I’m checking out options for print bed adhesion.
Apparently PEI tape works very well but I’m not sure how much better it works than the PET tape Polyprinter uses.
I know there’s always hairspray or gel on glass, or BuildTak/PrintinZ plates. I’m curious anyone’s experience using PEI tape for bed adhesion.
I"m interested in the best solution for this, too. My son owns a XYZ Davinci and is having problems with his prints adhering to the print bed.
I had some Kapton tape on my Printrbot and ended up gouging it with the printhead. It was the best mistake I ever made!
I am now using that blue painter’s tape sold at home improvement places and it works 100 times better than the expensive Kapton tape.
3M blue painters tape works well for some materials, but large ABS parts will still warp and peel up the tape. I’m going to try the home remedy solutions first before investing the big bucks in PEI tape. The PET tape PolyPrinter uses is way cheaper than PEI tape, that’s why I was asking.
I have personal experience with buildtak, and I can say it’s probably not worth it. The PET tape works waaaay better than it, and for PLA we discovered that gaffer’s tape actually works really well.
For ABS I haven’t found a better solution then Borosilicate glass and Elmers GlueStick (Purple glue). Apply a coating to glass when cold for best adhesion and when the print cools down it will pop off the glass.
Second the gaffer tape. I used it with my printout until I upgraded to heated bed
You have a printrbot simple metal right? What temps do you use for PLA and ABS?
Like what hot end/bed temps are you using?
I have been doing pretty good using blue painters tape and a PLA HE temp of 210 and BT of 70 in my garage with the temp around 80ish degrees F.
Yes I have the metal simple and use 210/70 for pla. I haven’t tried abs on
it yet. I print on kapton, and only occasionally need to replace it . I
am working off of a really thin roll of kapton I picked up from amazon for
$40.
I have had much problem with right angle corners warping with this combo.
But a much more severe problem before I switched to heated bed. Also had
to replace gaffrrs tape about once per week. Painters tape was almost
after every print.
Painter tape works the best with a cold bed and PLA. It seems like everyone has their own remedies. I will probably try borosilicate glass with glue or hairspray vs. the PEI or PET tape and see which one sticks and un-sticks the best.
PEI tape is really expensive it seem. Lulzbot sells a 170mm sheet for $25 for the the Taz mini. Amazon sells sheets of it but the prices are crazy, it must be space aged material: http://www.amazon.com/Polyetherimide-Off-White-Standard-Tolerance-PEI0113/dp/B00CPRDDLY
Looks like some people are having success with it: http://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/2b9snt/pei_sheets_as_a_printing_surface_best_thing_ever/