Reddit reviews Functional Design for 3D Printing: Designing 3D printed things for everyday use - an engineering handbook

The corner detachment was caused by the same problem as the split, but was not the cause of the split. Lifting, Warping and splitting are caused by thermal contraction of the plastic overcoming its ability to stretch during cooling, leading to physical contraction of the layer.

As each layer is laid down, these stresses can build, finally resulting in the print splitting or lifting, as if it were pinched from the top by the accumulation of these tensions with each successive layer.

To prevent bed lifting, anchor the ends with a 1 or two layer thick "pad" at the ends, extending perhaps 10mm radially from the ends, in a circle. This may not work without using a bed bonding agent such as abs - acetone liquid, depending upon the print design.

For troublesome prints, I often use some abs-pvc pipe solvent (plumbing supplies). It comes in a little can with a swab in the lid. Take the saturated swab and rub it on some scrap abs (failed prints work great) until it forms a slightly gooey liquid, then paint this on the bed. If needed, you can further thin and repaint the slurry just by wetting the swab and repainting the bed-it will re melt and spread out the thin plastic film. Note that this can result in extreme adhesion, sometimes causing difficulty in print removal.

To prevent splitting, either change the print environment (heated enclosure), try a higher temperature, which causes the layer being printed to partially melt the layer below, relaxing some of the stress, or design in interruptions in the structure to relieve stresses before they can build to critical levels.

For example, perforate the structure, or make it nonlinear at the surface by incorporating a zigzag surface texture with 90 degree bends so that the surface can deform slightly rather than having the whole part change dimensions.

From looking at the print (but not knowing it's purpose) it seems like this might be stronger and less prone to printing issues if it were printed flat, perhaps as two pieces with a hinge, a dovetail joint, or even just glued (abs glues quite well with CA adhesives)

These techniques, and many more to improve print reliability, speed, and strength are covered in my book, [Functional Design for 3d Printing] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1497537460/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1402802742&sr=8-1) or you can download it as a PDF from my site threedsy.com

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1497537460/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?keywords=functional%20design%20for%203d%20printing&qid=1402775378&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1