Hi there,
One of the most annoying thing with the printing is to figure out how to stick your model to the print bed. I read many articles, forums, posts and mails about it and there are many ways starting with a perfect clean heated glass surface just with the right temperature, hairsprays, glue sticks, blue tape, etc. Some of them works on PLA, other works on ABS. Some of them are available in my local store but didn’t know what kind of spray or stick to use, some of them I did not able to find at all (in my country there is no such thing as a blue tape).
Still, I found a “thing” that works best with ABS and PLA, and it is worldwide available. A “White Glue”, also know as “Wood Glue”, “C-200” or just the white glue that child uses in schools.
This glue is water based, so a water can be used as a thinner. You can apply it as it is (thick) on the glass surface (aluminium surface should work as well) for stronger bond, or you can reduce it to look and feel like a low fat milk. Just apply a thin coat with brush and turn your bed heater to dry out the glue (it dries quickly).
I have printed many parts with a small contact area, without a brim, and all of them were attached very good to the surface. After the print is finish, let the bed cools to room temperature and with a little force you can remove the part very easy. When the bed is hot, the part will be very hard to remove.
One coat of glue is enough for many prints. No glue is left on the part (like the hair spray) when the part is removed. The glass can be cleaned with a simple window spray cleaner and some kind of tissue, cloth or kitchen paper. The glue dissolves from the cleaner. PC screen cleaner works as well (that’s what I use).
Hope this info helps someone. If I new it earlier, it was going to save me a lot of nerves
Happy printing!
3 Likes
Thanks for the great tips!
I’ve had trouble with print adhesion when I started printing on my XYZ Davinci 1.0 AiO. Then I start using Elmer’s washable glue stick and then I had no problem at all. Easy to clean and since the color is purple you can see where you applied the glue on the bed. Highly recommend. Give it a try! Mik3D Printing Solution
Vilis
March 14, 2016, 6:57am
4
This glue you are tlaking bout is PVA glue.
There are different grades:
D1 = Interior areas, where the temperature only occasionally exceeds 50°C for a short time and the moisture content of the wood is 15% maximum.
D2 = Interior areas, with occasional short term exposure to running or condensed water and/or to occasional high humidity, provided the moisture content of the wood does not exceed 18%.
D3 = Interior areas, with frequent short-term exposure to running or condensed water and/or heavy exposure to high humidity. Exterior areas not exposed to weather.
D4 = Interior areas with frequent long-term exposure to running or condensed water. Exterior areas exposed to weather.
D5= more or less same as D4, but with hardener.
That means if you chose PVA glue better look for D2 grade, than you can melt it water after print.
Yes, this is the glue. Still, I’m not sure what grade it is. There are almost none technical specifications.
I have tried several kind of glue sticks, and I do not like them for several reason.
- The glue stick is harder to apply, at least on the print bed. Not all areas on the bed are easy accessible with the stick pointing up. The white glue can be applied with a brush.
- It is hard to make an even coat. When you apply it, some areas has less glue, some more. The glue builds up and at some point the print surface becomes noticeable wavy.
- Some of the glue is left on the printed model after it is removed.
- When you scrape it of the surface, it chops as small flakes, which are annoying.
The only downside of the white glue is that you can stick the model too well to the print bed. Once, the part that I print had a large contact area with the bed (almost 70% of the print bed) and the part was really hard to remove.
Vilis
March 14, 2016, 1:24pm
7
For that reason is good to use glass base. I use regular glass and clip it on top of aluminum base with paper clips.
Best fix so far is ABS waste with solvent, but it must be attach when base is warm because glass also expand. Trick is adhesive hold fixed position as soon you change dimensions it come off. After print when base is cool, than it is easy to remove part. ABS film is thin for that reason there is no problem with dimension and if there is some ABS pieces hard to remove - use solvent.
I’ve had pretty poor luck with most general purpose glues, but a few months back I was able to obtain several 3DSystems “CubeStick” sticks. It’s worked amazingly, sticking well to every type of plastic I throw at it and washing off easily with water.
The only problem is, I’m running out and might not be able to obtain them from my original source anymore, and buying them is far too expensive. Anyone know what exactly it is and whether or not it’s available in some other form?
Hi, the solution i found i think is the most economical, and easy to find in the stores, but it works 100% for my PLA, ABS and laywood prints.
I cover my bed with the yellow paper tape, that is normally used by painters.
I heat the bed at the desired temperature and about 1 minute before the print starts I apply on the paper tape some stick glue, normally used in the schools by kids to attach papers, the most known brand here in Italy is “Pritt” or “UHU stic”
Newer had problems anymore.
does it work for large parts?
Omojesu
February 2, 2017, 9:55am
13
3D systems cubestick is fine and I have used it successfully in the past for ABS; the only downside is that the price is steadily rising due to its popularity and then its not widely available. Time to try Elmers washable glue I think.
gdykes
February 17, 2017, 2:11am
14
Just a note to say I tried a new method to adhere parts to bed. I use vinyl application tape and use squege to apply a light coat of super glue to the tape after installed on the bed. Let it dry first before using. It works better than anything I have ever seen and last a long time too. first one is hardest to remove but its not bad and don’t tear the tape. thought some of you might like to know this trick works and cheap too.
Great tip. I had no luck with the glue stick method, and was about to look up which kind of hairspray to buy, when I came across this post, and I figured I might as well try it before I went shopping, since I had a liter of wood glue sitting on the shelf.
I was sceptical before starting the first print, as it didn’t really look like I had done anything after applying the wood glue mix, it just looked like the glass was slightly dirty. But the first try went better than the most of my attempts with the glue stick, which I had been struggling with for a couple of days. It’s not quite perfect, but I did mix it with water, and made a very thin batch, so I will experiments with applying several layers and adjusting the mix to make it a bit thicker.
Thanks, i will try this, all other (conventional) ways seem to fail for me…even with PLA.
The one i have had best success with is 50/50 water/sugar brushed on to the plate.
I know this an old thread but I wanted to share this awesome spray I found, it’s almost too good to be true.https://www.amazon.com/Got2b-Glued-Blasting-Freeze-Hairspray/dp/B01MD28T59/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=11APUJXWIJZJ1&keywords=got2b+glued&qid=1561045083&s=gateway&sprefix=got2%2Caps%2C259&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1
