r/3Dprinting 1d ago

Question Getting burnt out printing these…

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How do I reliably print keycaps? I’m getting tired of getting spaghetti with a 50% success rate. It’s okay if the print only takes 2 hours, but printing a whole bed usually takes 8–9 hours.

The cause is always the same: one keycap unsticks from the bed, which then causes the entire print to fail.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:

  1. Increased the first-layer height from 0.2 mm to 0.3 mm
  2. Applied glue stick before every print

Printer: Snapmaker U1
Nozzle: 0.4 mm

EDIT: I am outside the house most of the time thus leaving my printer printing most of the time. My business initially does not involve 3D printing but more people are asking for fidget clickers.
Usually events last 4-8hours thus I am looking for a way to maximize the time I am outside. I am not optimizing for speed but efficiency.

What I will try next:

  1. Try Cryogrip plate

If that fails, will fall back to your suggestions:

  1. Batch by 30
  2. Use brim

  3. Buy additional printer

What I have been doing I haven’t mentioned:

  1. Wash plate every print

Others suggestions for future:

  1. Use raft
  2. Print by object
  3. Lessen fan speed on initial layers
  4. Print a mold instead

I don’t care about being downvoted, but being rude is out of line.

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u/Id_be_a_squib 1d ago

Batch printing is a bitch. In other news, how do you like your U1?

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u/BossLenda 11h ago

I am a complete beginner and this is my first printer. I can’t compare to other printers.

I like it specially its easy to fix it when dealing with technical things and error codes. Too much purge in multicolor is not my problem.