Golden Textured PEI Plates - Stock vs. Aftermarket experience

Bambu Filament and Accesories
1

I bought a P1P before BL started offering the golden PEI bed plates.
The PEI plate that came with my P1P was gray/black.

I discovered sheets like these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BFCSXVYZ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3F6YG9AOSFKU4&psc=1
(This was not the exact listing I bought, but generally the same)

I bought them for the colorful PEO patterns they offered. When I tried the golden textured PEI side on a whim, I noticed it performed way better than the stock gray/black textured PEI plate that came with my printer.

I use these aftermarket golden textured PEI plates exclusively for any models I want to print with the textured first layer. I washed them the first time with soap and water and have never washed them since, except for a quick wipe with 70% IPA and a micro-fiber towel between prints. They have had exceptional adhesion performance for all things PLA, PETG and TPU. No glue ever.
I have never had the issues people report on this forum about the stock BL golden textured PEI plates and they are half the cost.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with these aftermarket plates?

Has anyone used both the stock BL golden textured PEI plate and the aftermarket versions? Can you please give me an honest comparison?

When using the colorful PEO side with PETG I find I do have to wash with soap and water between uses.

1 Like
2

I was hesitant to try these after-market plates because I didn’t know if they would be worth the lower cost. Sometimes you get what you pay for. But based on your recommendation, I think I will try them.

Thanks!

I will let you know what my experience is with them.

1 Like
3

Yes, please. Give it a try. For the low cost I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

I am just amazed at how often people are reporting the issues the stock BL PEI plates and how they have to scour them with sandpaper or steel wool to restore performance.

I can’t be the only one this forum to use the aftermarket versions. :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

4

I’d be happy to share with you my Amazon advertures but be warned that due to scam tactics, what I link to is not what was delivered back when I ordered it thanks to both unethical Chinese Sellers and Amazon’s collusion with said sellers.

I have both the original Bambu Black texture PEI and the new Gold texture PEI. I found that the Gold Bambu PEI is a pale shadow of the its previous black version. A real pity but then again, it goes to show that when it comes to consumables, Bambu buys off the open market just like we do.

I also have the dual sided Bambu Engineering and High Temp plate. I can understand why Bambu obsoleted that. As far as performance goes, it’s just meh!!! It excels at nothing but has become second choice when performing smooth prints. But I must confess that I added Kapton tape to the engineering side for the purposes of getting a specular finish.

I have also purchased two dual sided plates with a similar goal as yours.

  1. Smooth PEO/ Textured PEI - The textured PEI has the same poor performance as the Bambu Gold. I often find that I need to use adhesive for certain filaments after the textured side fails.

  2. Specular PEA and PEI sheet. This was a real disappointment over the long term. I ended up getting better performance for mirror-like finishes using Kapton on an Engineering plate.

Here are the plates I purchase and I include the screen grabs solely because in typical Chinese-bait & switch Amazon scam tactics, those very links now go to other products. Why do I call them scams? Because the standard method among unethical Chinese sellers is to garner great reviews and then swap out the product for something much inferior and Amazon allows those reviews of other products to stand thus impersonating the older superior product.

image
image1474×496 89 KB

Here are the links as they stand today. You can see that there is a colored PEI choice on one of them, and I promise you that wasn’t the product I was shipped. So, caveat emptor!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLNW6W3N/
This one is so shameless, the link doesn’t even go back to a Bambu dimensioned plate but rather one made for a Voron. Yet, the links from my purchase page takes me to this page now. I assure you that what was delivered was a 257x257mm plate.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQJZ5CZF/

This is what the link looks like today. I am screen snipping it because who knows what it will look like tomorrow.

image
image1740×666 110 KB

Look for this flag at the bottom of the page for suspect sellers. Amazon is at least starting to provide transparency. While that is no substitute for enforcement, it’s better than nothing.

image
image1129×204 22.7 KB

1 Like
5

I find my aftermarket one is finer texture and adheres better than the Bambu one. But then I have the original ‘chunky’ texture Bambu plate and it’s never filled me with much confidence. When Bambu first released it there were quite a lot of first layer issues with it that were fixed with a firmware update iirc. I’m sure they have improved the material in the newer plates.

Incidentally I’m about to order the Bambu dual-sided textured/smooth pei so I will give a more accurate comparison then. But yeah, for the price I paid for the golden aftermarket pei I can’t complain, after all the whole reason I bought it in the first place was because the Bambu one was temperamental.

Also the other side of my aftermarket one is a smooth diamond patterned design (which transposes onto the print) and that adheres very well for such a smooth finish. I noticed Bambu are releasing their own variants of this in June, so I’m eager to get my hands on them as the designs look pretty funky.

p.s it was Aliexpress for me…

2024-05-17 15.37.08
2024-05-17 15.37.081280×325 33.6 KB

6

Yep!
Same things I oringlaly ordered:

Screenshot 2024-05-17 10.34.14
Screenshot 2024-05-17 10.34.14858×337 45.3 KB

That’s why I didn’t link to them in my OP.

But I have since bought more of the PEO patterns from Aliexpress and many have the golden textured PEI on the opposite side and they JUST WORK.

7

Maybe you have pinpointed the difference in the sheets?
I have never seen the stock BL plate in person to compare the textures.
The finer texture might just make the adhesion difference. This might explain why people have to scour them to increase their performance.

8

Good feedback. Can you share the Aliexpress links and possibly do a screengrab since those links are as perishable as 12 day-old bananas. :grin:

9

Tried to show the difference with a jewellers eyepiece and my phone (I’m so high-tech)

IMG_9941
IMG_99411920×2560 165 KB

IMG_9944
IMG_99441920×2560 162 KB

I’m also thinking this gold material must have better adhesion properties as most printer manufacturers have moved over to it, and I can’t see it just being an aesthetic choice.

1 Like
10

I believe these were the original ones I bought, with the triangles and carbon fiber (PEO and PET) designs on the one side and the golden textured PEI on the other.
I bought these first and that’s when I discovered the superior adhesion properties of the PEI side.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805628491926.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.57fa38daOe8H2R&mp=1&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

I bought the colored PEY versions later, but the aftermarket golden textured PEI sides seem to all work the same in my experience.

Screenshot 2024-05-17 11.21.22
Screenshot 2024-05-17 11.21.221774×853 117 KB

1 Like
11

Great examples and kudos for thinking of capturing it through a Loupe. :+1: I think it really is obvious from those two examples.

I must disagree, though, on the use of the Gold. My theory is that it is cheaper because it’s definitely NOT better, as my three plates have proven to me. The Gold plates have much thinner powder coatings, which I believe is cost-driven, while the black plates have much thicker coatings. Either way, whether that’s just my perception or not, the properties I love in the original Bambu black plate, such as great adhesion but easy release upon cooling, are simply not present in my two gold plates. One of those plates is from Bambu and the other from the open market.

1 Like
12

Strange one as I have had way more success with the gold plate, and how dare you suggest the quality of products is worsening over time, it’s all a myth :wink:

13

I have to agree.
I don’t use any stock BL plates anymore.
As far as price and quality… I think BL just marks them up because they are branded. (just my opinion)

14

Yeah I mean let’s be honest, these are all likely getting made in the same factories.

Even if Bambu engineers go to a manufacturer and say here’s our composition, this is what we want you to make, it will be copied within 5 minutes of it being on sale, if not before.

The biggest differentiator might end up being the longevity of the plates, though. Maybe the BL ones will last longer…

15

Since they’re no longer available, maybe I should auction mine off. : )

Or… maybe I’ll do the “Pepsi challenge” with them. A tall skinny model test between the stock BL black texture plate and the aftermarket gold.

1 Like
16

Thank you @Lexi :clap:I just ordered a PEI Smooth/textured black plate. Even if it doesn’t measure up, I have use for a bare steel plate for another project and at $13, this can easily be sanded and serve that purpose.

image
image1367×260 45.2 KB

17

You may be onto something here @Olias

First test pass: the OEM black textured PEI plate beat the golden aftermarket textured PEI plate.

I want to test a few more times before posting results.

18

I tested the OEM Black Bambu Lab PEI texture Plate (BBPP) against the aftermarket Golden PEI textured Plate (AGPP).

Test model: a cylinder 10mm in diameter and 220mm (skinny and tall) printed in silver PETG printed at 250 deg C & on a bed temp of 70 deg C.

Initial conditions: I started by washing both plates with soap and water and fully dried with a microfiber cloth.

1st print run:

Freshly cleaned aftermarket AGPP:

Adhesion failed after 73mm

Freshly cleaned aftermarket BBPP:

Adhesion failed after 133mm

I subsequently squirted 70% IPA on each plate and wiped with microfiber after every print

Second test pass:

AGPP:

Full model print - no de-adhesion

BBPP:

Adhesion failed

3rd test pass:

AGPP:

Full model print - no de-adhesion

BBPP:

Full model print - model broke free at the last layer falling over and leaving a large blob of PETG on top layer

4th test pass:

AGPP:

Full model print - no de-adhesion
(as an experiment I turned the plate over with the test model still stuck to it and balanced the sheet on top of and between the printer and another object to see how long the model would hold on while the plate was cooling. As I loaded the other plate I jiggled the printer and the model fell off with the AGPP falling second and cutting the test model into 2 pieces. oops!)

BBPP:

Full model print - again the model broke free at the last layer falling over and leaving a large blob of PETG on top layer

Conclusions:

signal-2024-05-20-082250_002
signal-2024-05-20-082250_0021920×1080 508 KB

Freshly washed with soap and water has inferior adhesion properties for both plates. It was only after I followed each plate up with an IPA wipe that the adhesion worked to hold the model for a full print.
And only the with the Aftermarket Golden textured PEI Plate (AGPP) the model stayed attached to the very end of the print.

The last 2 passes had the Bambu Lab Black textured PEI Plate (BBPP) finishing the model but breaking free at the very end to leave an unsightly blob of PETG on the top of the test model:

signal-2024-05-20-082406_002
signal-2024-05-20-082406_0021920×1080 526 KB

The AGPP full print models did not suffer this fate:

signal-2024-05-20-082430_002
signal-2024-05-20-082430_0021920×1080 488 KB

Feel free to draw your own conlusions.

I’d love to see someone with a stock Bambu Lab Golden Textured PEI plate run this same test against the after market version.

I will continue recommending people drop the ~$16 on an aftermarket golden plate as they just work with a swipe of IPA and have superior adhesion properties (at least for PETG).

And clearly a soap and water cleaning alone, does not restore a proper adhesion behavior to a “dirty” plate… don’t forget the alcohol!

3 Likes
19

I have purchased an aftermarket JUUPINE PEI textured sheet and the PEO / PEY sheet recently. The aftermarket PEI sheet has much better adhesion than the stock PEI sheet. Both have the same number of hours on it.

1 Like
20

Which stock PEI plate do you have?

The black or the newer gold one?