Testing of a special chamber for 3DGence One

3DGence is one of the most recognizable, Polish 3D printers. The company created an important and useful part which can be applied with its flagship product  – 3D Gence. I mean a chamber for the 3D printer. Let’s check how does it work by 3D printing from ABS?

The chamber is shipped in a kit for self-assembly. It is made of plexiglass. You can fix its elements with 3D printed clips and clamps. In the box you will find also a manual with pictures. All of the elements are wrapped with a tape and bubble wrap, what protects them against scratching. It costs 155$. It’s not a very low price, but when you compare it with the price of the 3D printer 3DGence One, the price of the chamber seems to be “normal”.

An assembly of the chamber is not so complicated and when you get, how to deal with it, it doesn’t take a lot of time. I wanted to record it, but I set my camera incorrectly…

As you can see, the chamber has two parts and it doesn’t hermetically enclose the whole 3D printer. The first part has a small door which you should place in front of the device and put slots on screws. You should do the same with the second part. The whole constriction is quite solid and everything fits perfectly. The only thing, you should remember, is to close it with your both hands to push it into the frame.

As I mentioned, the chamber is not fully enclosed, because it has a small crevice, which enables a movement of the X axis. The aim of our test is to check, if the new construction improves the quality of our models and enables 3D printing from ABS.

I printed three different blocks, each of them twice. The first attempt was carried out with the chamber, the second one with it. All of them was done with the same 3D printer, the same filament by the same settings. I will describe all of the parameters below. I used standard, orange ABS produced by Devil Design. I didn’t use ventilation.

The die is cast

I started with a calibrating block of 20 x 20 x 20 mm, but I modified it a little bit. My aim was to check, if the chamber would enable 3D printing from ABS. I scaled it to size of 40 x 40 x 120 mm and printed it. I was sure, that it  was not going to crush and deform. The outer shell speed amounted 30-35 mm/s. I set the temperature of all prints of 100°C for the working bed and 250°C for the nozzle. I applied these settings about 10 minutes, before I started any print.

In comparison to the two first 3D prints we can call it a “success”. On the one hand, both of them were a little bit deformed, what was rather obvious, but a block printed with the chamber didn’t crush and has a nicer surface.

Test piece-block

By the second attempt I used a solider model –„test piece-block”. I compressed it to 80%. Another settings: fill: 15%, 3 full outer shells, 5 full upper and bottom layers, speed of 35-50 mm/s.

Both of them were quite good, but a model printed without using the chamber, cracked in 2 places and was a little bit deformed. The second model didn’t crack but it is also minimally deformed, but when you compare it with the first one, it is almost invisible.

It’s easier than it was before

The last model, which I wanted to test was a part of the race car, which Paweł used in search of Zortrax-compatibile filaments. I picked an element called „rear”. It should be printed with supports and moreover it is high and thin, so it is not resistant for shrinkage of the material. I set the same parameters like in case of the previous test.

While printing without the chamber, I heard a loud crash. One of the arms went out from the support, because of the shrinkage and another layers were a little bit shifted.

A model printed with the chamber was flawless. I was surprised when I saw, how strongly it stuck to the surface of the working bed. When I was trying to remove it, I broke one of its arms.

As I predicted, the model was perfect to compare the shrinkage of the both 3D prints. The difference is visible with the naked eye – one of the elements is smaller. Of course, the model which was printed without using of the chamber.

Summary

The chamber is not 100% hermetic, but still, it is functional. Unfortunately, I couldn’t have checked the temperature inside the 3D printer, but it was obviously that high, that it protected 3D prints made from ABS before sudden cooling of the material. What’s more it minimized the results of the shrinkage (according to the manufacture, it is 50-60°C, what depends on the settings). Its price is relatively high, but if you can afford a 3D printer, 155$ shouldn’t make any difference for you. What’s more, the chamber for the 3DGence One has quite attractive design.