I have been trying to print our hinges which printed fine on our Stratasys Fortus 380. The issues seem to lie with our logo and a curved top surface, however another curved part of our hinge prints fine.
We are new to printing on these smaller machines but are very pleased with their performance as a whole. We outsource our designs so this an area that is also over my head.
Just looking for advice regarding setting etc. I have printed 6 hinges now, utilising the Bambu support and also online videos to no avail.
I am also really struggling with the Bambu Support for PAHT-CF. It is incredibly stringy and seems to go everywhere but also impossible to remove even within the recommend time from completion.
Both the main material and support have been dried as per instructions 3 times now.
Support for PA/PET can be tricky—if it absorbs moisture, even after printing, it can be very difficult to remove. Applying some heat while removing it often helps and makes the process much easier.
That said, aside from the temperamental support material, I’ve had zero issues printing PAHT-CF on either my X1 Carbon or H2D. I’ve gone through several kilos without problems.
If you’re comfortable sharing the model, I’d be happy to test print it between jobs. I’m using a CFX plate, so I run slightly adjusted nozzle and bed temperatures, but otherwise the setup should be comparable.
Many of my PAHT-CF spools needed longer drying time than expected BTW.
Yup! I personally use Sunlu ABS for support interface because I have over 20KG of it, but you can use whatever ABS you have on hand.
Remember, support interface ONLY. It significantly slows down the print by printing the supports and interface from one material, and the main print from another.
If your time is worth less than the overall part cost, printing the supports from entirely ABS may be cheaper, because ABS is cheaper.
We have two AMS systems so that we can run the support in the right print nozzle and the main material in the left print nozzle. I’ll try the ABS asap.
I would recommend ASA-CF or pure ASA instead of PAHT-CF, which absorbs every bit of moisture from the air and degrades over time. On a boat, there’s no such thing as a truly dry environment, so selecting a material that is not prone to moisture absorption is essential.
ASA-CF
– UV-resistant and won’t degrade in sunlight
– Non-hygroscopic, so it won’t absorb moisture from humid or salty air
– Chemically resistant to fuel, oil, and cleaners
– Stiff and dimensionally stable, even with temperature changes
– Prints reliably on enclosed machines and is easier to post-process
PAHT-CF
– Highly hygroscopic, absorbs moisture from the air even after printing
– Becomes soft, brittle, or warped over time if not kept dry
– Not UV-resistant unless treated, making it unsuitable for outdoor use
– Too sensitive and overengineered for typical marine environments
– Requires more effort to print and maintain than it’s worth in this case
I don’t know if this is really an issue. Most of the cooling parts on a car are made of nylon (PA6/66) even the radiator. They are exposed to water (and hot at that) for the life of the car. Nylon actually should improve strength with water absorption and issue is mainly dimensional stability. PA12 (PAHT-CF) should also have very low water absorption compared to PA6.
I don’t know if the above statement is from bambu but although they should know their product, I’m skeptical.
