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3D Printing
3D Printing Forum 3D Printers - First Layer Adhesion Using PLA
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  • Replies 11 replies
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  • pla
  • 3d printers
  • print_adhesion
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3D Printers - First Layer Adhesion Using PLA

14rhb
14rhb over 5 years ago

I have successfully printed out many things using PLA, including one last night.

 

Today I tried to speed the production up and cloned my article several times but it was soon apparent the first layer had roughed up, the head caught and other layers failed until two of the clones came away completely....I stopped the print.

image

I cleaned the bed, trying several things like pure spirit and washing up detergent. Still the print failed to stick. Bed temperature was 60 degrees C. I tried to slow the initial layer down but again it failed to stick on the initial run leaving a trail that snagged and ruined the later layers.

 

At this point I had a read online and there were solutions and glue sticks suggested. Not wanting to wait I decided to try something different. I taped a piece of plain printer paper to the bed and it appears to have accepted the first layer very well: no snags and the pattern looks great.

image

 

My question for discussion is, what could go wrong with this approach and why is this not a more generally used technique?

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  • ralphjy
    ralphjy over 5 years ago +5
    I used to have adhesion problems with larger parts with edges lifting off the heated bed. I solved the problem by using blue painters tape but then it was difficult to remove the part. I ended up using…
  • luislabmo
    luislabmo over 5 years ago in reply to 14rhb +4
    Hello Rod, I use pure Isopropyl alcohol on mine and it works really well (btw, farmacy alcohol is kinda greasy/leaves residue, it doesn't work well). The trick for me is finding good paper napkins that…
  • dougw
    dougw over 5 years ago +3
    What material is your bed made of?
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  • ralphjy
    ralphjy over 5 years ago

    I used to have adhesion problems with larger parts with edges lifting off the heated bed.  I solved the problem by using blue painters tape but then it was difficult to remove the part.  I ended up using isopropyl alcohol then the part and tape would come off cleanly.  I got an AnyCubic printer a few months ago and it has an UltraBase bed which works really well.  It has pores that open when heated to help with adhesion and close when cooled to release the part.  Only two issues - 1) the bed has to cool to room temperature before the part will release easily, 2) the base has a stippled pattern which would require some post sanding if you wanted a smooth surface.

     

    I mainly do functional prototypes so I'm willing to accept the issues to get a great adhesion solution.  No more lifted edges or prying to get the part off  image.

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  • 14rhb
    14rhb over 5 years ago in reply to ralphjy

    That sounds really good. Perhaps the Ultrabase is something I can change mine to, as it looks like there are only four corner plates holding my glass bed on.

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  • 14rhb
    14rhb over 5 years ago in reply to ralphjy

    That sounds really good. Perhaps the Ultrabase is something I can change mine to, as it looks like there are only four corner plates holding my glass bed on.

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