I also enjoy the smooth PEI plate, as it works with every filament. Yet, when it starts to fail (demanding cleaning), I swap for another, including the cool and Eng plate. They work as intended, with the drawback of limiting the filament material compatibility.
Ive found no detectible negative effect of long overnight pauses on the cool plate, especially if you initiate the pause during a colour change. More details here. https://forum.bambulab.com/t/splitting-long-prints-into-multiple-sessions-using-pause/20253?u=ukdavewood
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The one advantage of printing on the cool plate is that the model will stay positioned in the event of an extended power outage. This isnāt always the case with PEI as the plate cools and the part can release.
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That is the only possible reason I could think of for using the cool plate.
I used mine once and the filament stuck to it so badly, I never got it cleaned up and never used it again. It still has the one print I used it for stuck to it.
There are much better options in my opinion.
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I mainly use a textured PEI, works for everything and donāt have to think about glue sticks etcā¦
To me, it only has 1 downside, it needs a higher temperature and if youāre printing PLA, the chamber can cause some heat creep issues in the hotend. Iāve had 2 or 3 jams as a result. simple solution is to leave the lid off or the door open. Cool plate sorts this as you dont need the bed as warm. Only other reason to use the cool plate is if your looking a smooth surface on the bottom.
Engineering plate is for filaments that like a warmer bed, like Petg.
Well it doesnāt work well when you need it smooth (such as mating surfaces) - but it definitely looks nice for all other cases. Edit: And that is exactly what you said lol
Actually if Bambu released a Textured Cold Plate, Iād buy it immediately.
Preface: I do a lot of small functional prints using a 0.2 nozzle with small layer heights (I really donāt use the 0.4 nozzle much which is why I bought the X1C because of the great prints with a 0.2 nozzle). My parts usually require a brim with a 0.0 Brim-Object Gap to keep the print on the plate. During the design process I will print initially in PLA to refine the design, then use ASA, ABS, PETG, etc for the final print.
The smooth print plates do provide better Z height accuracy over the textured plates.
Here is what I have learned using all the print plates from Bambu. Do not use the ātexturedā plates (Engineering Plate, Textured Gold PEI) when using 0.2 nozzle at any layer height. Itās darn near impossible to remove the brim out of valleys of the texture.
The āCool Plate / PLA Plateā is really the only way to go with 0.2 nozzle with PLA, otherwise it WILL clog up even with the door open and the top off (Iāve gotten really good at unclogging a 0.2 nozzle) with heat creep or going from PLA to an āengineeringā filament. I really need get another 0.2 nozzle and have one dedicated to PLA and the other for other filaments.
The āSmooth PEI / High Temp Plateā is really needed for any other filament besides PLA, again with the 0.2 nozzle.
For maintaining the smooth plates. Forget IPA for cleaning them, just use a good dish soap. And donāt even think about using anything abrasive. I thought using a āMr. Clean Magic Eraserā would help with micro scratches for adhesion. Nope. Just made things worse. So, I donāt understand why Bambu now recommends sanding with >600 grit sandpaper.
Because of my experiment with the āMagic Eraserā messing up the surface I have had to replace the surfaces by just ordering the replacement sticker sheet (I also put a deep gouged in one of plates when scraping off a print when my cat jumped up next to the printer and startled me).
The printable āFilm sticking fixtureā tool is great for alignment, but horrible for putting scratches on the surfaces when trying to get the spare sheets to stick. Still working on how to modify it to reduce the scratching.
One thing I did figure out with all the surfaces (smooth or textured) is the first thing to do is properly clean them to get any of the manufacturing chemicals off. This is the one time where IPA is needed.
- Thoroughly wash with dish soap and towel dry.
- Fully wet down the surface >90% IPA and scrub with a microfiber cloth (repeat at least one more time)
- Wash again with dish soap.
- Thoroughly rinse and towel dry.
Now 95% of the time I donāt need any glue to get parts to stick. But every-now-and-then when I do have issues, I have found 3DLAC spray adhesive to be superior to Bambuās glue stick or liquid glue (it does wash off with soap and water, you might have to do it a couple of times). It only takes a light misting of 3DLAC on where the part will print to get it to stick and have perfectly smooth bottom surfaces.
One thing I have learned is NEVER put glue in the purge areas (back right corner, front edge). If you do, it gets increasingly more difficult to remove the purge lines.
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Thanks for the information, has other people experienced this with the 0.2 nozzle, where they get clogging when using the high temperature plate, and resolve it by using the cold plate instead?
I have used the 0.2 nozzle on the high temperature plate and havenāt experienced a clog yet, but I have only used it a few times with some 4 color models that each took 3-4 hours to print.
No clog here, but then again I havenāt printed nearly as much with 0.2 as @MrDB42 and after I insulated my chamber Iāve been using the Cool Plate when possible. OTOH I have really stretched the limits with it, still with no clog.
I think I will keep my cool plate instead of converting it to high temperature, so if I find I need it for the 0.2 nozzle, I donāt have to buy a new one.
That is one thing I wish I thought of: Just putting the replacement Smooth High Temp on the backside of the cool plate. I see that Bambu has discontinued the āCool Plateā and now offers a āDual Sided PEIā plate (I assume one side is the cool side, and the other is the high temp).
They didnāt discontinue the cool plate. The Dual Sided PEI is high temperature on both sides.
You are right, the cool plate is discontinued, but so far only in the US store. I wonder if it is a mistake or it will be discontinued in the other stores as well after they sell their remaining stock.
Very interesting and great advice thanks.
I love the gold textured PEI sheet with my 0.4 nozzle. Havenāt tried a 0.2 yet but will definitely use the cool plate when do.
Another vote for 3DLAC. Takes a very little spray. I always apply it to the cool plate well away from anything I wouldnt want a glue film on, like cooling fans, just in case theres an overspray film. Lasts a lot longer on the plate and the tin lasts ages.
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increase the first layer height to 0.16 ( i know i know it will throw an error, but it doesnt matter. just ok the error box)
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edit āstart gcodeā to set ātextured peiā to -0.01 for a well used plate, and 0 for a new one
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you are welcome
