3D printing on a cold bed

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
It was less than a month ago that I bought any entry level 3D printer. As I was unsure if I could actually justify the expense I went cheap!

I had a number of issues and struggled for a long time to get a level bed. Eventually I found the issue and resolved it simply.

The next big issue and one that remained until today was bed adhesion.

Following various suggestions I tried a myriad of fixes including hairspray and even the dreaded painters blue tape.

Noticing that when removing a print from the printer bed there was always a blue residue on the base of the print and the adhesion was only good for small jobs I looked for a replacement if possible. I found one. Almost identical to the painters tape there is a slightly better tape used in the Auto industry called MASKING TAPE.
Masking tape is normally a light cream colour and is designed to adhere well during the painting and to resist the solvents used to paint cars.

When removing the Masking tape from the print job there is no residue left behind and the adhesion is superior if you lightly rub the tape into the print bed. There is still a minor amount of curling on large jobs but then I realise that a heated bed is the only resolution to that issue.

Just a beginners efforts!

having fun!
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
I've had mixed results with elmer's...On my dad's Prusa I3 MK2S bed, glue stick works AWESOME. On my Monoprice Mini (aka Malyan 200), the glue stick is kinda messy. But, Painter's tape works GREAT on the Monoprice Mini, and it's iffy on the Prusa I3 MK2S. Best I can tell is it's due to different material coatings between the two print beds. Honestly, I think some of it just breaks down to whatever you can find that works for YOUR prints. :) I love kapton tape (stuff looks likea yellow-orange piece of monokote or thick cellophane), as it does a great job of leaving the bottom of the print smooth. But, it's also a lot more expensive than masking tape per roll, so I tend to use it sparingly...
 

dayve

Member
Have you tried slowing your first layer down. I mean REALLY slowing it down. I had all kinds of issues until I slowed my first layer down to 15mm/sec. I had tried glue stick and/or tape with mixed results back when I had my first layer set at 45mm/sec or something. Now, I just use whatever plastic build surface comes on a Monoprice Maker Select v2. I wipe it down with alcohol occasionally just to make sure it's super clean.

If just slowing the first layer down makes it better, but doesn't quite do it, try raising your first layer nozzle temp by 5 degrees. One of my filaments liked that better. None of the others needed it.
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
Have you tried slowing your first layer down. I mean REALLY slowing it down. I had all kinds of issues until I slowed my first layer down to 15mm/sec. I had tried glue stick and/or tape with mixed results back when I had my first layer set at 45mm/sec or something. Now, I just use whatever plastic build surface comes on a Monoprice Maker Select v2. I wipe it down with alcohol occasionally just to make sure it's super clean.

If just slowing the first layer down makes it better, but doesn't quite do it, try raising your first layer nozzle temp by 5 degrees. One of my filaments liked that better. None of the others needed it.
The adhesion issue was/is that on tall prints where the base is small and on prints that have a large length or area the curling due to the shrinking of the printed job causing it to lift the tape from the bed as well as when printing an unsupported bridge, (top of an arch), the drag or contact from the curling points could lever the job with tape attached from the bed.

With the different tape it happens far less but the very large area jobs still to curl slightly which I believe is where the heated bed is required! Another thing I just discovered is that with small prints I can snal them off of the print bed and reuse the same tape placement for many prints without any damage to the tape. Print, snap it off, next print, snap it off, next print, (and so on), for many hours without any need to replace the tape.

I can almost lift the printer completely off of the workbench now buy pulling the completed print job vertically.

This post is not for those who have solved their adherence issues but rather for those who like me had tried almost everything and were getting really frustrated at the apparent lack of adhesion. If you have something that works for you please stick to it!

Looking forward to building a heated bed for it, (Just got to decide how big I want the bed to be).

Have fun!
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
The adhesion issue was/is that on tall prints where the base is small and on prints that have a large length or area the curling due to the shrinking of the printed job causing it to lift the tape from the bed as well as when printing an unsupported bridge, (top of an arch), the drag or contact from the curling points could lever the job with tape attached from the bed.

With the different tape it happens far less but the very large area jobs still to curl slightly which I believe is where the heated bed is required! Another thing I just discovered is that with small prints I can snal them off of the print bed and reuse the same tape placement for many prints without any damage to the tape. Print, snap it off, next print, snap it off, next print, (and so on), for many hours without any need to replace the tape.

I can almost lift the printer completely off of the workbench now buy pulling the completed print job vertically.

This post is not for those who have solved their adherence issues but rather for those who like me had tried almost everything and were getting really frustrated at the apparent lack of adhesion. If you have something that works for you please stick to it!

Looking forward to building a heated bed for it, (Just got to decide how big I want the bed to be).

Have fun!

Ahh, knowing that, you could also have done a raft or skirt around the base of the tall part. That would have given structure on the base to stick to. Of course, it would have used more PLA/ABS/PETG/whatever 3D print material you were using to do so, but it's another option for you to try. :)
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
It used to peel up the rafts as well. Once the job became lifted on a single side it would hit the print head and next thing is a big mess being dragged around by the print head.

It was even worse when using the original bed which was definitely not flat, (it was domed severely). but it is not a problem any longer!

have fun!
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
Are you printing at too high of a temp? Last year I was using a temp a bit to high and I had the same issue.
I will take your suggestion as there is some doubt about the accuracy of their temperature aclibration on the extruder.

Thanks for the reminder!

Have fun1
 

OutcastZeroOne

Fly, yes... Land, no
ive been 3d printing for a year and a half now, have a few printers and working on a couple custom builds. if you want to get away from all the tape and glue, try using a sheet of Polycarbonate. Ive been having really good luck with it. works with ABS, PLA, Polycarbonate. I just suff it up a bit and im good to go. Plus you can get thin sheets super cheap from most local plastic supply shops. I got a sheet of 1/32" x 2' x 2' for about $15 from a local shop. Used to use PEI but at $30 for a 8"x8" when it dose come time to replace, it adds up a bit. I get my sheets to last several months without needing to replace them too. just an FYI since a few rolls of that masking tape can add up quick