Yo mates,
In dire need of your expertize and any hints, tricks or tips you might have for me…
I’m trying to print PetG and follow the recommendation and put glue stick on the PEI TEXTURED PLATE…
It is not doable, I get big slobs of Gluestick all over the plate.
I tried a bunch of different gluesticks as recommended in different forums, one is worse than the other.
(Well except the very cheapest one that comes in a doublepack from Willy’s, as in Swedish Supermarket, it actually works a bunch better then the Bambu Lab Glue Stick as it goes on a lot more even on all plates including the Engineering Plate, big difference actually!)
This happens… despite trying to put it on as evenly and light touched as possible, cleaning the plate first!
These gluesticks are water soluable, so you can just put a few drops of water on the pei and spread the glue evenly with your fingers or a rag / brush.
The adhesion… well it is the hopes it does NOT adhere so bad that I rip the plate surface to shreds.
Trying to dissolve a glue stick (started about when I posted these two threads) but I used Isopropyl Alcohol instead of water with hopes that it will dry quicker on the plates and not add to high waterlevels in the air and contaminate my prints…
In reply to SunCardinals question what filament type I use (I guess your asking what specific brands of PetG since I already said PetG quite a lot in my posts above and laid out in detail that our forum-mates pictures of ripped apart Textured PEI Plates worried me a tad thus the quest for your feedback here mates:)
I narrowed it down to a few PetG brands,
mainly using;
eSun
StrongHold
123-3D
Azure
R3D
Add North
Prima
Radius
and when Bambu Labs release their PetG I WILL use this also, there is also a PetG filament that has a color named Digital Blue but I cannot remember the manufacturer?!? I will also try their Digital Blue if I can lay my hands on it through Amazon.something or wherever…
That is basically what I use mostly…
I should mebbe add I am on the lookout for some clashy neon colored PetG rolls to do some stuff I’m designing in TinkerCad… (Stuck with TC until I narrowed down what CAD software that is easy nouf for a dummy like yours truly could pick up, also pick up free!)
Tried the first batch of GlueStick dissolved in IPA/Isopropyl Alcohol…
Applied with a nice varnish brush to minimize straw lines on the buildplate. (Still got some but they mostly dried down to invisibility to the naked eye)
Results…
The PetG did not grab on to the textured plate,
actually got the Spaghetti Warning during the first layer as the supports came loose and crumbled up like bark on a birch…
Crepe!
Hmm I throw in more GlueSticks and I’ll try make a thicker mix…
Then get that textured PEI plate sterile clean, and keep your bed temp 55-65*, then wait for cool down for easy release. even touching the print area with bare fingers will leave trace body oils and cause problems. PETG is a very difficult medium to print, so tune your filament first and save brain damage. Several good threads in here on how to get good PETG results.
You should not be having any adhesion problems with the textured PEI plate unless your part is tall and thin/small, then use a brim.
I’ve also had a lot of success printing eSun PETG directly on the textured plate with no glue stick or other adhesives. I just use the default Generic PETG profile with the eSun and it has worked well for me.
As pointed out, the only effective way to clean textured plates is with soap (Dawn or equiv) and water (a couple of times) and then dry with clean paper towels / lint free cloth. IPA isn’t really effective in cleaning textured plates since contaminants can get down in the low areas and don’t get removed. And acetone is a no-no with PEI. Good luck …
You might want to try hair spray. You can mist it on and have a very even coat. Make sure it is dry to the touch before printing. Aqua Velvet extra hold seems to be the best. Available here in the US. Clean it off with hot tap water and a brush. If a big part is stuck, get the plate wet and the part will come loose around the edges.
I have been printing large objects up to 235mm by 139mm on the PEI Textured Plate. I tried different glue sticks, etc and had many problems with adhesion and warping. I finally determined Aqua Net hairspray is the best. I have not had any adhesion issues or warping since using Aqua Net. I mainly print with Bambu Lab PETG-CF, PolyLite PETG and Polylite ASA and my X1C prints almost 24/7.
No glue needed. At least in my experience. But as others have said, don’t touch the build area of the plate and then try to print on it. I can literally touch it and watch the print not stick to just that spot. The PEI plate (and at least PETG) is very sensitive to hand oils. Just clean it and don’t touch the build area. No glue needed. Also, make sure your plate is correctly selected in the slicer. If you have the Cool plate selected with PETG… that’s not going to work. The bed temp will be way too low.
I was always under the impression that the whole reason for the PEI plate was so you don’t have to use a glue stick. That is the reason why I purchased it. I have not used a glue stick since I got it and print using PETG all the time without any issues with Adhesion. In fact, sometimes it adheres to good.
I use 3dLac. Very easy to apply and works for multiple prints. After every 5-8 prints I clean the sheet with an alcohol-based cleaning product and then reapply.
An alternative to 3dLac could also be a perfumeless hairspray.
The only time I’ve ever had PETG not stick to my textured PEI plate was when I used the manufacturer’s recommended bed temp of 60. Once I cranked it up to 80, it stuck perfectly every time.
