Ive been printing this entire time without glue stick on the cold plate and it works like a charm, is it really needed?
I print solely on the High Temp/Textured PEI plate and never use glue. Hasn’t been an issue for me.
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Really depends on what your printing , average temp PLA tc probabily peels right off.
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If that works for you great, in our case, the glue is less of a glue- annd more of a thin layer release agent.
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You also probabily keep your bed\plate really clean of finger prints, oils etc, so no contaiments that glue on top usually provides that coverage\sticking over poor bed\plate hygine etc.
[edit] - Yes @Chris1974 is correct as posted below - so - Disclaimer
- BAMBU SAYS - Please use glue
Its even on the plate edge
If it works and your not destorying our bed \plate- well done.
** Bed sticker is consumable, eventually you will replace it… (or just buy PEI plate:) )
Glue is recommended on the cool plate.
If you don’t use glue you might get lucky and nothing hapens, or you might destroy your buildsurface or anything in between.
Listen to DruiD!!!
I let the complimentary glue bottle sit in my introductory package from Bambu for over a month before I started to do real research.
Blanket statements that Glue is not necessary often leave out specifics. Here is just a few samples of my experience and some of them defy the advice one reads on the internet.
NOTE: A common misconception is that glue is solely used for stiction. That is simply not the case in most of my uses. Glue also serves as a releasing bond that will allow for more easy removal of filaments like PC which aggressively sticks when applied at 100C on any surface.
A Small Sample of My Use-Cases
- PLA on Textured PEI Plate without brims — Glue is not needed unless warping occurs.
- PETG on Textured PEI — Ruins the plate over time. PETG sticks too well and Glue helps not for stiction but because it acts as a release liner.
- PC on Textured PEI — That along with PETG ruined one of my plates. Glue did save some of them but the self-release aspect of that side of the plate is forever gone unless I decide to strip the plate and adhere a PEI sticker to it.
- PETG and PC on Engineering Plate — I like the engineering plate for when I want to achieve a smooth bottom finish. This is very helpful when gluing two objects in post-processing. Bed glue helps with release.
- PETG and PC on High Temp Plate — I used glue always. It just produces better results for both stiction and easier release without damage to the plate.
- PEO Specular Plate - This is a tricky one, on one hand, the specular smooth surface is great for mirror-like finishes but it is also impossible to release certain high temp filaments. Hairspray applied like spray paint evenly accomplishes two-fold benefit, it maintains the specular finish while at the same time, acts as a gentle release barrier for the plate.
Here are some examples of things I can’t do without the combination of both glue and a smooth surface.
Optical clarity
This was only achieved using PETG on Smooth plate using hair spray as a a spray paint. I had to apply two coats over 40 minutes and allow them to bake on the bed before use. Laborious? Yes!!! But the results speak for themselves. Other processes did not provide the specular smoothness.
(disclaimer, some post processing required to achive this look but far less than other approaches)
An example of how I damaged my plate for failure to use glue. This was a PETG print.
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Surprisingly, this is one of the most dividing topics that splits the community into gluers and non-gluers. Each user has their own preference and experience.
If something or setting works for you then there is no need to fix it. I use the high temp textured PEI plate without glue and are happy with it so I will stick with it, even though some users don’t like it.
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I went through many glues, some bought, some home-made. I don’t like the finish that most of them leave on the print. Now I use 3dlac almost exclusively, as it applies very easily and stays on the surface for many prints and I don’t usually have to clean it off in between. This means it’s actually very economical, a single bottle has lasted me over a year now. It seems to help for both adhesion and release.
The only times I’ve had real trouble removing prints is when I’ve been impatient and try to remove hot.
TPU is especially difficult to remove as it tends to bend with the plate. Now I just pop the plate in the freezer for a few minutes and it turns solid, enabling it to be removed easily. I don’t use a cold plate though, so I can’t comment on that. I mainly use the high temp and various PEI plates depending on the surface finish I’m after.
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I don’t know, it’s kind of subjective and there’s no magic bullet solution. Everyone’s experience will be different since most scenarios and configurations will be different. My personal experience is that I typically only use glue as a release agent or when I’m being lazy and don’t clean my build plates very well. If I’m being diligent and properly clean my plate before using, then I don’t typically need to use glue for any type of adhesion. When I need it, I will crisscross glue around the build plate, spritz it with alcohol, and wipe to spread it out and smoothed so it won’t ruin the bottom layer appearance.
WOW - and thank you - your experience is what we needed.
Appreciate all the effort and details!
Just FYI, glue stick dissolves better in water, than in alcohol.
Agreed, it does dissolve better in water. I’m just lazy and I have a spray bottle of alcohol I keep near my printers that does the trick. Plus I like how quickly the alcohol dries. 
I’ve been printing ABS, ASA, PTEG and Nylon on the Engineering Plate without any surface treatment, and it’s been working great. Parts stick good enough sometimes I have to wait for the plate to completely cool off (at which point the parts almost fall off). Build plate surface does not (has not yet, at least) come away with the parts.
Don’t know what I’m doing, but it’s working consistently.
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This is the methode I use to put a layer of glue on the buildplate that leaves no traces on the final print.
Has been working great for me so far!
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I always avoid glue if I can, and when I can’t avoid it I prefer the liquid glue. Admittedly I destroyed my High Temperature plate sheet the other day, by printing TPU95A without glue. It bonded so well I couldn’t get it off without tearing the sheet. So now I need to order a new sheet. I also have a white G10 inbound, should be nice with a white plate when printing black.
I print mainly PLA+ and ABS and never used Glue, hell im still on the original plate that came with my kickstarter printer.
I Just rasied my bed temp to 55Deg for PLA+ and 95Deg for ABS (cool plate side) and never had a print come loose and the prints pop off the build plate easily enough…
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Glue is helpful on the cool plate to help REMOVE objects. It seems backwards, glue in this case helps remove an item, not help to stick.
I mostly use the textured plate for pla (no glue) but for certain items PLA doesn’t stick properly on the textured plate so you HAVE to break out the cool plate. If you print directly on the cool plate and DO NOT use glue you are going to have a hard time removing the item, especially the little test strips the printers do. Try a glue stick (elmers disappearing purple) and watch how much easier things are removed (but still stickier than the textured plate).
Here are the steps:
wash the cool plate with dish soap, I just use my hands, not a sponge
dry without overly touching the printing portion of the plate
apply a layer of glue to the entire printing portion of the plate
print the pla object
remove object once completed
wash plate with dish soap to prepare for another print
an item that would fall into the category of not printable on the textured plate would be something with a small surface area but long, like a rod. I’ve had things like that fail consistently on the textured plate but work fine with the cool plate with glue.
I used glue on my glass mirror plate on my bed slingers and Ender 5+ and it did not dry and peel as the BL cool plate does, all that suntan-like skin peeling on the part and the plate is driving me mad as I have to clean it after every print and I can get about 10 prints per glue coat on my other machines, I guess I will have to buy a textured PEI sticker, damn! my bundle came with 2 replacement cool plate stickers that could end up useless to me, I also got a bottle of 3D Lak but as yet have not tried it, maybe that does not dry and peel!
Oddly, the amount of stiction I get for my PLA+ is dependent on the shade - darker colors adhere more firmly (and have slightly more squish) than lighter colors.
I print in White and Red PLA+ with no glue and no trouble, but if I print in Blue or Black PLA+ from the same vendor, I have serious issues removing it from the Cool plate. Adding the glue lets me remove the darker filament much easier.
Obviously not! As long as your prints are OK don’t use it. But keep in mind thats there a possibility for improvement.
“Sticker”
Regards,
Hauk