and how did your print turn out with the decreased initial flow ratio?
My supertack has been flawless after discovering the fix for PLA and its actually the plate I use the most now as I like the smooth finish.
Interestingly, when I print with PETG I don’t need to mess with any of the default settings (including the initial initial flow ratio which is left at 1. It prints perfectly with PETG. I will add that my bed temp for PETG is set at 70deg and the bed adhesion is very grippy even more so than the textured PEI
The print turned out great with no warping whatsoever. I just finished printing a 5x6 gridfinity baseplate, which takes up nearly the entire build plate - and thus, quite vulnerable to warping - and also had no issues.
I’m nervous to try the same kind of print with PETG, but setting the initial flow ratio to 0.8 seems to have been the key to reliable prints with PLA. The default settings for PETG heats up to 70C on the SuperTack for me as well, but the adhesion has been awful, although, it also overextrudes like it was with PLA. I’ll have to try a test print with PETG and a 0.8 initial flow ratio. As for PLA, the last couple prints have turned out fantastic.
Alrighty, I do have a question. I’m using Orca Slicer from time to time. And I wanted to try it out, but…I wonder which plate did you use in their settings, since I don’t see a Bambu Cool Plate SuperTack over there. There is only Cool Plate, and I believe this is something completely different. I also don’t see any new update to my Orca Slicer - but maybe I’m missing something. Please let me know, as I would like to use your idea, and check whether it’s gonna help me or not. Would highly appreciate your help, thank you!
Yeah, there is currently no cool supertack plate in Orca
What I did was just open up Bambu Studio and loaded up the cool plate supertack and then under the filament settings (once I selected my filament type) noted down the default temps set for PLA \ PETG etc on the Cool Supertack plate.
I then used the “Smooth Cool Plate” in Orca and matched the bed temp settings for each type of filament that was set in Bambu Studio and saved a custom user preset profile for each filament.
However, as pointed out in futher comments you can acutally change initial layer flow ratio in Bambu Studio without the need for Orca. You just need to turn on Developer mode in Bambu Studio Preferences and then under the “Quality” tab you should find “Initial Layer Flow Rate”
Thank you for replying and for explaining how you managed to use it through Orca. In the meantime, I tried using a Bambu solution with developer mode, and I’m currently testing it out. I’m waiting for my print to finish so I can check whether it helped or not.
That said, I’m actually more curious about the warping issue, as someone mentioned that this solution helped them with warping as well, which is my main concern here. My first layer is perfectly fine, but the warping is significant, and I’m wondering why it happens. Interestingly, I don’t experience this issue on a textured plate.
We’ll see how it turns out. Either way, thank you for your help!
Yeah, there is currently no cool supertack plate in Orca
There is - it’s correctly called “Textured cool plate”. Bambu is the one who renames it “Bambu Cool Plate SuperTack” in Bambu Studio because they don’t want to acknowledge any other products but their own, but they’re the same plate.
Hi guys, I just subcribed just to report on my findings about this damn SuperTack plate. Now I know why I had so many problem on sticking the first layer. I know it’s weird but I tried and confirmed this over and over, at least on my printer (X1C).
IT’S THE ERROR MESSAGE WHEN IT DOESN’T FIND THE LITTLE QR CODE. Everytime I get that message the printer stops, waiting for my command, and when it start again, for some weird reason it’s offset on the plate about 0.1 mm or even less. When you got in that situation there is nothing you can do but you can work around it before starting to print the first layer. When the nozzle moves to read the qr codes on the plate (first part of the preparation to print) you can just light the little qr code with a flash light, in that way the camera can read the code, you get no error message and the print goes perfectly on the first try.
Not sure if it’s a software bug or a mechanical issue but I think to avoid this kind of errors over and over again I will scan the QR code and print a black and white version to stick on top of it. I hope this will help someone. Cheers.
Coming back with another update. Even though I’ve been getting better results with PLA, it was still driving me crazy that I couldn’t get PETG to work on the SuperTack plate. I had two back-to-back failures that didn’t get past the first layer with PETG, then printed with the exact same settings on the textured PEI plate and the first layer turned out flawlessly (including setting the bed temp to 80C on the SuperTack).
Then I had a thought to select the textured PEI plate in Bambu Studio, but kept the SuperTack on the heat bed, and then FINALLY got a good first layer with PETG on this build plate. This has been very frustrating, but based on the many test prints I’ve done with PETG – over many hours of messing with print settings, calibrating, then recalibrating the printer, washing the build plate, swapping out nozzles, trying different spools of PETG, etc. – I’m convinced there’s an issue with the firmware or the gcode that BambuStudio spits out.
Unlike OP, I’m not losing my mind – I’ve already lost it.
I’m glad I am not the only one having issues. I just bought mine and have spent hours trying to find success. I’ve washed the thing 3x with hot water and dawn, recalibrated, and selected the correct plate in Bambu slicer. I have a P1S and simply trying to start with a Benchy using Bambu PLA Matte White. At first it wouldn’t stick at all. Then I raised bed temp to 55 and it would stick, but the first few layers were terrible. So, I tried to calibrate filament and that seemed to go ok, but when I went to Flow Rate Calibration, nothing in the first row would stick, causing everything else to fail. I’m at a loss and about to frisbee this thing out the window.
I actually submitted this build plate routine issue to Bambu over a year ago, with a video and a full, detailed explanation, including the cause, proposed several fixes. The response: Nothing.
The reason your build plate is offset is because the nozzle is rubbed clean on the back of the build plate ready for z-offset calibration, but then when the build plate detection fails, it returns the nozzle to the back of the gantry and purges filament. Then when you press continue, it does not clean the nozzle on the back of the build plate again before doing the z-offset calibration, meaning that there’s almost always a bit of filament stuck on the end of the nozzle, causing the z-offset calibration to be bad, meaning the first layer often doesn’t go down properly.
This has caused a lot of people to have have trouble with prints on aftermarket plates. You could argue that maybe it’s an intentional (anti-competitive) play by Bambu. And that’d make this supertack plate issue an own goal.
The fix? Disable build plate detection and move on with your life. I will say though, that I have at least one bed scar from forgetting to put the build plate on before sending the print
Agreed, ran mine through the dishwasher on sanitize setting (hot) and it works well now. Wipe it down only when there’s something visible on the plate with ipa or vinegar. Mine stays pretty clean from print to print usually.
I was actually able to find a workaround this issue, I printed very small qrcode on adhesive paper in black and white, and stick it, with the same dimension of the original,on to the original one. It works. Cheerrs.
Er, what? The A1 doesn’t use the QR code It’s build plate detection is simply a physical test in two points to see if there is a build plate at the second point (which is in mid air if the plate is missing). I think the QR code reading is only done by the X1 series?
Got the same first layer issues with the SuperTack plate.
By reading up in online discussions and the Bambu Lab Wiki, the problem occurs when there is even the tiniest amount of play in the hotend clamp.
The Supertack plate has plenty more adhesion then usual plates. The molten filament therefore expands less in the width as with other plates. So the pressure in the nozzle is quite larger.
That brought me to the fix, resulting in mirror finish first layer.
All it takes is unscrewing the hotend heating assembly, gently pull it free. Then tighten the 4 screws at the backside and put the assembly back in place.
Search for hotend-heating-assembly-replacement on the wiki for detailed video instructions
Please note - It is not recommended to clean the SuperTack plate with Isopropyl Alcohol, as it is an organic solvent. Doing so can damage the surface and lead to adhesion issues.
It is recommended to wash it with hot water and dishwashing detergent.
Quote from the Considerations section of the plate listing:
Considerations
The surface is soft. Be careful when using a scraper to remove printed parts.
Do NOT print with TPU filament, as it will damage the build plate.
Increasing heatbed temperature enhances adhesion. Users need to adjust the temperature of the heatbed based on their specific requirements in order to achieve the most suitable level of adhesion.
Before auto-leveling, it is necessary to repeatedly rub the nozzle in the special wiping area of the build plate to completely remove any residual material at the tip of the nozzle. The coating in the special-designed wiping area will gradually become worn over time. This is normal and does not affect print quality or nozzle lifetime, so there is no need to worry about any quality issues.
Bambu Cool Plate SuperTack is considered a consumable part, which will degrade over time. The warranty will only cover manufacturing defects, not cosmetic damage like scratches, dents, or cracks. Defective sheets upon arrival are the only ones covered by the warranty.
SuperTack provides good adhesion without adhesive or frequent cleaning. You can clean the surface with water and detergent if heavy dirt appears. Do NOT use organic solvents (especially acetone) to clean the build plate, as it will damage the SuperTack surface.
Bambu PLA Silk material exhibits strong adhesion on the SuperTack build plate, which may damage printed models. Therefore, we do not recommend using Bambu PLA Silk material on the SuperTack build plate. For users printing with third-party PLA Silk materials, please select the Generic PLA Silk preset in Bambu Studio and evaluate material compatibility based on the specific conditions.
The nozzle is too close to bed. That occurs with SuperTack super powers. The filament is “super glued” instantly and molten plastic will not spread out easily as with other plates. So there is more pressure in the hotend. When there is a bit of play in the hotend heater assembly, the nozzle is pushed down resulting in failed first layers.
It’s build plate detection is simply a physical test in two points to see if there is a build plate at the second point (which is in mid air if the plate is missing). I think the QR code reading is only done by the X1 series?