Best bed surface?

Hi guys,
I have started printing phone cases and really need to nail that first layer because it is the back of the case!
I need a new idea on what to put on the bed so the back of the case looks clean.
I have tried Hairspray, Blue tape, Glue stick, nothing and a mixture of hairspray and tape.
Problem with each
Hairspray: Cannot get a consistent spray usually means that the back of the case would ugly and would sometimes have big blobs of hairspray on the bed and then that would indent into the case.
Blue tape: dull colour and the lines where the tape connects indents into the case. (currently trying just blue tape again, taking my time to nail the laying down of the tape.
Glue stick: the Glue stick is nice but it often shows the lines on how I layed it down, since the glue stick isnt thick enough.
Nothing: dosent stick properly and isnt nice.

Im thinking of printing the case on its side but then that would use more material for support.
Any ideas? Maybe a gekotek board I am very interested in getting a board like that?
Also I have just tried a raft and that completely stuck the phone case which is unfortunate.
Thanks
Pat

 

Try Vinyl. PLA and ABS both stick well to it and it provides a nice surface finish.

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/geckotek3d/geckotek-3d-printer-build-plate this also looks promising.

 

I noticed there's been 6 Robo3D R1 magnetic base and build plate orders. Have you ordered one?


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Oh snap I just noticed that. Lemme ask him again what the details on it were.

 

Darkhunter,

Vinyl might be one good solution but hairspray should work fine. You need to retry hairspray perhaps with a different brand and method of application. I have no problem getting a perfectly smooth glasslike bottom surface every time. I use Aquanet Extra Super Hold in the big cheap purple aerosol can. To prevent overspray from getting everywhere I mask the bed with a cardboard shirt box top with a square hole cutout. For an even smooth surface spray a liberal amount on a clean room temperature bed. I probably hold it around 5 inches away and spray a back and forth raster like pattern. There should be no clumps or bare patches. It is really much easier than it sounds. The heat the bed to about 60C to dry. It will steam when it hits 60. It is usually dry when it hits 60C. Then print with the bed at 50 or 55C for PLA, 110C or so for ABS. Do not spray on a hot bed, it will dry instantly and not give even coverage. The room temperature bed allows the hairspray to even out.

The other component of course is a level bed and proper starting height. The filament should be slightly squished into the bed on the first layer. The first layer extrusions for some filament types and colors will completely merge giving a solid color bottom surface. Other filaments may show the pattern but still be completely smooth.

Again this is really much easier than it sounds. My son and I do this automatically every time we print and the bottom surface comes out great. For prints where we don't care about he bottom finish we use much less spray, don't bother to clean the bed, and frequently just reuse the spray from the last print.

You can also try cleaning the bed really well and printing on the bare glass. This does not work for all filament materials and brands. And does not work unless the object has a large bed contact surface area.

 

Thanks, I will have to give vinyl a try I think I have some laying around . Yes Mike it looks good, I have been considering buying it for a bit now, especially with r1 compatibilities. SteveC I will give hairspray another go, I started spraying the spray on when the bed was heating up. I will give it another try on a cool bed then heat it up!
Thank you

 

I am using my mums hairspray its extra strong hold. I live in the Oz and haven't seen Aquanet around, do you know if there is anywhere I can buy it from? Cheers

 

Perhaps mums hairspray dries too quickly and does not get a chance to flow and even out. This is also why you need to apply it with a cold bed. Whenever I tried to apply it to a hot bed it would leave holes all over with no hairspray in them.

 

The GekoTek plate looks interesting but I would be worried about this statement from the comment section in regards to the new bed level sensing:

Creator Brad Ruff on June 18
Much of this is in FAQ. It is a polymer coating so if you run the hot nozzle into it, it will scratch. But one scratch wont ruin it. Its pretty tough, Water and alcohol is fine. We found that its not nearly as susceptible to finger oils, etc like kapton and other tapes. Because of the flexing plate, parts should pop right off.​

I would be pretty upset if the level sense bumping put nine marks all over the bed. That would impact your nice smooth bottom prints.

I don't have bed leveling yet so perhaps the Printrbot inductive non-contact sensor scheme would be the way to go since the GekoTek is a metal plate. http://printrbot.com/shop/auto-leveling-probe-2/ Has anyone looked into this?

 

Man, I wouldnt want to buy the bed and then next minute have a huge scratch through it!

 

Will the auto level probe work on the RoBo?

 

It looks like it could work if you can find a good place to mount it. Probably should start a new thread if is anyone is interested in this.

I think the Printrbot uses this sensor or something pretty close:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LJ8A3-2-Z-A...V-PNP-NC-/130991605669?_trksid=p2054897.l5660
Product Name : Inductive Proximity Switch;Model : LJ8A3-2-Z/AY;Theory : Inductive Sensor;Wire Type : DC 3 Wire Type (Black, Brown, Blue)
Switch Appearance Type : Cylinder Type, Metal Shell;Output Type : PNP NC;Diameter of Column Sensor : 8mm;Detecting Distance : 2mm
Supply Voltage : DC 6-36V;Current Output : 300mA;Detect Object : Iron
Total Size : 5 x 1.5cm/2'' x 0.6'' (L*W);Cable Length : 1.2m/47'';External Material : Plastic, Metal

Or this one on amazon prime:
http://www.amazon.com/LJ8A3-2-Z-3-wire-Inductive-Proximity-Sensor/dp/B005GCM7BC/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1404881098&sr=1-1&keywords=Inductive Proximity Sensor

There are a lot of these on ebay and amazon with different specs and sizes.

A good discussion here using a differently shaped sensor: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/deltabot/NTZUGcTKxxI

 

Another vote from me for vinyl. Does a great job and leaves a smooth surface


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What you need to do is enable a raft. Make it 2 mm

Once the print is done, heat the bed to 100 and then take off the print. You could take off the print while it's cold, but I found that the raft leaves a few strands behind when removing cold.

When it's warm it peels off cleanly. raft is your friend when trying to make sure the bottom of the print is perfect.


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Okay thanks guys

 

The hairspray is working great, however I am curious about the vinyl.
With the vinyl do you print directly onto it and do you have to heat the bed?
Also should I change my Z offset?

 

I print directly onto vinyl with no hairspray or anything. Heated bed helps with larger prints I find. I did a re level of my bed and reset the z height because the vinyl is reasonably thick


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Same. I print directly to the vinyl. For PLA I generally heat my bed to 50c.