looks intriguing. The only thing is, I've been using ABS only. My build plate is the anodized aluminum w/ kapton tape that came with my MB 2x. Is it a direct fit /wiring or are there any modifications that are necessary?

Robbie

[WifiGuru10]

I've been printing with the MF1's for a while now, pretty happy with it. Printing Nylon, ABS, HIPS and PLA. Pla prints 100%, been through three spools and not a clog. Switched over to ABS for some quadcopter building and got a clog 70% the second spool, pretty easy to clean it out. The extruder tips are pretty "flat" so it doesn't catch on pieces as much as my old MK7's used to.

Pros

-no insulation needed

-fixed extruder "neck" so no need to level print heads

-internal thermocouple (figure temp is more accurate)

Cons

-PEEK based "neck", handles ABS fine, but worries me printing above 240C for Nylon. I printed some stainless steel replacements through shapeways ($20 each, worth it)

Anyway, I still recommend them. As far as fitment on 2x, i'd suggest emailing Mbot and asking. I have a Replicator1 clone (CTC dual extruder) and it was a drop in replacement. Build quality is excellent.