Profiles
Numbers to start from, and what to change when it goes wrong.
Every figure below is for a 0.4 mm nozzle at 60 mm/s on a machine that is in calibration. Your machine is not our machine. Print the temperature tower.
| Material | Code | Nozzle | Bed | Enclosure | Dry before use | Tensile MPa | HDT °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLAThe default. No enclosure, no drama. | PLA | 200–220 °C | 55–60 °C | No | 4 h · 50 °C | 52 | 55 |
| PLA MatteMineral-filled. Hides layer lines. | PLA-M | 205–225 °C | 55–60 °C | No | 4 h · 50 °C | 46 | 54 |
| PLA SilkSlow it down or the sheen breaks up. | PLA-S | 215–235 °C | 55–60 °C | No | 4 h · 50 °C | 44 | 53 |
| Recycled PETG92% post-industrial UK regrind. | rPETG | 230–250 °C | 75–85 °C | No | 6 h · 65 °C | 47 | 72 |
| PETGDry it. It is hygroscopic and it will string. | PETG | 230–250 °C | 75–85 °C | No | 6 h · 65 °C | 50 | 74 |
| ABSEnclosure required. Draughts crack it. | ABS | 240–260 °C | 95–105 °C | Yes | 4 h · 70 °C | 41 | 96 |
| ASAABS that survives outdoors. | ASA | 245–265 °C | 95–105 °C | Yes | 4 h · 70 °C | 44 | 98 |
| PolycarbonateHardened nozzle. Dry it or it foams. | PC | 270–290 °C | 100–115 °C | Yes | 6 h · 80 °C | 62 | 132 |
| PLA Carbon15% chopped fibre. 0.5 mm hardened nozzle minimum. | PLA-CF | 210–230 °C | 55–60 °C | No | 4 h · 55 °C | 58 | 58 |
| Nylon Carbon20% chopped fibre. Twelve hours drying, no exceptions. | PA6-CF | 270–300 °C | 100–110 °C | Yes | 12 h · 90 °C | 96 | 168 |
| TPU 95ADirect drive only. 30 mm/s and no faster. | TPU-95 | 220–240 °C | 40–55 °C | No | 6 h · 60 °C | 38 | — |
Drying
Wet filament is the cause of most faults blamed on the filament.
PETG, nylon and polycarbonate pull water out of the air fast enough to ruin a print in an afternoon on a wet Yorkshire day. Water in the melt flashes to steam at the nozzle: you get popping, stringing, a rough matte surface and a part that snaps at half the strength it should have.
Our spools leave sealed under 0.02% moisture. Once you open one, the clock starts. If a spool has been out on the bench for a fortnight, dry it before you blame it.
Faults
What it usually is.
- Stringing between towers
- Wet filament first, retraction second. Dry it for six hours and try again before you touch the retraction settings.
- Popping or hissing at the nozzle
- Water boiling in the melt. Stop, dry, restart. Nothing else makes that sound.
- Under-extrusion on walls only
- Ovality, a partially blocked nozzle, or a slipping extruder gear. Measure the strand on two axes 90° apart before you strip the hotend.
- Layer splitting on ABS or ASA
- A draught. Enclose it, and stop opening the door to look.
- Silk losing its sheen
- Too fast, or too cool. Silk needs the heat and the time to flow flat. 30 mm/s on external walls.
- Carbon fibre eating nozzles
- It will destroy brass in about a kilogram. Hardened steel or ruby, 0.5 mm minimum.
- TPU jamming in a Bowden
- It is not going to work. Direct drive, 30 mm/s, and back the tension off.
- Warping off a cold bed
- Bed temperature, then a brim, then an enclosure. In that order, one change at a time.
Slicer profiles
Tested profiles for PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer and Bambu Studio. Ask on [email protected] and say which machine.
Nozzle sizes
All figures are 0.4 mm. Going to 0.6 mm, add 5–10 °C. Going to 0.25 mm, take 5 °C off and slow down.
Flow calibration
Worth doing once per material, not per spool. If it changes between our spools, tell us the batch numbers.