BuildTak - Is it worth the money?

BuildTak

Price: $4.00 to $21.00 depending on size and quality

Specs:

4.5″ x 4.5″ (114*114), 6.5″ x 6.5″ (165*165), 6.5″ Diameter (165Dia), 5.83″ x 7.95″ (202*148), 8″ x 8″ (203*203), 8″ Diameter (203DIA), 6.25″ x 9.25″ (159*235), 6.5″ x 10″ (165*254), 6.5″ x 11.5″ (165*292), 8″ x 10″ (203*254), 9″ x 10″ (228*254), 10″ x 10″ (254*254), 12″ x 12″ (304*304), 12″ Diameter (304Dia), 16″ x 16″ (406*406)

http://www.buildtak.com/







First I would like to thank BuildTak for sending me their build surface!



For those unaware of BuildTak, BuildTak is a thin sheet material with adhesive on the bottom side to allow the product to stick to your current build surface but due to the adhesive side once the surface is taken off the build plate you cannot reapply the surface to your build plate again. BuildTak is available in Black and White along with many different sizes but can be easily cut with scissors or an Exacto Knife to be custom fit to any size build plate. BuildTak has a rough top surface that allows the print no matter the type of filament to adhere to the surface without any messy glues, hair sprays, or expensive tapes. I have personally found that once the surface starts to lose the rough finish you can sand the surface lightly with high grit sand paper to give it a rough finish again. An advantage of BuildTak is the ability to use a heated bed and not warp the system. A problem that does arise when using the product is calibrating to close to the build surface, if this happens you will have difficulty taking your print off the build surface.



Recommendations:

I would use this on a printer such as a Da Vinci where you cannot control the heat of the bed or a printer with a removable bed. I would also recommend this surface with Proto-Pasta’s new build plate which allows you to remove the plate and bend it to pop the print off.



Advantages:

• Easy calibration due to the thickness of the plate
• Can use with a heated bed
• Allows any type of filament to adhere with glues, tapes, or hair sprays

Disadvantages:

• Cannot be removed and reapplied
• Cause problems if calibrated to close to bed