(solved) Difficulty printing PC with H2D

Bambu Lab H2 Series Troubleshooting
1

SOLVED - for the most part:

After reading a few forum users’ explanations that they don’t do anything special with preheating or setting tweaks, I decided to keep it simple and try another print on a clean plate.

That is when I had a thought: I was slicing with adaptive layer height and radius smoothing so the curved shape would look its best.

I realized I should suspect that the resulting 0.08mm extrusion layer may be the cause; a search on this subject suggested that although PC can print with thin layers, it will affect the heat retention of the extruded plastic and encourage excess material to form at the nozzle head. This combination could increase the chance of collision and tearing.

So, I resliced with a normal, consistent 0.2 mm layer height, and the print process worked well with only a few minor issues.

Thank you for the help.

…

The original post:

Hi,

I have had a Bambu Lab H2D for several months and have had very good results printing a variety of objects with Bambu Lab PLA Basic.

I am finally trying to work with Bambu Labs PC (polycarbonate) filament and am having great difficulty.

I have the H2D as well as an AMS Pro and a AMS HT pro.

I dried the PC in the AMS HT pro for a full 8 hours.

I am using the OEM-supplied Textured PEI plate.

I am preheating the plate to 120C and the chamber to 65C.

The printer ran a hot bed level calibration.

I am fastidiously washing the plate with hot water and soap and handling it with paper towels rather than bare hands

I tried using a glue stick by applying the glue to a cold plate and then preheating for an hour.

I tried not using a glue stick and preheating for an hour.

At first, my first couple of layers popped off early in the print cycle, and I stopped the print.

The object has an arch, so the first layers were part of a normal default support structure.

I tried different initial-layer densities and extra support walls.

The PC kept popping off the plate.

I tried adding a 3-layer ramp, and the base finally seems to be stable.

My current concern is that while the base is staying in place, the printing process is creating and leaving shards of filament all over the plate.

I have been using Google to troubleshoot, and it has me running around in circles searching for settings and suggesting minor tweaks, many of which are already matched in Bambu Studio’s existing settings.

Honestly, I am a bit mentally exhausted trying to keep track of all the suggested tweaks, and I can’t help but think I bought the H2D, the specialty accessories, and the brand-name filament for an easier path to success.

Google’s latest suggestion is to tweak my retraction settings, since I have already done everything else it recommended. Google suggests the nozzle is hitting the previously printed material and ripping it off.

This is where I am stopping the print with the PC. There is a 3-layer ramp, and the support is just starting to print.:

IMG_4163
IMG_41631920×1920 1.16 MB

This is an example of the same object printed as a test run with PLA Basic:

IMG_4167
IMG_41671920×1920 587 KB

Can you suggest some tips that might help?

Are there any pre-packaged presets for using PC and the H2D? I thought that when I got around to trying different materials, I would find Bambu Lab had presets tweaked for the task in a drop-down menu.

Thank you!

2

Magigoo MPC2018 bed adhesive

Everyday for me

3

The parts I printed in PC on my H2D pro: I just print it using a bambu stick for glue (as a release measure esp. on the textured PEI stuff sticks too much easily in my experience). No preheating or anything: the printer heats up before printing by itself.

I’ve not seen any problem on either smooth PEI nor textured PEI plates.

That said your model might suffer from contraction due to cooling and associated forces into the model when printing higher up than you get, your problems however clearly happen much earlier.

Washing the plate: check what soap you use. I use basic DREFT dish washing stuff (I’m in Europe): intended for washing dishes by hand, no scent, no hand protection or moisturizing, no nothing extra, just the very old fashioned most basic type of stuff that is made to remove grease. Use HOT water (as hot as your hands can still tolerate).

4

Hi Miami Jerry,

In the photo I uploaded, the adhesion to the bed seems ok, but the filament is pulling off. The previous layer of filament… I think that is the core problem, and at first it ripped the support off the plate; now, with the ramp as a solid base layer, adhesion to the plate is OK, but the filament still keeps pulling apart.

IMG_4168
IMG_41681920×1920 1.04 MB

IMG_4169
IMG_41691920×1920 939 KB

IMG_4170
IMG_41701920×1920 718 KB

5

Hi user_1369964939,

Thanks for the info.

I am washing with very hot water, and using Dawn soap, which is probably not the best but I do rinse it off with lots and lots and lots of water. I only scrub with fresh paper towels and not the dish sponge :-). I don’t touch it with bare hands.

I tired with and without the glue. It did not seem to matter.

I did the pre heat protocol because Google insisted it was necessary to prevent thermal shock and rapid shrinking. It said that the printer would not preheat itself sufficiently.

I should try a straight print without the pre-ritual.

6

The only build plates i could get pc (non bambu generic brand) to reliably stick was garolite and the greem kdeavi plate. No glue stick made any difference for me.

As for layer adhesion. I did set chamber heater to 65 and reduced cooling to zero (except for overhangs), that did help with the pc I tried.

7

This is the best surface for PC, Garolite G10. I use Vision Miner Nano Polymer Adhesive (NPA) on a G10 sheet in a 60° chamber.

10

SOLVED - for the most part:

After reading a few forum users’ explanations that they don’t do anything special with preheating or setting tweaks, I decided to keep it simple and try another print on a clean plate.

That is when I had a thought: I was slicing with adaptive layer height and radius smoothing so the curved shape would look its best.

I realized I should suspect that the resulting 0.08mm extrusion layer may be the cause; a search on this subject suggested that although PC can print with thin layers, it will affect the heat retention of the extruded plastic and encourage excess material to form at the nozzle head. This combination could increase the chance of collision and tearing.

So, I resliced with a normal, consistent 0.2 mm layer height, and the print process worked well with only a few minor issues.

Thank you for the help.