This is one of those problems for me that comes and goes for no apparent reason. But sometimes I get really bad issues getting the 3D extrusion to stick to the bed. When it goes wrong the result is usually catastrophe.
Now (I think) I have a super-cheap and reliable method to get bed adherence. I (mostly) use a glass bed.
In the past I have used (with varying success) these methods:
- Standard Pritt-stick type glues sticks. I applied it to the bed then levelled the lumps and bumps off with a warm damp cloth.
- Hairspray. I have only used this occasionally with limited success. Usually when I was having bad problem getting adherence with Pritt stick style glues.
- Thinned UhU type (cellulose) glue. This type of glue is now actually quite hard to come by. It does seem to work. But it is an absolute **** to clean off the plate. Arguably it is too good at adherence. You can damage the finished item just getting it off the plate.
So here is how I get a 3D Extrusion to stick to the bed now.
Just yesterday I was having a catastrophe. I was printing some name-tags for children of family & friends for the Xmas tree. These are, by their nature small size quite dainty. Dainty designs and getting the resultant 3D extrusion to stick to the bed really do appear to be mutually exclusive!
I’d reached to point where the only apparent way forward was to try something else. I thought about painting the glass plate I use. But with what? And for each print?
I thought about going down the road and buying some painters masking tape (I’d read somewhere that that worked).
Then (in mad inventor mode) I thought:
“If painters tape works – why not just plain paper?”
After-all plain A4 printer paper gets plastic (aka Lazer printer toner) to stick to it, so why not PLA?
I simply sellotaped a single (cut-down) piece of copier paper over the bed.
It worked first time, and every time after that. So far I have had no bad prints using it! ( except for one where I hadn’t levelled the bed properly – i.e. my cock-up).
Here’s my trusty Ender-3 Paper’d up printing (this time) a large name label. I’ve taken another photo below showing the size name labels that were causing me such grief.
The prints, especially the bigger ones do stick really well to the paper, to the point you have to cute away the paper from the print, but if you want to get rid of the paper “base” left on the print then soak it off!
Simple!
Hope it helps.
The rest of my posts on 3D printing can be found on This Link