Printing X Carriage in PLA

I finally got my printer working fairly well, and have started printing out the improved parts I want for its next generation. I am printing exclusively in PLA (I have no ABS filament).

One of the first parts I printed was my new X carriage. I no sooner had it off the bed, and was admiring the print quality when I wondered if it would have been better to have printed it in ABS. SInce I have a J Head hot end, the new carriage will have a ducted fan, so I guess that will mitigate the heat somewhat, but I can't help thinking this might have been a bad idea.

All of my machines have been entirely in PLA. As long as you have a fan blowing over the thermal break you will be fine.

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Thanks. One of these days I'll give ABS a try. Everything I read as I entered the "hobby" indicated to me that PLA was the place to start, so that's what I'm geared up for at the moment.

The x-carriage will be fine in PLA. Even the extruder is ok in PLA once you have some cooling air flow across the underside. ABS is recommended for the extruder as it takes more heat.
I'm using a j-head on a PLA extruder and x-carriage. I run the fan blowing air across the neck of the j-head and the underside of the x-carriage all the time though. That keeps everything cool.

I'm planning to try some ABS printing soon. I'll probably print an ABS extruder and maybe even the a new x-carriage at that point. The heated bed and hot-end will be a lot hotter when printing in ABS so a more robust x-parts above print area may be a better idea.

Best of luck with it.
NumberSix

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I use the open X carriage in PLA, with no fan, and have no problems