PLA printing without heatbed using fans I need a bit larger printing area and I'm mostly printing PLA and others and I though about the heating/warping problem. I read that PLA sticks very well on acrylic, so could I use acrylic plate and position fans around the part so the plastic cools as soon as it is extruded and only the very welding will stay melt. Will the fan cool down the print too fast? Would it cool down the extruder too? What if it was insulated? https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,400716,400716#msg-400716 Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:08:20 -0400 Phorum 5.2.23 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,400716,402201#msg-402201 Re: PLA printing without heatbed using fans https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,400716,402201#msg-402201
Also, if you want to insulate your head, then I would suggest a roll of Kapton tape and some ceramic cloth from Ultimachine. Its cheap, easy to cut with scissors and works really well. I have a layer of this with a double layer of Kapton around it to hold it onto my hot end and it has worked great. It insulates so well I can touch the heater block (on the kapton/ceramic) without getting burned. I wouldn't suggest leaving your finger on there for very long but it does help the hot end to help up faster and hold heat much better.

As for your question about cooling, I would agree with thib88 in that a duct for a cooling fan will help to put the cooling right where it needs to be for cooling PLA. If you look around on thiniverse you can prolly find a duct or shroud for the printer you are using.]]> Iceman086 General Tue, 02 Sep 2014 03:18:12 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,400716,401751#msg-401751 Re: PLA printing without heatbed using fans https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,400716,401751#msg-401751
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Will the fan cool down the print too fast?
With some parts it may cause you troubles, but in a general way, you should specify to the fan to be on only after a few layers in order to prevent warping.
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Would it cool down the extruder too?
Yes, absolutely. To get more precision on the air flow, a support to mount the fan on the extruder, with a fan duct embedded is, to me, the best.
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What if it was insulated?
It will be better, and I think hot ends will always benefit from an insulation.]]> thib88 General Mon, 01 Sep 2014 03:04:29 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,400716,400716#msg-400716 PLA printing without heatbed using fans https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,400716,400716#msg-400716
Will the fan cool down the print too fast? Would it cool down the extruder too? What if it was insulated?]]> Reprint General Fri, 29 Aug 2014 11:08:37 -0400