How You Too Can Achieve Printing Nirvana
Re: How You Too Can Achieve Printing Nirvana
Jules, THANK YOU for the nudge toward PEI. My MIC6 plate is now converted and I think that now, finally, the printer is in its ultimate state. I feel that your post was justifiably enthusiastic. The polycarbonate variants are sticking to it more reliably than with any other surface. No hairspray.
Notes on PEI/Adhesive application:
I removed one side of the protective film from the adhesive, bowed it, and held it with just my left hand by letting it stick to my thumb and ring finger. With the sheet held like this, I lowered it until initial contact with the build plate and used my other hand to smooth it onto the plate with an up and down motion along the axis of the bow, rubbing my way outward very gradually and letting the adhesive flatten from a bowed shape into a flat sheet. No bubbles!
Then I trimmed it around the aluminum, then removed the top layer of protective film, and then lowered the PEI onto the adhesive in a similar way... bowed, but this took two hands. I recruited two more (my fiancé) to press the PEI onto the adhesive from the middle out, like with the adhesive. Then scored the PEI with an X-ACTO all around and broke off the overhangs, and filed. If I were to do it again I'd do the same thing.
A thought:
This really does seem to be the ideal hairspray-free solution. So, if not beadblasting one could imagine sourcing even flatter aluminum plate from McMaster that doesn't need to have the stress-relieved properties of MIC6... I see .005" parallelism "precision ground" 6061 1/4" plate for example.
~Justine
Notes on PEI/Adhesive application:
I removed one side of the protective film from the adhesive, bowed it, and held it with just my left hand by letting it stick to my thumb and ring finger. With the sheet held like this, I lowered it until initial contact with the build plate and used my other hand to smooth it onto the plate with an up and down motion along the axis of the bow, rubbing my way outward very gradually and letting the adhesive flatten from a bowed shape into a flat sheet. No bubbles!
Then I trimmed it around the aluminum, then removed the top layer of protective film, and then lowered the PEI onto the adhesive in a similar way... bowed, but this took two hands. I recruited two more (my fiancé) to press the PEI onto the adhesive from the middle out, like with the adhesive. Then scored the PEI with an X-ACTO all around and broke off the overhangs, and filed. If I were to do it again I'd do the same thing.
A thought:
This really does seem to be the ideal hairspray-free solution. So, if not beadblasting one could imagine sourcing even flatter aluminum plate from McMaster that doesn't need to have the stress-relieved properties of MIC6... I see .005" parallelism "precision ground" 6061 1/4" plate for example.
~Justine
Re: How You Too Can Achieve Printing Nirvana
Great! I'm glad it's working with PC too - still haven't had time to test that yet. ![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif)
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif)
Re: How You Too Can Achieve Printing Nirvana
PEI seems good for everything I tried - ePC, PC+, ABS, PETG, PLA/+...I made the same mic6+pei sandwich
For PLA I would rather not use it as PEI holds solid above 75C or so and PLA seems unstable at this temperature which results in warping and funny shapes for negative angle walls. I still need to get more experience with proper PLA cooling / lowering hot end temperature - may be this issue will go.
For PLA I would rather not use it as PEI holds solid above 75C or so and PLA seems unstable at this temperature which results in warping and funny shapes for negative angle walls. I still need to get more experience with proper PLA cooling / lowering hot end temperature - may be this issue will go.
Re: How You Too Can Achieve Printing Nirvana
Beware!jhaupt wrote:doesn't need to have the stress-relieved properties of MIC6
You're depending on a thin plate's ability to remain flat within a surprisingly tight tolerance during many heating-cooling cycles. A stress-relieved plate buys you stability during further machining and use.
Also note their precision-ground plate disclaimer: "Flatness tolerance is not rated."
That means the sides will be parallel to within a tight tolerance, but the overall surface need not be flat within any particular tolerance. A gently curved "potato chip" has parallel sides, but won't work in an application that requires flatness over the entire sheet.
Re: How You Too Can Achieve Printing Nirvana
X2 exactly.
Many plates are flat but keeping them that way after heating and cooling is another story. That is where the stress relieved plates shine.
Many plates are flat but keeping them that way after heating and cooling is another story. That is where the stress relieved plates shine.
Re: How You Too Can Achieve Printing Nirvana
Ed and Jim,
Understood. Long live the MIC6.
Understood. Long live the MIC6.
Re: How You Too Can Achieve Printing Nirvana
I've been printing at 60C for PLA on PEI/boro since I got it.....held just fine. (Try the lower bed temp for just PLA.)boep777 wrote:PEI seems good for everything I tried - ePC, PC+, ABS, PETG, PLA/+...I made the same mic6+pei sandwich
For PLA I would rather not use it as PEI holds solid above 75C or so and PLA seems unstable at this temperature which results in warping and funny shapes for negative angle walls. I still need to get more experience with proper PLA cooling / lowering hot end temperature - may be this issue will go.
Re: How You Too Can Achieve Printing Nirvana
How's MIC6 + hairspray for ABS?
Custom 3D printing for you or your business -- quote [at] pingring.org
Re: How You Too Can Achieve Printing Nirvana
it will still curl up on the corners of something med to large and square like an electronics box. round i get no warp. overall it holds as good as anything else i have tried but there is really no stopping abs and if you do then the layers just crack. the mic6 aint movin so something has to give.
Re: How You Too Can Achieve Printing Nirvana
I reprinted my trickiest model in PLA on PEI using 60C bed / 200C HE - probably the best print I ever done ... Zero warping but walls with negative angles (cylinder touching the bottom) still deformed... Let see if PEI will hold PLA at lower temperature. With no HB walls are fine (on Zebra) but warping is there. At 195 HE I start to loose binding to support... May be I just need better cooling - will remove fan guard. Overall PEI is amazing ![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif)
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif)