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.
I got mine from Amazon UK, the orange smell is OK (there are a lot worse scents) but it’s darn powerful. It’s the goo that’s the worst, as you say. A year or so ago I fitted a new sheet then immediately destroyed it (screwed up the z calibration and burned a hole right in the centre) so had to go through the whole process again the same day. Not happy.
It’s really quite amazing that after so many years now of domestic 3D printing that there’s no absolute best print bed solution. I like the idea of magnetic attachment, but that’s not easy to find for all printers, and there’s dozens of print surface providers. Hopefully one day soon someone will invent something that is just the total answer and we’ll all end up using it.
Changing the PEI sheet on a MK2 is a breeze. Heat it and peel it off. For the glue that remains I fold paper towels and moisten with acetone and let sit on the bed a few minutes and scrap off (plastic spatula of course) repeat.
I have tried printbite a few times, on the MK2 and on a Creator Pro, and never got it to work ok. Finally got to where I could get PLA or ABS first layer to actually lay down and print but even PLA would start to lift at the corners after time.
Once support got to the point of things like add corner ears to the print, use ABS slurry etc. to get the plastic to stick and not warp I was like why? What’s the point? Buy your expensive product just so I can use the traditional methods of adhesion anyway.
On the creator Pro’s I am working with the BuildTak Flex system. So far it is pretty good. Great for PLA and ABS works well but messes with the BuildTak sheet. They are addressing this.
I have applied a PEI sheet to their spring steel flex plate and this is working nicely.
After the ABS part cools I can flex it and it really help the release.
