Bed Adhesion - tricks and tips?

Nifty said:

I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you, but I'm also wondering if travel speed and/or cooling (too much? too little?) could be a factor?

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No shit Sherlock, when you find the Goose, let us know.

FryingSaucer said:

On the other hand I've heard reports that PETG sticks too well to a heated build plate with Elmer's glue, so I'm staying with plain glass unless I have a problem.

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I use a fool proof system that works every time till it fails...

Ironic, given the thread title......

My older printer survived about 6 years using the original piece of glass that came with it. But a few days ago, I printed a large PLA print that stuck really well. I didn't both trying to pop it off....just waited till the next morning when it was already loose. But, it stuck well. Too well. It actually removed a layer of glass! There were several patches...some larger than an inch across.

I may have set the bed temp to 75C rather than the normal 60C degrees.

The print was still usable (the stuck layers do not appear to be a "sharp edge" hazard and the piece fits in the bottom of a dry box where it's appearance is unimportant). But the glass had to go as there are several large divots of as much as one mm deep. Fortunately, I bought some Ikea mirrors last week and they actually fit (even though the tiles are 300x300 on a 300x200 printer).

PETG and PLA both stick really well to glass and mirrors if the 1st layer is the tight height and you use a quick spray (a second or two) of AquaNet hairspray every couple of prints.

RogerR said:

PETG and PLA both stick really well to glass and mirrors if the 1st layer is the tight height and you use a quick spray (a second or two) of AquaNet hairspray every couple of prints.

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I'd like to print direct to the glass, but from what I can tell (experience and reading), it's not really that reliable on an unheated bed... and for my prints, I been ok using painter's tape and an unheated bed.

I used glass with Monoprice mini on a cold bed, but with a bit of hair spray and the objects stead down till complete, now I’m using a kitchen chopping board (Toughen Glass) at 30c., again with hair spray and my success rate is 98%.

My new Ender2 has an adhesive sheet covered bed, and haven’t tried that yet, but I do have a small chopping board ready on standby...

With the new adhesive sheet make sure the bed is heated 40 - 50C then after the print is finished allow it to cool and the part should come off easily. Trying to remove them when the bed is hot can result in damage to some of those build sheets.

I've been using PETG for a while with 2mm glass, nothing on it. The glass is held on the bed with 6 small PETG clips I printed. The bed is at 90°C. I usually use a brim. The prints come off really easily.

I have two pieces of glass. When a print is done, I undo the clips and put the glass on the surface beside the printer, moving it to different areas on the table to help it cool down quickly. Usually I can remove the model within a minute or two. In the meantime, I keep the bed heater on, clip on the other piece of glass, and I can then start the next print whenever I'm ready. I find this method really convenient if I'm printing something repetitively to get the design right.

I've certainly had problems with PETG adhesion when printing a narrow tall model, but for most models it just works.

There's a bit more stringing with PETG than PLA, usually tidied up quite easily, but I'm not printing anything to look good, just to be functional when I find I need some kind of clip for example.

What I can guarantee is that this would not work for everyone. Bed adhesion methods seem to work in very individual ways.

ABS: Kapton tape on glass @ 110 deg C . Spray on acetone and rub over with scrap ABS. Not too much or it sticks too well
PLA Blue painters tape on glass @65 deg C
Slightly over-squish first layer.

It’s not a good idea to spray the bed with Acetone while it’s at 110 Degrees, you might find you have a flame grill instead...

I found it’s not that important to have the bed heated at all, and it’s all a matter of personal choice, to heat or not to heat and at what temperature, PLA will stay stuck down on most surfaces regardless of temperature, but a little bit of adhesive spray is like using belt and braces...

BlueToBits said:

Slightly over-squish first layer.

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That’s the best guarantee...

Acetone vapour also "cleans" your lungs, removing natural mucous, so be careful when using it.