My workspace isn’t heated. Apparently, PLA doesn’t like to stick to the bed when it’s cold, even if the bed is heated. I’m upgrading some of the motion bits on my Mendel90, tried to print a Benchy file that had worked back in the summer. First there was this:
Got busy with other stuff, fast forward a couple of rainy damp weeks, re-sliced it with a brim. This PLA has been loaded for MONTHS, and this was the result printing on a damp, cold, foggy day:
I saw the infill looked weird but I let it run to see what happened. It did complete so the brim worked! Also got a cute “antenna” on top of the smokestack so that’s a win-win on a totally rotted-out boat.
Filament sat overnight in my dehydrator at 130-ish degrees F, currently printing, looks like it’ll be ok…
I keep seeing how “PLA doesn’t need to be dehydrated” in some corners of the Internet. I think I’ll have a nice before and after to show that may not be true.
The Minnow stayed afloat until it hit the island. This thing would sink at the dock
My first print after pulling it out of the dehydrator looked great. Except for some layer shifting on one axis. Tightened the belt, trying again. If I don’t get this dang boat printed, I’ll never get off this island.
My understanding is it has to do with the moisture content “boiling” out of the filament during the ~200C heating that it goes through before/during extrusion. The fact that it’s hydroscopic doesn’t really matter once it’s only at sub-water-boiling temps.
I’m upgrading some of the motion bits on my Mendel90, tried to print a Benchy file that had worked back in the summer. First there was this: 
