What temp do you print pla at?

3D Printing
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1

What temp do you print pla at? The maker said 190-220 but it’s obviously too hot since it swells in the extruder

2

Different manufacturers have different formulations. Best just to experiment, but isn’t swelling a part of the melting process? Maybe you’ve got a jam.

3

Well it jams because the pla softens bends and then clogs up the extruder before it’s supposed to. Ive gone as low as 190 and im about to try 180

4

Are you sure you don’t need to go hotter? Not liquefying could be a reason it’s jamming. Maybe it’s actually abs.

5

Lower temps have seemed to help it. Ive printed at highest of 220

6

For me, I’ve printed two different manufacturer PLA and I use 210.

7

bending between the extruder and the hot end is often a sign a heat creep. Have you got a fan keeping it cool on the ‘input side’ of the hot end?

8

Yes i do

9

Between 195 and 210

10

I print mine around 190…Strike that 195.

11

So far 180 is doing just fine. Only 20 mins in though

12

Could print speed be contributing to this?

13

210 working fine for me. You may need to put a fan to cooling the cold end.

14

The temperature needed depends on the material, material batch, the colorants, the hot end type, and even thermistors of the exact same type can give very different readings. I’ve done PLA as low as 170 with good results.

15

I’ve printed Pla today at 190. Tried different temperatures and anything above 200 was to hot. Top End of positive features was collapsing.

16

Good PLA for me has always extruded at 180C

17

Could it possibly be that the thermistor is malfunctioning or poorly wired?

If the thermistor is unreliable then the actual extruder temperature may be higher than the thermistor is reporting - possibly much higher.

I do not have any experience with this type of fault, so this is just an off-the-cuff idea: check the thermistor where it is coupled to the extruder for any manifest faults, such as fraying or loose wires.

Also, I typically set PLA temp. to 195 without an significant issues. My PLA got too runny above 205, but even then it was happily being pushed through the extruder without any jamming.

18

What kind of extruder do you have? Do you have a fan on the top end (cold end) of your extruder to keep it from getting too hot? I have printed PLA from 190C up to 210C. I really depends on the PLA and the quality control in the manufacturing.