Kickstarter build plate

[markb]

He said “What if I ordered a sheet of 1095 blue spring steel” so I was not sure what one to get.
What is the difference does one rust and one does not rust?

[jimc]

no they are both steel and will rust but really unless you leave it outside in the rain or something then you have nothing to worry about. its not going to rust sitting in your house being used all the time. honestly if you have a little rust form on the metal from not using it or you get it wet or something then wipe it down with a little scotchbrite pad once in awhile and your good to go

[markb]

I got enough 1095 in to make two 8X10 plates. I used air tin shears to cut it. Tin air nibbler would have worked a little better. The shears did a good job.

I just did my first ABS print and it was a print I have done many times before. This print will only stay down with Elmer’s glue stick. No amount of hair spray will hold it. I have been printing @100C for ABS.
I did not use anything on the surface only the BuildTak it stuck very well I was pleased. When it finished the print was securely fastened to the Buildtak I took off the 1095 flexed it and the print popped right off. I did this right when it finished the 1095 cooled off quickly once I picked it up.

I will be printing more with this but I am encourage by the first test.

Can you buy a 5 pack BuildTak cheaper anywhere or do they just sell it direct?

[jimc]

my buildtak arrived today as well. its funny, i have seen this material before...i just cant place it.


just did my first print on it. its silver abs and for the most part a simple cylinder a little bigger than 1" dia and about 1" tall. wow does it really stick. there is really no need to squish the 1st layer down on the plate. it almost sticks too good. i can see it sticking too good in some instances. its nice having 2 plate though. pull one off to cool down, throw the other one on, get the next print ready. by then the plate has cooled and you can pop off your part. works well. as i use this more i'll give some additional feedback.

[markb]

I did a second print and it is working very well. This time I let the plate cool before removing the part.
There was no difference in removing it as soon as it was done and when it cooled.
I needed to do the same amount of flex to get it off.
I think I will try printing a little a little lower temp.

[jimc]

I just printed something ovrnight that was about 4" square and basically flat. About 3/16" thick. It got destroyed trying to remove it. I couldnt get it off and since it was thin it flexed with the bed when trying to remove it

[markb]

I tried a ABS print @100C then 4 layers go to 80C it did not work it lifted back to printing @100C.
This was about 3" 3" 1/2 about 1/8" thick.

[jimc]

ok i printed the same part again, this time i actually did a super light dusting of hairspray just to actually tone down the aggressive bond and it worked great on getting this print off. it was bonded but peeled off much better when i was done. without the hairspray dusting and if this part was a box of the same size but an inch or two tall i dont think there would be an issue removing it but since it is thin and just flexes its just impossible to pop it off the plate. i guess i would rather do a light dust of hairspray to tone down the tack rather than heavy thick coats to get it to stick. i can see this will have an adjustment period to it so you can get familiar with the product. pretty typical i guess for anything involving 3d printing.

just a note, i am printing at 90c which is where i normally print abs. i will do some testing in the future for bond and lower temps on a clean piece of buildtak. maybe at 70c it wont be as aggressive. who knows

[jimc]

ok so my conclusion on this buildtak stuff is........this sux! i feel like i am printing with nylon again. sticks so well one time then the next it doesnt stick at all. the bond is just all over the place. buildtak recommends you wipe down with alcohol between prints. as soon as i did that its like im printing on wax paper. nothing sticks to it. somewhere i read they claim 60 prints on one sheet. realistically i got 8 before it was shot and for the price of the stuff that increases your consumables cost like crazy. once my bond started to give out i wiped with alcohol and now this is just good for the trash can. i have more failed prints in the last 3 days of using this crap than i ever have. i just havent found anything better than my glassbeaded piece of mic6 with 1 coat of garnier fructis #5. it never goes bad, its always perfectly flat, indestructible and the exact same results every single time...it just works. i will say i have only used the buildtak with abs. guys who print pla, i really dont see the point in the stuff. pla is easy to stick down so why you would even want a special print surface is beyond me.

[markb]

I have printed on this setup for a few days now. I really like it for ABS it is the best stuff I have used so far. I am printing @100C and the prints stick really well. As soon as it is done I remove the clips and flex it to poop off the prints. Then I put it back down wipe with alcohol and heat it up and print on it again.


I wounder why we have different experience with the mic6?
I tried the glassbeaded mic6 I just could not get the first layer to stick I sure wanted to because it is so flat much more so than glass. I used hairspray on this and the prints lift. Elmer’s Glue works well if I could get the first layer to stick.
If the first layer works that works good but it takes a long time to heat up and a very long time to cool.