Pros:
- It works? Seriously though no lifts.
- It lets me run the heated bed cooler cuz metal = better heat transfer and whatever the coating is on it makes less heat required
- It lets me also run the extruder cooler because I can raise the nozzle farther away from the bed and thus there's less back pressure. I'm still playing with this - hoping to get down to 200C with my v3b & PLA.
- Once cool, prints just detach, like they would with the glass bed (for the most part - see first con)
Cons:
- It scratches SO easily. The brim I had printing wouldn't come off using just my fingernail, so I tried using the tip of precision needle-nose pliers to pick it off, and put a small scratch (couple mm long) in the surface. I cursed a bunch, and then pulled out an old credit card which pushed the brim loose.
- Unsure of the coating's durability against my typical cleaner, denatured alcohol. Their guide says to use isopropyl every 10-12 prints, but I was under the impression isopropyl evaporated and would leave a residue behind?
- The plate doesn't seem AS level as the borosilicate glass from MG. This may be caused by a number of factors, and I did manage to compensate for it using the build plate's leveling system pretty well.
- Im concerned about metal HBP for leveling purposes as the weather changes. I keep the printer in my basement to keep temperature changes relatively small, but humidity does fluctuate (Thanks Philadelphia weather patterns) so we'll see how that goes.
- Did I mention the coating?
General Thoughts:
- The finish produced is somewhere between the glass bed shiny and the super matte finish of painters tape.
- No curling with no bed additions = win for me, even with the coating. As long as you treat it with some care it appears to be holding up fine (I've put 3 big prints down on it and they've all done really well)
Would Recommend to others? Yes
Would buy again? Yes.
Photos:
