Heated build chamber

That would be great. I own an Alibre license, but have access to a SolidWorks and AutoCAD license, so I can convert files into formats that different people can work with if the Robo team can't readily provide us something that is CAD neutral.

 

I had a jury rigged variation of a vinyl tent prior to building my big ugly box. It worked pretty well and got me up and running quickly while I had time to build something.
I think the idea here is perhaps to come up with something that adds to the cool factor. Otherwise, you can just get a big rubbermade tote and drop it over the top while its printing.

 

Cover is absolutely necessary for ABS. Not needed for PLA. I'm not sure about nylon, but I've heard its not needed.

The HBP is required for the ABS to stick. You may be able to work around this with the ABS paste on small parts, but you're going to have issues with bigger parts.

The cover is to prevent too much part shrinkage/warpage for larger parts. For small parts, you can probably get away with simply putting a barrier around the side. Even with my enclosure and a HBP, my supports, which are just 1 shell, warp like crazy. I think you really need to get up to 70C for perfect ABS printing.

I personally like ABS. I like being able to vapor polish and solvent weld and I like the opacity of the color choices I've purchased better than any of the PLA I've seen. BUT, but there are A LOT of people that bought Makerbot Replicator 2s and are only running PLA that are perfectly happy. If I were in the position of buying this as my first machine, I probably wouldn't sweat the enclosure or HBP much. Run PLA for a while to get comfortable with the machine, then upgrade to ABS capabilities when you want to try a new material.

 

At what size do you think the slurry method will begin to fail. We have at least a 10 x 10 x 8 printbed. Where is the breaking point, where the end of a print ends up lifting off the bed Also are we generally talking a single dimension that lifts or is it both dimensions. For example an Galaxy S III case is roughly about 3" x 5.5" x .4" Do you think something like this is likely to lift. I am asking because I have been looking at different blogs and heated chambers don't seem to come up a lot. I could be just missing something but I am curious where things start failing.

 

The type of part where you're really going to see warpage is a large part with very thin walls. I'm not talking about corners peeling off the plate. That can be addressed reasonably well with ABS glue or hair spray.
I'm talking about the walls buckling and warping. I'll try to find some stuff I haven't thrown away and post pics.

The slurry would work fine for your phone case. You could conceivably even print it without a heated bed.

 

I agree I have read about them also but I am curious at what size do failures start being seen. Is it mainly on long thin pieces or is it also seen on square pieces like 9.5 by 9.5. Does it matter if it is a tall piece. For example would a 1"x8"x3" piece lift where a 1"x8"x.25" would not.

I am not saying they are not needed in any way just was curious at what extent do most lifting issues start occurring.

This info may be helpful to others if they know that for the most part what they have in mind for printed objects won't be bigger than x by x by x they may not need one. Or if they happen to strayinto the questionable sizes maybe a temporary solution would work. For those who definitely know they will be having issues they can go for it.

In my ideas for example I do not plan on anything extremely large so I may choose a temporary enclosure only as needed.

 

Thanks Printed that was exactly what kind of info I was looking for.
Pics would be great
Also reading your posts if I may ask what is the part you will be acetone welding together and how big is it. Just curious?

 

Here are a few examples of issues you can see with inadequate enclosure temp. . Both are the same part. This is a pretty big part for my build plate. ~8X5X5. The Robo is bigger, so the problem will become more exaggerated.
Top pic shows some cracks. Bottom pic shows how much thin materials can warp. Keep in mind that those supports are sandwiched between the 110C build plate and the part so they're probably actually fairly warm.

Just in case any of you are worried about me, I am going to fill in those cracks with some ABS paste and vapor polish, so no big deal this time.

I actually think my filament issue from a few days ago was due to a jam from mistakes I've made in the past, but at a 14hr build, I'm really not going to risk it, so I just let it run a little cold. I can fix some cracks and warped supports don't hurt me, but waking up to a half finished part with the nozzle just moving in air is awful!