I’ve been using the glue stick (or liquid glue) with the Bambu Cool Plate printing PLA. In general, adhesion is great. However, I have noticed that the bottom surface on the printed item will come out with marks from the glue stick. It’s not glue remnants - it’s like the glue stick created the finest surface texture on the plate and then imprints that on the model. It’s much less pronounced with the liquid glue, possibly because it’s thinner, but when I use the glue stick, my object bottom surface looks like a kid colored on it with a clear crayon… because that’s how the glue was put on the plate.
Are there tips for using the glue stick or liquid glue to help avoid creating bottom surface texture issues? Or is that just something you live with when using glue and the Cool Plate?
I never could completely eliminate them, so I switched to hairspray (specifically aquanet) and haven’t looked back since. If it’s an intricate, complicated or lengthy print that is prone to issues I might break out the liquid glue (either magigoo or Bambu liquid.) But 99€ of the time.its aquanet for me.
I use a liquid adhesive that just makes a discoloration on the build plate
If you use a glue stick, just wash the build plate with hot soapy water. Then glue it again. Doesn’t matter.
It’s not the build plate I’m concerned with, it’s the printed object and the surface texture that remains from having used the glue stick. It’s not residue or remaining glue stick that can be washed off.
Maker’s Muse says he applies the gluestick and then dilutes it with something, so that it becomes more like a liquid on the build plate and therefore doesn’t have the texture of which you speak. I forgot now what he uses to thin it out. IPA maybe? Acetone? Probably one or the other.
Maybe hitting it with a hot air gun would melt away the features but otherwise leave the gluestick material better spread around?
[Edit]
Got it wrong again.
I use a spray adhesive but a light liquid one would also work, since it would be a very thin layer and probably won’t be seen. I also print with a raft as well.
He isn’t saying he doesn’t know how to remove the residue, he says he wants to prevent the imprint of the gluestick (the shape of it) from imprinting onto his print. We’ve all had this, if it gets caked onto the build plate too thick.
I have seen a video where the person just used a cloth made wet with water and then use a circular motion to smooth out the glue. I tried it and it does help, but hairspray works better, especially if you use two or three light coats.
Some very thin residue from the hairspray will remain on the plate after washing with soap and water. I think the residue might reduce adhesion when not using any glue or hairspray, but I haven’t properly tested that to confirm.
It is possible to clean the residue off, but it is a bit time consuming. I have a high temperature plate, I think I am going to remove my cool plate sticker and replace it with a high temperature sticker and use one hairspray plate and another non-hairspray plate.
FWIW, the Bambu Labs liquid glue goes on pretty thin, because the applicator spreads it out. I wouldn’t call it a very strong adhesion promotor. I have used it as a bond breaker, and it seems to work well enough for that purpose.
I’ve heard that some people who print ABS use a mix of ABS and acetone (aka “abs juice”) to prep their bed and get the ABS print to stick well to the build plate. Apparently it helps thwart warping, where the print pulls away from the bed.
I’m finding that keeping the glue stick cool makes it less likely to leave thick streaks on the plate. I only heat my shop to about 12-14 °C in the winter. At that temperature, the glue is much firmer and applies in a consistently thin layer that leaves a smooth bottom surface. I might be forced to add a beer fridge to the shop this summer!
I’m still experimenting with hair spray. Best results have been with 3-4 light misting coats. Fewer coats can stick too well, heavier coats create drops and runs. When I get it right, prints just fall off the plate with a perfect bottom surface.
Had some problems, too. TPU stuck so hard I had to reheat the plate to release the print (Not enough coats?). I’ve also had some small items that could not stick to hair spray well enough to complete the first layer - glue stick worked perfectly.
Some have already mentioned it, but glue stick wetted down can be applied rather smooth. I like the idea of aqua net, but I don’t like the idea of overspray, especially in my office.
My preference is to use IPA as the wetting agent since it dries quick. Plus I already keep a spray bottle of it around to clean off resin prints. Only down side is that it can get tacky while wiping down and leave streaks, but that can be easily remedied by spraying and wiping it again.
Another benefit of using the glues stick is that you don’t necessarily need to reapply, but can just wet it down after a print, spread out the glue and get more life out of it. If it gets too dirty or have too much build up, you can then just wash it down with soap and start over again.
