About a month ago, I purchased a smooth PEI plate. It was great, but it was immediately damaged by my nozzle… the filament of the first layer left an imprint on the plate. I DID ALL THE PROPER CALIBRATION BEFORE HAND I also did it after I started noticing the marks too. My prints started out great, but then they started to stick way too hard. I put pubbing alcohol around the perimeter… it did not work. I ended up damaging the build plate. I was able to get a new plate as a goodwill gesture from Bambu… which I appreciate very much, but I wish they had included better instructions on how to properly care for the plate.
I did bend the plate to remove parts, and it worked great… until it didn’t.
Any tips for having better luck with this plate? I am impressed by the quality… but they are hard to use and seem to damage themselves even on the first print.
Thank you for this feedback. I appreciate you taking the time to write this!
I do not have a access to a freezer, although I heard that warming up the plate for a while helps? I printed Hobby Lobby PLA… and that stuff just did not want to come off. It is super nice PLA, too.
Wow! That’s catastrophic failure. What filament did this? I’ve been printing PLA/PETG/ASA/ABS (filaments are mostly from bambu) on this plate for over a year, always cleaning it with warm water and dish soap, I don’t use alcohol at all. I have 2 of these plates, and I try to alternate between both of its sides every 2-3 prints.
I think it is made by Hobby Lobby themselves. I did not see a contractor on the package, but I will check again when I get the time. It is really solid filament. I have had no issues with it, and it is locally available.
I got my new PEI plate, but the same issue keeps happening: the prints, although calibrated correctly, leave marks on the plate. I do not know why this is or how to fix it.
It’s normal for the smooth PEI plate to have marks from prints, once you wash it with soapy warm water, some of those marks will come off, as long as the top layer of the PEI plate isn’t damaged, you should be good to go. I’ll take a picture of my PEI plate when I get home to show you its condition after about 400 hours on printing on it.
I know others may disagree but glue helps both keep models stuck down, but also helps them separate when done. The glue kind of puts a cap on how much force is required to remove a model and protects build plates.
I use the cool plate, engineering plate, and textured PEI all with glue with PLA and PETG. Liquid glue on textured PEI and stick on the others.
Flexing the plates removes models easily but warm water helps release little nibs of support if it’s present.
It does such a good job for me that I use glue all the time. Takes out the risk of models coming loose before done and helps prevent lifting. Goes a long way to keep failed prints from happening and protects the build plates as plastic never touches the plate itself. No surprises from filament bonding to the build plate surface. And the glue washes away with warm water.
Thank you for this! I might start using glue soon. I thought hobby lobby had some… but I looked closer at the label, and it appeared to be super glue? But it was not labeled as super glue, or bed adhesive.
You want glue advertised as washable, or you will ruin your plate. Test it on some non-porous trash, let it dry, and see if it will dissolve with warm water.
if the imprint is just a really thin layer of filament this is exactly why I tell to don’t use PEI plates with PETG.
PEI plates are same of an unknown tire brand when you buy a questionable motorcycle. the first thing is to buy a new set of Pirelli/Dunlop tires and throw the others..
I use the Bambu brand stuff only since it’s easy to add in during an order but I also know I’m paying extra. When I first started using glue I wasn’t sure which generics I could safely use and took the easy route since it guaranteed compatibility.
I see the Elmers stick recommended a lot though and have some. Just haven’t tried it myself yet to have an opinion.
