i do PLA only, i did have ABS on my hub but it was troublesome for larger prints, it warped even with abs juice on the bed. it was a shame as it one material that gave super nice prints. and then there was the stink and fumes… even if it was in the livingroom i could smell it all over the flat
and it was in a chamber so it was not cold air getting to it.
so yeah… either glass or another surface…
i have seen a few recommend using a can of air and turning it upside down to use it as a freeze spray, maybe that could do the trick. of course only a very short burst is needed, but if the PEI will crack i dont know
I gave up on ABS about 8 months ago, just too many failures, warping, splitting, etc. I use PETG mostly now for parts where PLA isn’t suitable, and Filamentum CPE is a nice product as well.
I’ve just ordered a Printbite surface for my FF Pro, it’ll be a week or so before it arrives (and I have time to fit it), but I’ll let you know how that works out!
My major problem with PEI is that it’s such a pain to remove a sheet. Freezing the bed (which, on a Prusa, means partial disassembly), then soaking in D-Limonene (everything smells of oranges for days) and the whole gooey mess that needs to be scraped away.
Hi @Odense3DPrint no, it’s not arrived yet, annoyingly. Their website did say there’d be some delay, but it’s been a couple of weeks now. I’ll chase them!
Hi @Odense3DPrint hurrah! It arrived Tuesday afternoon (not sure if my email hurried things along or not), and I fitted it yesterday morning. “Installation” was straightforward, much like laying down a PEI sheet, the only issue being my impatience waiting for the “baking” periods to finish! Took a while to dial in the settings for Fillamentum CPE (I only use this machine for PETG and am now using CPE as it’s much nicer in my opinion), the first attempt the nozzle was too high, the second attempt the bed temp was too low, but I’m now 3 prints down the line and, so far, it’s working as it says on the tin.
The base of the prints are glossy smooth - as good as you get printing directly onto glass - and once the bed temperature drops 20C or so, the models can be removed with just a tiny effort, really you can just pull the model free with your fingers. I have tried any other materials yet, unfortunately (or fortunately, from a business point of view) I got a large customer order about 5 minutes after I’d finished fitting the sheet, so the machine will be tied up printing CPE until next week. I will try other materials, but this machine is really only used for PETG/CPE so even if I can’t get PLA working, it won’t be a big deal for me.
The “release” temperature is a lot higher than I expected, my second failed print used a bed temp of 70C, dropping to 65C on the third layer, and the part came free right at the end of the print, so I upped both temps by 10C. This does suggest to me the surface may not work as well in open machines so I’ll have to consider whether getting one for my Prusa.
So far then, very happy. No more tape, no more glue residue, nice shiny bottom surface and a quick turn around for prints. It really is a surprisingly big relief not to have to mess about removing models - it’s even easier than PLA on PEI.
