PEI print bed surface experiments

[apostoly]

how fast did you get PEI sheet from Amazon? I am waiting a lot of time, and it isn't even shipped

i have been waiting for over a month and they have not shipped them yet (24th of May)

[Renha]

i have been waiting for over a month and they have not shipped them yet (24th of May)

I have purchased http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013H ... UTF8&psc=1 on May 26, month and 1 day ago. Now i have trying glue stick, insulation tape, - not able to print https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:65081/ with flat bottom and round holes because of bad adhesion

[apostoly]

i have been waiting for over a month and they have not shipped them yet (24th of May)

I have purchased http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013H ... UTF8&psc=1 on May 26, month and 1 day ago. Now i have trying glue stick, insulation tape, - not able to print https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:65081/ with flat bottom and round holes because of bad adhesion

I have been able to print with close to 100% success adhesion wise when using curas brim support.

Printing on a raft in kiss also works well but i find it to hard to clean up the part afterwards

I just use elmers dissapearing purple glue .. no more hairspray!!

it will be nice to be able to print with no adhesion support though. sick of cleaning parts haha

[Eaglezsoar]

i have been waiting for over a month and they have not shipped them yet (24th of May)

I have purchased http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013H ... UTF8&psc=1 on May 26, month and 1 day ago. Now i have trying glue stick, insulation tape, - not able to print https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:65081/ with flat bottom and round holes because of bad adhesion

Are you a Prime Shipping member at Amazon. I would definitely contact them and ask them what is going on. It seems like they lost your order.

[Renha]

Are you a Prime Shipping member at Amazon. I would definitely contact them and ask them what is going on. It seems like they lost your order.

There are text on order page:

Delivery estimate: June 24, 2014 - August 8, 2014

[mhackney]

Renha, Amazon may be trying to adjust for the international customs time to get to you. I know from my experience shipping to Russia that I will ship something the same day as it was ordered and it took 6 weeks to get through customs and to the buyer. You should validate with Amazon if they shipped or not. Shippers, like myself, have NO control over what happens through international customs, unfortunately. It can leave a bad taste in the customer's mouth but there is no fault of the seller.

[Lightpath]

Personally it came quickly, but I also ordered a sheet that was way too thick so they may not be in as high a demand as the thinner sheets.

How thick was the sheet that you ordered?

I am ashamed to admit that I have this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013H ... UTF8&psc=1

1/8 inch thick. It does the trick, but heat transfer is suboptimal.

[mhackney]

No need to be ashamed!

[atoff]

I finally applied my PEI sheet and test printed in ABS. I couldn't get the print off the bed afterwards. It was fused onto the bed. I tried, as recommended, removing the part when the bed cooled down to around 75c, then again at 60c, then again when it cooled even further. No luck. Is it safe to use acetone on it?

[mhackney]

Don't use acetone. It won't harm the PEI but it will likely make a mess and if the bed is hot it might cause a fire.

I use a very thin and stiff spatula and wedge that under one corner or edge of a stubborn part. Then I stick pencil under it to make a lever and pop it off. Works every time. You want to remove the parts as soon as they are printed. You also want to make sure your first layer thickness is correct. I've observed that folks moving to PEI are carrying over a bad habit of printing on other surfaces - really smooching the first layer to get it to bond. You don't need to do this. If you are printing at .2mm layers, print 1 layer and measure its thickness. It should be .2mm. If it is thinner, adjust your Z (or disable a smooth feature in your slicer if it has it) and retest.

Finally, the tried and true way to remove any stubborn part is to put the entire plate in the fridge or freezer. When we say "cold" surface, we meant exactly that! Parts will literally "pop" off.

Finally, determine the minimum safest bed temperature for your printer and ABS. Too hot just makes it bond much stronger.

Hope this helps,
Michael

[atoff]

Thanks, I managed to get the glued piece off. You're right, I was smashing the first layer into the bed. My first print failed because the ABS didn't stick, so I lowered the nozzle about .1mm with this second print. Amazing how strong it bonded to the PEI! I had a tiny bit of residue left over on the PEI, so I wiped it with the acetone. I'll recalibrate the layer height like you suggested, and lower the temp a bit. I had the bed at 110c, again, because the first print failed to stick at all with 90c. Figured since I have the 0.4mm sheet, I'd bump the heat more than I would have.

I'm going to get rid of this dual hotend setup now and recalibrate. I just couldn't get the bed / nozzles level across the bed - very bummed about this, but oh well.

[atoff]

Just wanted to say, the PEI is working great since I've calibrated the bed properly. Really great adhesion with ABS, though I've only printed small parts so far. I do feel that the PEI is somewhat lumpy in places. It might be due to the tape. There were spots were the glue bunched up, which I didn't notice until after removing the backing. It's impossible to fix without completely removing and reapplying the tape, so I didn't bother. In any case... good stuff!

[bret4]

I wonder if anyone has tried .003 or .005 PEI film? Could it be applied like window film with sopy water or windex? Then maybe warm it up slowly to dry it out on the heated bed? Clips can be used to hold it down until dry. I know that the film on windows stays stuck good with just sopy water or windex once dry.

[Mac The Knife]

Window film still has an adhesive on it,,, that's what the clear backing film is protecting.

[bret4]

It's been so long I forgot about the backing on it. I saw the spiderbot printer using pei film on their beds and they show in their instructions applying it with something like windex. It would be interesting to know what their source for that film is. Maybe there is some kind of thin glue that can be like water to make it stick.

[mhackney]

I would think the thin PEI would work great. I don't think an adhesive would be needed, surface tension should be fine. I haven't found a source for it yet though.

[Flateric]

Not sure if it is the same thing, but I have used;

Window tint (worked great but the material is very sensitive to any type of scratching and not at all durable)

Monokote (an RC airplane wing coating, slightly better durability than the window tint otherwise the same in performances)

Clear vinyl (the type used in vinyl cutters and the like, works extremely well and stood up to multiple uses, but will eventually degrade and fail. Doesn't work well at higher bed temps due to the adhesive glue becoming soft and letting go. But by far the most durable of the stick on solutions I have tried. There are different types of this material. Unfortunately I am not 100% sure of the type I tested since it was given to me long long ago.)

[bret4]

McMaster Carr has ultem PEI in .003 and .005 thick sheets. I was thinking of trying some out if I can figure out how to stick it to the glass bed.

[bret4]

Thinking about how to stick it to the glass made me think about mixing glue stick with water or alcohol to make a thin slurry. Then apply the thin pei to the bed and squeegee out from the center to make it nice and flat. Then maybe warm it up to 30 or 40 c for an hour or so to dry it to the glass.

[Eaglezsoar]

McMaster Carr has ultem PEI in .003 and .005 thick sheets. I was thinking of trying some out if I can figure out how to stick it to the glass bed.

I would buy the tape designed for the PEI then take your time applying the tape so there are no bubbles.

[bret4]

I guess if I go with the tape then it would be better to go with thicker .030 PEI. I think that would be less likely to show any lines from the tape in the parts.

[Eaglezsoar]

I guess if I go with the tape then it would be better to go with thicker .030 PEI. I think that would be less likely to show any lines from the tape in the parts.

.03 and thicker PEI are the most commonly used sizes. Have you read the excellent topic from user Mhackney?
The link is here: http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=4336

[mhackney]

bret4, I use .030" PEI, used 3/4" wide tape and have NO issues with lines or other issues in the parts.

[swe3tdave]

i've been looking at Tempalux® CN Conductive Polyetherimide http://www.boedeker.com/tempal_p.htm, it looks really interesting, i'm thinking of autoleveling. I dont know much about electronics though. However, i can't find anything below 3/8" thick, so...

[bret4]

bret4, I use .030" PEI, used 3/4" wide tape and have NO issues with lines or other issues in the parts.

I just ordered some tape and .040 PEI to give it a try. I have 3 printers so I also ordered some .003 and .005 PEI to try on my other printers.