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Printing Bed Prep

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by Clark Sechrest, Mar 1, 2013.

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  1. Clark Sechrest

    Clark Sechrest New Member

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    What do those of you who currently have 3d printers to do prep your print beds. I have seen many methods out there such as the use of Kapton tape and was wondering what method everyone thought was best.
     
    #1 Clark Sechrest, Mar 1, 2013
  2. Harry

    Harry Team ROBO 3D
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    Agreed!
     
    #2 Harry, Mar 1, 2013
  3. JDM_

    JDM_ New Member

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    I would like to know this too....
     
    #3 JDM_, Mar 3, 2013
  4. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    Here's what I use:

    -ABS: Polyimide (Kapton) tape over my aluminum HBP at 110C. I level it within 0.001" at build temperature before every single print. I use windex under the kapton so that I can easily push out any bubbles. No bubbles is important when you're using a HBP since the bubbles expand as the plate heats. I clean the plate with a quick acetone wipe down. Depending on what I am doing, I then either spray the plate with Aqua Net hair spray or use a thin coating of ABS paste.
    I'm not super thrilled with the flatness of my aluminum plate and have purchased borosilicate glass and mirror glass plates to try, but haven't had time.

    -PLA: much easier. Blue painters tape. Room temperature or maybe a little bit warm like 40C. I've also printed directly on the kapton at 60C with decent results.

    -Nylon: They say Garolite LE is the way to go, but haven't had a chance to try mine yet.
     
    #4 Printed Solid, Mar 26, 2013
  5. CAMBO3D

    CAMBO3D New Member

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    blue masking tape works for abs too
     
    #5 CAMBO3D, Mar 26, 2013
  6. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    @Cambo: Do you use blue tape for printing ABS? I've never experienced success with it or heard of anyone else having success with it for anything other than very small parts.

    I believe that in one of the forums, someone posts a blog site where someone had experimented with using ABS on blue tape in a few different configurations (i.e. warm/cold, with/without ABS paste) and had trouble in each one. If I stumble across it again, I'll repost it here. The part they use as an example doesn't look particularly difficult to me. Its 'big' in the X and Y directions but extremely shallow in Z.
     
    #6 Printed Solid, Mar 27, 2013
  7. JDM_

    JDM_ New Member

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    Kapton tape is pretty expensive. Is that the best option for ABS? Where do you get yours Printed Solid?
     
    #7 JDM_, Mar 27, 2013
  8. CAMBO3D

    CAMBO3D New Member

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    here's a test print I did yesterday on my rostock max. Haven't tried bigger objects yet though with the masking tape.
     

    Attached Files:

    #8 CAMBO3D, Mar 27, 2013
  9. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    So maybe its fair to say that if you're planning on small objects only, the masking tape works fine?
     
    #9 Printed Solid, Mar 27, 2013
  10. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    @Justin: I'm still using the roll that came with my Replicator. I had been changing it fairly frequently, but recently discovered that I can just patch the areas that I damage when I remove my print so I assume it will last me a long time. Protoparadigm sells 130mmX20mm for $20.
     
    #10 Printed Solid, Mar 27, 2013
  11. JDM_

    JDM_ New Member

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    Thanks PS...
     
    #11 JDM_, Mar 29, 2013
  12. JE Studios

    JE Studios Member

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    So just to confirm should always cover the print bed before printing? Sorry fairly new to this I get that blue masking tape for smaller objects.
     
    #12 JE Studios, Apr 23, 2013
  13. JDM_

    JDM_ New Member

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    Sorta.... It depends on what material you are printing with. ABS, PLA, & Nylon all stick to different materials differently. The goal is to get the filament to stick to prevent lifting or warping.
     
    #13 JDM_, Apr 23, 2013
  14. JE Studios

    JE Studios Member

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    Ahhh well I ordered the ABS and PLA Version
     
    #14 JE Studios, Apr 23, 2013
  15. CAMBO3D

    CAMBO3D New Member

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    I can confirm that abs juice will work for larger prints also, its just a mixture of acetone and abs pieces. to make a sort of a sludge that is spread over the glass surface, sticks really well to it.
     
    #15 CAMBO3D, Apr 23, 2013
  16. 1d1

    1d1 Active Member

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    @JE You have the ABS and PLA version of the printer/print bed ordered, but the materials you choose to print with may be those or others, such as nylon, and each one has a different need. One of the parts we will all get to figure out is what works best for us in each case. CAMBO 3D and Printed Solid are very useful guys because they are already printing in 3D (not RoBo!... yet...) They are also very willing to offer their experience in these matters and I, for one, appreciate their participation mightily!
     
    #16 1d1, Apr 23, 2013
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  17. JE Studios

    JE Studios Member

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    This is true and I know there will be things that need to be figured out for sure and I have and will continue appreciate and value all information and insight into this .. XD
     
    #17 JE Studios, Apr 24, 2013
  18. JDM_

    JDM_ New Member

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    This is why the RoBo 3D user forum community is so important. We can all assist to figure these things so nobody is on their own.
     
    #18 JDM_, Apr 24, 2013
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