User's Manual Part 2

CHAPTER 8. OPERATIONAL TIPS 213
from other manufacturers may need to be printed at a slightly
di↵erent temperature; check any information from the manufac-
turer of the filament.
Note that ABS filament is quite prone to curling as it cools,
which is one reason why we don’t r eco m m en d ABS filament for
beginners; PLA filament is much more forgiving (if printing at
the proper temperature).
8.2.5 Brims, rafts, and skirts
Sometimes, especially when printing an object with a small foot-
print on the build plate,anextraadhesionfeaturesuchasabrim
may be helpful.
A brim is extra material, typically only one or two layers tall
and several outlines wide, printed around the perimeter of the
object touching the object, extending outward, to stabilize the
object. A brim tends to be helpful with small or isolated parts
of a model, e.g.,hoovesofananimal,toaidwithadhesionof
the small area of the object to the buil d plate by extending the
area.
A raft is a few extra layers of material, printed as a horizontal
latticework, extending under the entire object. Besides helping
with adhesion, i t can also pr ovide a strong foundat ion for the
rest of the print. The number of layers in the raft controls
the height (and to some degree the strength) of the raft; the
raft o↵set controls how far beyond the main object the raft will
extend; the raft separ at i on determines the distance between the
raft and the object itself – typical distances range from 0.14–
0.2mm – where you want to aim for a close enough distance to