What would you recommend if I want to run machinable wax filament with a Rostock Max v2?
The wax filament has an extrusion temp of about 302° F and a bed temp of about 155° F.
Is there any areas of concern, or things to watch out for in getting accurate prints with machinable wax?
Printing With Machinable Wax Filament?
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cabbage stack
- Noob
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:44 pm
Re: Printing With Machinable Wax Filament?
Its difficult to print with, has shrinkage problems, layer bonding problems, and doesnt like to stick to the bed unless you glue a piece of paper to it. Like I said you need to do the extruder mod that is located on this forum for printing ninja flex. 
http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... 786#p74915
Laymold is much more printer friendly, nut i have yet to cast anything with it to try it out.
http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... 786#p74915
Laymold is much more printer friendly, nut i have yet to cast anything with it to try it out.
Last edited by DavidF on Thu Jan 28, 2016 11:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
http://www.youtube.com/user/aonemarine" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Lost pla castings? see me
Lost pla castings? see me
Re: Printing With Machinable Wax Filament?
Its difficult to print with, has shrinkage problems, layer bonding problems, and doesnt like to stick to the bed unless you glue a piece of paper to it. Like I said you need to do the extruder mod that is located on this forum for printing ninja flex.
http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... 786#p74915
Laymold is much more printer friendly, nut i have yet to cast anything with it to try it out.
http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... 786#p74915
Laymold is much more printer friendly, nut i have yet to cast anything with it to try it out.
http://www.youtube.com/user/aonemarine" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Lost pla castings? see me
Lost pla castings? see me
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Wes@MachWax
- Plasticator
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2015 10:45 am
Re: Printing With Machinable Wax Filament?
I agree, compared to PLA, or ABS, wax is more difficult to learn to print with. But it can be done!
Wax filament works best in direct drive, but can work in Bowden extruders. However, with Bowden the print speeds are limited to roughly 30 mm/s, or less even after the "ninjaflex mod". Because of the shrink that David mentioned, this can cause warping when printing larger objects with long print times. With an enclosed printer, and consistent ambient of 68*F, I have found that keeping print times under 4 hours helps combat this issue greatly. This often requires larger nozzles, and layer heights, but since the post processing with this material is so easy(rag+mineral spirits), it's not a big deal if a smooth surface is desired.
Even with the shrink, I can print very accurate step cubes that are just as consistent as the ABS versions. The wax has about double the shrink as ABS though, so I don't fully understand the why part of that tbh.
For bed adhesion, I have had good results using Aqua Net ultra hold hairspray on heated glass. I spray 5 light coats, letting them dry in between layers. Then a light coat after 15 prints or so. Then scrape with a blade when it starts to look too yellow, and start from scratch.
The layer bonding issue David mentioned can usually be pinned down quickly by finding what specific temp works best for that individual printer. Every printer is different, so there is no magic number to recommend. Our test printer in stock form liked 130*C, but performed much better at 140*C when I changed to an E3DV6. Some people have reported temps as high as 155*C to work best for them, but most are closer to the 140*C temp. A hollow calibration pillar is the fastest method I have found to hone in on proper temps. There are YouTube videos on this procedure if you are unfamiliar. I recommend doing this with ANY new material, or even familiar material from a different supplier.
Wax filament works best in direct drive, but can work in Bowden extruders. However, with Bowden the print speeds are limited to roughly 30 mm/s, or less even after the "ninjaflex mod". Because of the shrink that David mentioned, this can cause warping when printing larger objects with long print times. With an enclosed printer, and consistent ambient of 68*F, I have found that keeping print times under 4 hours helps combat this issue greatly. This often requires larger nozzles, and layer heights, but since the post processing with this material is so easy(rag+mineral spirits), it's not a big deal if a smooth surface is desired.
Even with the shrink, I can print very accurate step cubes that are just as consistent as the ABS versions. The wax has about double the shrink as ABS though, so I don't fully understand the why part of that tbh.
For bed adhesion, I have had good results using Aqua Net ultra hold hairspray on heated glass. I spray 5 light coats, letting them dry in between layers. Then a light coat after 15 prints or so. Then scrape with a blade when it starts to look too yellow, and start from scratch.
The layer bonding issue David mentioned can usually be pinned down quickly by finding what specific temp works best for that individual printer. Every printer is different, so there is no magic number to recommend. Our test printer in stock form liked 130*C, but performed much better at 140*C when I changed to an E3DV6. Some people have reported temps as high as 155*C to work best for them, but most are closer to the 140*C temp. A hollow calibration pillar is the fastest method I have found to hone in on proper temps. There are YouTube videos on this procedure if you are unfamiliar. I recommend doing this with ANY new material, or even familiar material from a different supplier.