This chapter mainly introduces why to open the printer door when printing.
Heat creep is a popular term in 3D printing that refers to the heat of the hotend transitioning to the cold side of the hotend.
There should be a sharp temperature transition between the hot side of the hotend and the cold side, to avoid the filament swelling/softening which can cause a clog in the hotend or the extruder.
Most of the time, this problem occurs when printing PLA and TPU filament which has a lower glass transition temperature. This particular type of filament gets softer much easier than other types of materials.
It also applies to PETG filament if the enclosure temperature is too high, and gets close to the glass transition temperature of the filament.
To ensure a good printing experience, it is recommended to always keep the temperature inside an enclosure at least 10 degrees lower than the glass transition temperature of the filament.
The most common causes of clogging at the hot end or extruder during printing are heat buildup in the printer cavity and heat creep in the extruder.
PLA is the most common filament that is easily blocked because it has the lowest softening temperature.
When printing PLA filament, the cavity temperature regulating fan is also activated when the set value of the hot bed temperature exceeds a certain threshold, in order to keep the temperature in the printer cavity as low as possible and avoid heat creep leading to blockage of the extruder or hot end.
However, we still recommend that you open the front door and remove the top cover when printing with PLA consumables to reduce the temperature in the printer chamber, thereby minimizing the possibility of extruder or hot end clogging.
If you are already experiencing problems with extruder or hot end blockage, please refer to the following Wiki to clean it up:
Hot End Clogging
Materials | Recommended Heatbed Temperature | Upper Glass Cover Plate Removed? |
---|---|---|
PLA/PLA-Silk/PLA-Rapido/PLA Rapido Matte/PLA-CF | 55~60℃ |
Yes |
ABS/ABS Odorless/ABS Rapido/ABS-GF | 90℃ |
No |
PETG/PETG-Tough | 80℃ |
No |
TPU 95A | 60℃ |
Yes |
ASA/ASA-Aero | 90℃ |
No |
PA12-CF | 80℃ |
No |
PATH-CF | 80℃ |
No |
PC-ABS-FR | 100℃ |
No |
PET-CF | 80℃ |
No |
UltraPA | 80℃ |
No |
Besides avoiding heat creep, printing PLA with the front door and top cover removed will contribute to better print results. PLA and TPU filament can benefit from additional cooling during printing, leading to better overhangs and a cleaner overall look of the finished model.
When printing with a higher enclosure temperature, you might not get a clog but the print quality might still suffer from the lack of cooling, as the airflow provided by the part cooling fans is hotter, meaning that the cooling performance can be impacted.
Another consideration is when printing in a very low environment temperature. If you are printing PLA, TPU, or PETG and the environment temperature of the printer is very low (ex: 5C-10C) then you might be able to print with the front door closed and top cover installed and benefit from the increased temperature inside the chamber.
This is an isolated scenario, and if you are following this guideline but get clogs inside the extruder or the hotend, it is still recommended to open the front door slightly to allow some of the hot air to escape, and cool air to enter the chamber.