ABS vs PLA help!

[Slaintemaith]

Everything I've ever read suggests that ABS is more finicky than PLA, especially for the Rostock Max.
Right.
I've found the exact opposite.
The only ABS issue I have is if I forget to shut off our ceiling fan and ambient temps (winds) cause uneven cooling cracks.

PLA has NEVER produced the same results.

This is ABS with a few, live-withable cracks.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ppz483y7zvnou ... 3.jpg?dl=0

This is a compare/contrast between the two...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f0hsqoakm8x3q ... 4.jpg?dl=0
ABS: Perfect for .5mm PLA: Angry and world-weary.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/d9z0ih50o84vr ... 3.jpg?dl=0
Note the perfection of the bridging on the red ABS. Notice the suckitude of the PLA.

I apologize for not having inline attachments, seems either my access level, this forum, or the gods themselves: suck.

It's a Rostock Max V2.5 (new hot end)
I'm using Simplify3D as my slicer/interface.
People have tried to suggest that using a card with the gcode directly with the printer would help my PLA performance.
This seems to fly in the face of that.
My printer isn't broken: I just need to get the proper settings for PLA.

I've been looking for them for a WHILE now.

Someone please help, since SeeMeCNC Support has been next to useless.

Yes, I know PLA needs to be cooler. I've been using the SeeMeCNC recommended temp of @ 200ish. I've played with every retraction setting known to man.

[Xenocrates]

I note you haven't mentioned cooling much. If it's a V3, what are your max speeds set at on the cooling? For the V2, have you installed more than the single default cooling fan, and again, what are the speeds? From the bridging results it seems you have the throttle on the fans a bit low.

[Slaintemaith]

I wittingly called it a V2.5, since it's the v2 with the v3 hot end.
What -should- the fan settings be at for bridging PLA in Simplify3D?

Also: The v2 has your first print be shrouds for the fans. Does the v3 need these as well?

[Xenocrates]

No, you don't need fan shrouds for the HE280. I honestly have no idea what the %age should be. It's dependent on things like air temperature(which as I don't print PLA much and use a heated chamber, my results aren't going to be too helpful to you). I would start increasing it by 5% at a time or so until you start getting better results.

[Slaintemaith]

Thanks! The fan settings helped quite a bit!