MojoBob Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 My elderly Ender 3 has started knocking things off its build plate, especially tall thin things. I shall have to do something about that. The first thing, after cleaning the platen, is to re-level it. The trouble with that is that it's been so long since I've had to do that (literally years) that I've forgotten how to do it, and am having to learn all over again. Imagine the humiliation of having to relearn all those beginner things again. Oh, the shame! So anyway, that's what I'm doing this weekend. 😄 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haldir Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 13 minutes ago, MojoBob said: My elderly Ender 3 has started knocking things off its build plate, especially tall thin things. I shall have to do something about that. The first thing, after cleaning the platen, is to re-level it. The trouble with that is that it's been so long since I've had to do that (literally years) that I've forgotten how to do it, and am having to learn all over again. Imagine the humiliation of having to relearn all those beginner things again. Oh, the shame! So anyway, that's what I'm doing this weekend. 😄 Always a good thing to re-learn the basics every now & then thou. I really should try & work on my CR-6. It's been too long since I've tried to print on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humansquish Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 Do FDM printers need to have their build plate sanded? On my resin printer when I had things stop sticking to the build plate sanding it tightened things right up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haldir Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 10 hours ago, Humansquish said: Do FDM printers need to have their build plate sanded? On my resin printer when I had things stop sticking to the build plate sanding it tightened things right up. I don't think so but I know FDM printers need a sticker bed, hence the sticky sprays, blue painter tape, special textures bed etc etc vs a resin printer plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteWulfe Posted June 19 Share Posted June 19 On 6/17/2023 at 7:23 AM, Humansquish said: Do FDM printers need to have their build plate sanded? On my resin printer when I had things stop sticking to the build plate sanding it tightened things right up. I would suspect it depends on the printer. In my case, since it's a thick slab of MIC6 aluminum that's ±0.01mm thick across its surface (and regularly has a variance of half that with a 9x9 mesh), there's a removable magnetic build plate. I personally used textured plates as I prefer the look they give, and you definitely don't want to sand textured PEI. If it were a smooth PEI sheet, common practice for such plates is to lightly scuff it with a scouring sponge or 800 grit sandpaper when it's new, in order to provide a bit more grip for things... I've no idea what would be done (if anything) to something like an Ender though. I went the fancier (and more expensive) route in order to not have to worry about levelling in most cases. Provided gantry and frame are square and aren't racked, and belt tensions are right (and equal for both sides), most variances can easily be dealt with on a CoreXY printer through bed levelling (z_tilt_adjust, a three point method for the Trident, and quad gantry levelling for the v2, which as its name implies measures at four different points to square the bed and gantry), and then mesh bed levelling on top of that. They bring other problems to the table, but every design has its pros and cons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnwulf Posted June 19 Share Posted June 19 I've found on my PEI film a good firm wipe down with isopropyl on a paper towel usually gets it sticking good again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MojoBob Posted June 19 Author Share Posted June 19 I use a mirror tile over the Ender's aluminium heated platen to ensure absolute flatness, and it has worked well for me for as long as I've had the printer (2018 I think). I usually use a light mist of super-cheap hairspray to aid adhesion, though that depends on the filament — I found with one reel I had that the hairspray stuck it too well, and I had to print straight on to the glass to have any hope of getting the print off without disassembling the platen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuldGrump Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 On 6/17/2023 at 8:15 PM, haldir said: I don't think so but I know FDM printers need a sticker bed, hence the sticky sprays, blue painter tape, special textures bed etc etc vs a resin printer plate. We use glue stick. 🙂 The Auld Grump 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadgetman! Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 On glass, nothing beats a liberal application with a glue stick. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteWulfe Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 3 hours ago, Gadgetman! said: On glass, nothing beats a liberal application with a glue stick. Well, there is nanopolymer glue, and the cute marketing names some have given it. I think my favourite is "Cat's vomit" that PrintyPlease did. Yeah, hilarious name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratmaster2000 Posted June 21 Share Posted June 21 I never use glue, and my prints stay on just fine, plus they slide off like butter off my PEI beds. On my neptune 2's, prints stick so well, I have to use a glass scraper to get them off (same trick I use to get prints off my resin plates. My prints stick too well, so I guess I have the opposite problem everyone else has) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnwulf Posted June 21 Share Posted June 21 (edited) Been using a PEI film on a flex steel plate, works GREAT with PLA, but with PETG it sticks so well it will tear up part of the film, you have to use the gluestick or hairspray as a release agent... Edited June 21 by Cygnwulf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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