Printing in ABS

Hi
I have just completed my Mendel90 and prining in PLA with great success.
I was thinking of trying ABS, however I have been reading a large number of topics where guys are struggling to print in ABS. Would you say its very difficult to print in ABS and what tips do you recommend.
My setup is J-Head at the moment with a heated bed.
I would appreciate your comments with printing in ABS.


Thanks
Vaughan

Set the bed to about 105C, cover the bed with Kapton tape, set the extruder to about 235C. Turn off cooling fan(s). Print the first layer slow- maybe 20-30 mm/sec. Use a brim for sharp cornered objects. Use a raft for objects with vary large (hard to break free of the bed) or very small footprints (hard to make stick) on the bed.

If you want to print big stuff, you'll need to enclose the printer and keep the build area warm or the parts will warp/delaminate. I have found that 45C inside the build chamber eliminates most of the delamination and warping. An enclosure can be as simple as a cardboard box, but insulation panels will keep things nice and toasty warm.

The smaller object was printed without an enclosure, the larger object was printed with an enclosure. Both are ABS and all other settings were identical. The sharp corners on the larger object lifted a little because I didn't use a brim or raft.

You can also Use Abs Juice. Just Google and you will get instructions.

I use PET tape on the bed and set the temperature to 130C as it is measured underneath to get a top surface of about 105C. I also use 250C for the extruder to get strong objects and reduce de-lamination.

---

[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

I use a plywood box with clear plastic bag over the front
heatbed@100
hotend@230
Printspeed@40mm/s
Using raft.

I have a glass plate covered in Kapton and flood the plate with ABS just made form the slurried bits of raft.

Only had problems when i upped my speed to 70mm/s or forgot to juice the plate.

Thanks guys thats awesome, will take your advice.
One thing, so J-head will work fine ?
I have metal hotend but dont want to change it right now as I am learning and the J-head seems to be doing well.
Checking if the J-head would work fine with ABS at 230c to 250c
Thanks
Vaughan

I use a J-head to print ABS at 245C on to float glass coated with ABS juice, heated to 110C.

---

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

Thanks once again to everyone, appreciate the help.