Making the build plate sticky
14.4.1 Making the build plate sticky
You should ensure that the build plate is a bit “sticky”. What sortof stickiness works best depends a bit on what type of filament youare using, as well as sometimes what type of printer you are using.The filament that Polar 3D sells is PLA (PolyLactic Acid) filament,which sticks well to certain brands of hair spray, to the gluein many common glue sticks, or to ordinary blue painter’s tape.
Hair spray is particularly quick and easy to apply. Aqua NetExtra Hold works well; or look for any other hair spray containingVA/crotonates/vinyl neodecanate copolymer. After applying agenerous layer to a new or freshly cleaned build plate, you need onlylightly “touch up” the hair spray for additional prints; for a videodemonstration, see:
As the hair spray will tend to build up over time, every so often,(every few weeks, depending on how heavily used the printer is),clean the build plate with hot water and paper towels, and thenreapply a fresh generous layer of hair spray.
But if glue sticks are more convenient for your classroom, theywork too, though they may result in an object sticking too well if aheavy layer is applied – try to apply a very thin, even coat to thebuild plate. Any PVA (Polyvinyl acetate) based glue stick, includingElmer’s washable glue sticks/Purple Disappearing glue sticks, orScotch glue sticks, should work.
A layer of blue painter’s tape on the build surface is another wayto achieve an adhesive surface, though applying it is liable to take abit more time. (Also, sometimes an object will start pulling thetape off, at which point the rest of the build will likely be warped.) Lay down a uniform layer of tape, with no gaps and nooverlapping of the edges of the strips of tape. The painter’stape will need to be replaced when its surface becomes lessadhesive, typically after about five to ten prints at the samelocation.
For ABS filament, the above build plate preparation approaches(hair spray, glue stick, or painter’s tape) work; in addition, ABS willalso stick to PEI sheets, PET sheets, or Kapton tape, or the buildplate may be spread with “ABS juice” – a slurry made from ABSand acetone (which dissolves ABS).
For printers with an acrylic or metal print bed, rather than aglass build plate, another option for aiding adhesion is to install onyour print bed a sheet or film of material designed to aid adhesion,such as PEI (polyetherimide) film; BuildTak is a popular brand thatworks for both PLA and ABS filaments (as well as certain othertypes of filament). Such a layer provides adhesion and easy objectremoval, lasting for many prints, though it will eventually needreplacement.
