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Tuning the bed temperature of your Fuse 1 generation printer for improved part yield with Nylon 12 Powder

Tuning the bed temperature of your Fuse 1 generation printer for improved part yield with Nylon 12 Powder

The print process for Fuse 1 generation printers requires that the material be sintered at a precise temperature, which is measured by the printer’s IR sensor. While most printers maintain this temperature without the need for adjustment, some print defects and issues can be addressed by fine-tuning the print bed temperature.

Formlabs recommends tuning the bed temperature of your printer before printing with Nylon 12 Powder for the first time. Fine-tuning the bed temperature prior to printing your first build results in fewer surface defects on your parts caused by variable printer temperatures. This process is run as a diagnostic print, uploaded through PreForm to the printer. The print contains several parts that need to be cleaned and inspected to determine the necessary temperature offset for your printer. This process should be run on aged powder, refreshed with 30% fresh powder. If you do not have any used powder on hand, age a batch of fresh powder before printing the bed temperature tuning diagnostic tool.

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Stampa di regolazione della temperatura del letto di stampa in PreForm

Stampa per la regolazione della temperatura del letto.

  1. If you have previously used the printer with an applied offset, reset the printer’s offset to 0 prior to beginning the fine-tuning process. This can be done by following the directions to Set the Bed Temperature Target, and setting the printer offset to 0.
  2. Update PreForm to the latest version.
  3. Download the appropriate FLZ file for your printer from the links below.
  4. Open PreForm and select Job Settings.
  5. In the Job Setup window, make sure the correct printer is selected.
  6. Select Upload Diagnostic Print.
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  1. Upload the file from your computer and start the print.
  2. Load the hopper with 3 kg of powder. Fill the hopper to the 7 L mark.
  3. Allow the print to fully cool per Formlabs recommendations.

Clean parts

Extract parts using the Fuse Sift or the Fuse Depowdering Kit. Excess powder can be sifted with fresh powder and re-used.

Clean parts prior to inspection either using the Fuse Blast or other media blasting solutions. Extract the five plaques with cones. The additional flat plaques in the build create equal cooling and separation between the cone plaques during the print and can be discarded.

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Example of a cleaned cone plaque ready for inspection.

Each plaque lists the temperature offset it was printed with (-2 ºC, -1 ºC, 0 ºC, +1 ºC, +2 ºC). Line the plaques up from -2 ºC to +2 ºC to prepare them for inspection.

Ispezione delle placche

Note:

If the test print fails and not all plaques are completed, complete the inspection using the plaques that printed successfully. The correct offset will be included in the parts that printed successfully.

To determine the appropriate temperature offset for your printer, look for two things:

  • More than one instance but less than six instances of orange peel on a single plaque. This is most visible on the cones.
  • No pitting. This is most visible on the side of the plaque opposite the cones.

Rotate the plaques to inspect the cones from all angles. Orange peel appears as a slightly layered surface on the cones. Pitting appears as a tiny dot on the opposite side of the plaques.

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Orange peel on the cones
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Pitting on the side opposite the cones

After inspecting all five plaques, determine the offset temperature that best matches the above criteria using the temperature offsets listed on the plaques. This offset can then be manually set on the machine.

Note:

The correct offset temperature may lie between two plaques, and the correct offset may be a half degree between the printed plaques (ie. +1.5 ºC).

Impostazione della temperatura prevista del letto di stampa

La temperatura prevista del letto di stampa può essere regolata fino a ±5 °C con incrementi di 0,25 °C. Dopo della stampa di regolazione della temperatura del letto di stampa, regola la temperatura del letto di stampa sull offset determinato durante l'ispezione della regolazione della temperatura del letto di stampa.

Nota:

Due stampanti che funzionano una accanto all'altra possono richiedere temperature previste del letto di stampa diverse.

Per regolare la temperatura prevista del letto di stampa:

  1. assicurati che la stampante non stia eseguendo un lavoro di stampa e sia attualmente in modalità inattiva. Letto di stampa La temperatura desiderata può essere regolata solo prima di una stampa, non mentre la stampa è in corso.
  2. Tocca l'icona dell'ingranaggio sull'interfaccia touchscreen della stampante. Verrà visualizzata la schermata Settings (Impostazioni).
  3. Tocca Calibration (Calibrazione). Comparirà la schermata Calibration (Calibrazione).
  4. Tocca Bed Temperature Target (Temperatura prevista del letto di stampa).
  5. Comparirà una schermata con informazioni sulla temperatura prevista.
  6. Tocca Next (Avanti). Comparirà la schermata Bed Temperature Target (Temperatura prevista del letto di stampa).
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  1. Tocca + o - per aumentare o diminuire la temperatura Offset.
  2. Al termine della regolazione dell'offset della temperatura, tocca Avanti. Conferma nuovo offset e tocca Set (Imposta).