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Smooth Bottom On Part Using Raft

Posted: 22 Oct 2017, 14:29
by inventabuild
Has anyone used a raft and was still able to maintain a smooth bottom on the part similar to what one gets when printing directly on the print bed?

I am printing PLA directly on glass and I'm not expecting to get exactly the same smooth shiny finish I get when printing on glass, but I'm looking to get similarly close results. I appreciate andy settings or tricks I could use to achieve this :)

Re: Smooth Bottom On Part Using Raft

Posted: 22 Oct 2017, 19:10
by mhackney
Of course not but you should be able to get a pretty darned good first layer in PLA or ABS on a raft. PETG is much more difficult due to it's "stickiness". In any case, you will not get a glass smooth surface, it will have a bit of texture.

Re: Smooth Bottom On Part Using Raft

Posted: 23 Oct 2017, 01:58
by rmat
About a year ago I bought Zortrax M200 witch prints solely on raft and I liked it so much I only print with raft now. It just makes everything so easy.
The key to easy raft removal is fan blowing. This is something KS is missing at the moment, but Im sure it will come sometime in the future. I print mostly with ABS, and found 0.16mm to be sweet spot as for gap between raft/part. Also, I print very hot, 280 and use part colling fan on all the time. Would prefer if there was some smart fan managemet in KS though.

Re: Smooth Bottom On Part Using Raft

Posted: 24 Oct 2017, 18:11
by inventabuild
mhackney, thanks.

rmat, thanks for the tip
1. Do you ever try to achieve the best finish possible on the bottom of the part attached to the raft? Is so, please let me know if you have any tricks or your settings that helps get the job done.
2. Do you leave the fan on all the time when printing both the raft and the part or just the part? What's the reason you leave the fan on for ABS?