Printing ABS with a PLA Wade's extruder?

Hi all, new to this, but looking to get myself and my son into the hobby. I have a chance to get a Prusa kit at a decent price, but the parts, including a Wade style extruder, are printed in PLA. I'd like to be able to print in both PLA and ABS while we're experimenting.

Having never seen how the hot end is mounted, is it reasonable to expect to be able to print ABS parts with a PLA extruder, or will very sad meltage occur?

Thanks!

It is definitely possible to print ABS with a PLA extruder. You will need a fan blowing across the thermal break of the hot end (along the underside of the carriage) to prevent very sad meltage

They can warp, but if you have a fan blowing across the top of the Hotend it'll probably be fine.

So the idea is to keep the plastic mount cool while the hotend stays hot? How much space is there? With a fan blowing, is there a problem keeping the hot end warm enough? I've never seen one except in pictures so I'm trying to wrap my head around possibilities

I suppose worst case I buy a better hot end, right

Thanks again!

You can use a duct to direct the air away from the hotend tip.

You should also be careful of heat rising from the heated bed warping the x carriage.

I recommend your first ABS print is a x-carriage and extruder.

---

--
-Nudel
Blog with RepRap Comic

Nudel said:
"I recommend your first ABS print is a x-carriage and extruder." - Extremely good advice. A lot of people find this out after the fact.

Mainly the extruder body, not the whole extruder. I like PLA gears for the Wade's / Greg's extruders as they last much longer for me than ABS. Definitely print a new X-Carriage, they are usually so thin that the warpage on them appears faster than on the extruder body.