PEI Bed Surface

[kazolar]

I'm getting one of these ready today. If I'm reading the posts correctly most of you are not using any type of adhesive, even on ABS?

Also, did you sand it after initial installation or use as is?

Thanks!

Correct, no adhesive, no glue, no hairspray. In fact clean PEI bed with 99% alcohol between prints.

For TPE filaments - no heat, and a little cooking oil, or it sticks too well. Make sure to cleaning the oil off when you switch back to traditional filaments.

I've use, PLA, ABS, PETG, WoodFill, BronzeFill, TPU, NinjaFlex. No issues

Oh, and yes, lightly sand PEI periodically with 600+ grit every 50-60 prints, and initially -- very lightly, just to get the sheen off

[jdacal]

I started my first print about 1/2 hour ago. My first impression is WoW! ABS sticking like a champ. Its an 8 hour print with most of the bed covered but its looking great so far. I usually get some lifting of the corners with glass and glue on this print, so I'll be able to update in the morning. Looks super promising so far.

[jdacal]

Ok, so far so good. Very large ABS print printed successfully without any glue, hair spray or slurry.

- The finish on the bottom of the print was crystal clear and flat, it looks almost like its got some kind of transparent coating on it its so shiny.
- The corners did not pull up as they tend to do with this print. However, after removing it from the bed one corner did pull up - so its a testament to this material that it kept it securely adhered even though the ABS still had shrunk. By the way I'm using low cost filament for this print so I'm probably getting more shrinkage than from a higher cost formula, maybe.
- I noticed my temperature graphs where a lot more flat than usual with this material on the bed
- Removing the print was no harder than removing a PLA print. Used razor knife on the edge and inserted my long thin spatula in the gap to remove it. Did not require a lot of force for it to pop off.

My temperatures were 240C hotend and 103C bed

My concerns:

There are still what I would describe as micro bubbles that I could not remove, I even sandwiched it between two sheets of aluminum and put about 25 lbs of weight on it for about 20 hours. So with repeated heating I'll have to see if the adhesive holds up.

If it does hold up I'm going to prep another sheet of glass next week and will document the process. If anyone has some tricks on avoiding those tiny bubbles I'd appreciate it. I used a roller to apply the adhesive, there were no wrinkles at all. Then used plastic spatulas and other things to try to press it to the PEI as much as possible. I'm not really positive these are so much bubbles as gaps that exist between the plastic and the tape. Because if I press down hard on a section with my thumb they completely dissappear, when I release the air gap seems to come back. I thought sandwiching it between the two aluminum plates would force it to stick, but it came out looking much the same. Bottom line is its heating great, will just have to see if the bond holds up.

[kazolar]

Your bed temp is way too high. Rule of thumb with PEI is go lower than glass.
I go 90-95 for bed temp for ABS -- full bed, go at 95, just in the middle small, go at 90, maybe 85. Also, wait for the bed to cool to around 40 for ABS, or you will get the curling on edges, let it cool.
I applied the tape to the boro glass, then used a knife to pop the bubbles in the tape before I dropped the PEI on it. Drop straight down and trim PEI later to size however it lands.

I posted my other bed temps earlier in the forum. Lower temps makes PEI much easier to print on, as you don't need to wait as much for it get to temperature.

[jdacal]

Thanks kazolar, I'll try the lower temperatures to see how it goes. I tend to keep it high because of occasional breezes where my printer is located. Thanks for the other tips as well.

[jdacal]

This stuff is incredible. I went with 85 degrees on the bed for ABS today with 10 pieces that took up most of the bed. If anything they held firmer than when I was running at 103 degrees. Does going lower give less adhesion with this? Its holding a little more than I'd like with bed cool to the touch. Took some effort to remove the pieces, but still preferable to using adhesives. Don't have to wash the pieces when I finish.

[kazolar]

You're just seeing PEI getting more "burnt" in. Just watch the Z axis spacing...you might be squishing the first layer a bit more than you should. I use a feeler gage at 0.005" inches I think. I would play with the temps, lower is less grip for sure though, so you may see warping with lower temps. I've heard folks use 80c with ABS. It all really depends on your room temp, etc. I definitely love this stuff. I have 2 backup sheets, just in case.

[jdacal]

Yep! I already ordered another sheet for my other piece of glass. I'll try.006, mines usually at.005. Actually I think I had it at.006 yesterday, but I had also lowered the temperature and it wasn't sticking for some reason . I'll try.006 with higher than 85. Thanks.

[jdacal]

I did have a couple of the pieces warp at 85, going back to 95.

[jdacal]

I made a couple more of these, really happy with how it works. Sometimes the ABS really sticks, but putting it in the freezer for about 15 minutes they pop off easily.

If anyone tries it you may want to try a rubber roller to apply the tape, I ordered one on Amazon and it really minimized the bubbles. Still bubbles there, I don't see anyway to completely do away with them with this tape, but its working fine with them. No glue, no hairspray. Amazon has a six-pack of the tape for a better price than Digi-Key. The two I ordered from Digi-Key came all crumpled up, not order that from them again.

Here's the link to the roller I bought:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BY ... ge_o02_s00