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DIY Fleks 3D (type) build plate - no glue, no hairspray

Discussion in 'Show and Tell' started by Bruce Jenkins, Apr 25, 2016.

  1. 3D Printer Man

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    How do this stick to the bed?
     
  2. TomerO

    TomerO Member

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    What do you mean?

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  3. 3D Printer Man

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    Like how does it stick to the glass bed

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  4. 3D Printer Man

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    Oh, and how big is it?
     
  5. TomerO

    TomerO Member

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    It stick very well. And it is the same size

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  6. 3D Printer Man

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    Ok thanks. Will investigate.:)
     
  7. 3D Printer Man

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    Were do you get them from home depot?
     
  8. KTMDirtFace

    KTMDirtFace Well-Known Member

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    Printing on the Fleks3d or the Zebra plate/skin or buildTak all require less bed heat and a bigger gap for your Z offset or stuff tends to really really stick. So might be the same thing your seeing.

    Also this is the code I use for simplify3d to have it auto level while cold. then heat up. Note: you must make sure its cold before you start a print and make sure the nozzle is clean. Which is a bit annoying like I have to heat the nozzle up then shut the heat off.. and pick the ooze off with tweezers..so that by the time it cools back down its clear and ready to start the pint.

    Code:
    G28 ; home all axes
    G1 Z5 F5000 ; lift Z by 5mm
    M565 Z-1.0; set the offset for auto-leveling mechanism
    G29 ; run auto-level
    
    ; This set of code is so that it autolevels before heating so that the BuildTek surface is not damaged
    G1 Z5 F5000 ; lift Z by 5mm so it doesnt rest on the BuildTek while heating.
    M140 S[bed0_temperature] ; Set Bed Temperature
    M190 S[bed0_temperature] ; Wait for Bed Temperature
    M104 S[extruder0_temperature] T0 ; set extruder temperature .
    M109 S[extruder0_temperature] T0 ; set extruder temperature and wait for temp
    
     
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  9. Bruce Jenkins

    Bruce Jenkins Member

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    What I do ..

    1. cool my hotend < 60c (MatterSlicer still starts the hotend heating at the begining of the print) if your gcode doesn't you can be < 140c. The nozzle will melt a divot point in the plate if it is > ~145c.

    2. Before I hit the 'print button' I use the 'putty knife' that came with the ROBO 3D (used for knocking of a print) .. and knock the cold filament off the tip of the nozzle - so it won't interfere with the leveling. I place the sharp edge against the filament and with a quick 'bump' I can knock off the cold filament.

    3. hit the print button to start the print.

    4. As the nozzle is heating - if there is a lot of ooze, I will use my tweezers to remove that before it starts the outline around a print. I've also - on some prints - increased the 'outline' to 10mm from the print - just so if there was more ooze that I want it doesn't drag it into the print area.

    I'd love to set up a 'wipe' routine once the hotend is up to temp to wipe any ooze - wiping on some cardboard, etc - but I have dual fan shrouds and haven't seen a way to set up something off to the side that the shrouds wouldn't hit during the leveling. I may try to set something up that I 'flip up' or slide on the right side of my bed during the time the hotend is heating up. I can see how to do the wipe routine in the g-code, but have yet to come up with the mechanics of the wipe board.

    The cool-down and waiting for the heat-up is a bit more inconvenient - but certainly much easier than wondering if the glue/hairspray is going to work.

    And .. yes - you need to adjust or make sure your z-offset is high enough to not 'force' the filament into the plate - your it will really stick to much.

    I've found that if I can see the nozzle making a 'mark' on the plate - the z-offset is to close and I back it off .1mm to test.

    When I use a .4mm nozzle a .2mm z-offset works for me ... and when I use a .6mm nozzle I set the z-offset to .3mm. (this is on the stock hexagon hotend)
     
  10. 3D Printer Man

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    Okay, thanks, I will try to get it. Is their any of tape of things you recommend?
     
  11. Bruce Jenkins

    Bruce Jenkins Member

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    No sure what you're asking here...

    The build plate I'm talking about in this thread is Lexan - something I got at Home Depot. It's a poly-carbonate clear plastic sheet that is used for windows, etc. I'm sure other hardware stores (like Lowes) would have it.

    If you needed other info - let me know.
     
  12. TomerO

    TomerO Member

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    Update:

    I was testing some software thing and burnt a whole in my plate :(
    I decided to use that to test making the surface not smooth so I sanded it and tried to print.

    The first layer (and might even be the second one) completely fused with the polycarbonate....
    I might try to adjust my calibration to be a bit higher from the bed, but it seems it sticks too well when not smooth
     
  13. Bruce Jenkins

    Bruce Jenkins Member

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    Yeah .. I got holes in mine for a while until I got in the habit of making sure the hot end had cooled down enough.

    The info in my op is that you 'should' sand down the plate - I use an orbital sander - which seems to work the best and keeps things uniform and flatter'.

    In my experimenting - the gloss smooth surface bonded to well.

    What you're describing would indicate that your z-offset is to close to the the build plate. If the nozzle is making a mark (dragging/pressing) into the plate - you're to close. The pressure + heat from the hotend/filament will fuse and bond with the plate and is very difficult to get them apart.

    The good thing is .. usint the sander - you can sand them off and re-surface the plate to go again. When I've had to do that - I just make sure I sand the whole plate - not just the area of the stuck print. You want to have the plate thickness as even as possible.

    The other good thing ... these aren't so expensive that you can replace them.

    Like everything with 3D printing (it seems) - there is a learning curve in using these ... but I've done 100s of prints now and am loving using this build plate system.
     
  14. TomerO

    TomerO Member

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    My problem was a faulty program (that I wrote) but no biggie.
    I will try to level the printer again and see what happens.

    Also, not all plastics are the same :)

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  15. Bruce Jenkins

    Bruce Jenkins Member

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    That is so very true ... I'm using a 'Lexan' brand polycarbonate from Home Depot.

    If you find you can use the glossy side - let us know the brand, and where you got it - and how you got it to work. I'd like to try it - I sometimes prefer a glossy base on my prints instead of the matte finish the sanded plate gives.

    As I'm typing this .. I realize I have another Lexan sheet - I may try the gloss side now that I know more what to do with the z-offset.
     
  16. TomerO

    TomerO Member

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    I found a problem with my leveling but it wasn't it. The last test completely merged to the build... lots of sanding bah...

    I bought mine from policryl and the glossy side is the only one that worked for me so far

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  17. Bruce Jenkins

    Bruce Jenkins Member

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    Dang .. what a pain ...

    Have you tried raising your z-offset to make sure the nozzle is .2 or .3mm above the plate?

    While I was experimenting sometimes I went radical and went to .4 to .5 or even 1mm above just to make sure - then lowered it down slowly on the next print tests.
     
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  18. TomerO

    TomerO Member

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    Might do that. Although that side of the build plate might be lost

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  19. TomerO

    TomerO Member

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    I added a +0.4 z offset in S3D and it worked out nice on the sanded side :)
    Easy to take off and all. I might add even more (a bit) since first layer was a bit wider (happens to me usually though)

    Edit: I have just printed a wide calibration cube over the damaged area (where the PLA fused with the polycarbonate) and it printed out just fine!

    Just as with the smooth side the result popped up easily, but was held really tight.
    More prints in the future might decide if its good or not, but I'm going to keep using the "damaged" side.
    (only test I might do at some point is printing on the smooth side with the +0.4mm).

    * Hole(ed) place produces a small bump, but that was expected
     
    #39 TomerO, Jun 6, 2016
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2016
  20. KTMDirtFace

    KTMDirtFace Well-Known Member

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    If its sticking too well, turn the bed heat OFF, and also raise the Z offset. I have the fleks3d & PrintinZ so not the DIY. but there is some filament material that even with bed heat off and a higher z-offset..still get fused..pretty hard. ( PLA/PHA for example..I can't seem to print this stuff on anything exept glass or it fuses super hard )
     

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