So i tried printing two cubes. One in the problem area and one in a known good area, and sure enough the one in the front has warping errors and the other one is fine.
I think the original PEI plate had a few issues with longevity.
The first 2 I had degraded within about 6 months and eventually lost pretty much all stickiness across the plates.
The 3rd one (still an original one) I have is still going strong after about 6 months.
The secret is to… (contrary to much info on the net)
never touch it (except for the very front edge where it dosent print) with your bare hands/fingers. Even if you think you have the cleanest hands in the world the tiny bits of grease left behind eventually damage the surface.
Never, ever wash or even rinse it. water, soap, alcohol, nothing, just never ever wash it. Again it causes the surface to eventually degrade.
Wait for the bed to fully cool before removing prints. Then they usually just slide right off. Pulling them off when they are still stuck removes tiny bits of the surface and eventually degrades.
If bits of prints are still stuck use a plastic scraper to ease them off. Do not use a metal one.
If you need to give it a rub to remove something use a dry, lint free cloth. Nothing else.
Observing the above my original PEI plate is practically still brand new after 6 months constant use.
I notice they have a new PEI plate out now, probably to address the issues with the original but I would still do the above.
Just to note though, build plates, (or build plate surfaces) are usually considered life limited items. But I would still expect them to last a year or 3 depending on use before having to replace. luckily spares aren’t too pricy Ill shut up now.
I washed all my build plates with soapy water and have yet to have any problems that aren’t fixed with a small cleaning. But I’ll keep your tips in mind for longevity
