PEI Print Bed Question

[jheikkila54]

Hey Guys,

I have done a lot of digging on good ways to adhear ABS to the bed. I have attempted every possibility and never had great success. I ran into PEI and ordered a sheet and absolutly love it! I find that it doesnt stick as well as others have reported, but If I print with a brim at 115 degress on the print bed, it never lifts. So that is still a win! Not to mention the bottom layer has a very sexy matte finish

However, I am starting to think back on things and I think the whole issue I have been having trying to find a good way to adhear ABS is related to extremly thick glass I have, I think it is 3/16 or thicker (came with the printer, and I bought it from Craigslist.) I have always allowed the bed to heat for about 20 minutes before starting to print, due to the thickness. However, I am starting to wonder, due to the thickness, am I seeing much lower surface heat compared to what the thermistor is reporting?

So my questions is, Can I glue the PEI directly to the PCB board? This will allow for direct heat transfer to the part, faster warm up times, and potentially allow me to lower the heated bed temp. I understand that this means that if the PCB takes a crap, I gotta replace the PEI as well, this is minor for me as I just want to be able to print ABS flawlessly. I also realize that this means I will not be able to have multiple print beds for easy change outs, however I dont have that now and do not have the need/desire to do so.

If you feel that this isnt a viable option, what would you suggest to use instead of the thick glass I currently have, i have a 12"x12" bed

[jimc]

i personally use mic6 aluminum for my bed. its cast, stress free and milled perfectly flat so it stays that way when its heated. its much easier to bond things to it than glass would be. i have not used pei though. the other thing about the aluminum is that its 1/4" thick so the heat is extremely even. i only see a 2-3 deg difference from the center to the edges. i glass bead one side of the plate and use hairspray but there is no reason the pei cant be bonded to the plate to give you and super flat, warp free build surface. im not sure how you are currently sticking it down? self adhesive?

[jheikkila54]

I use 3M 468MP adhesive tape. It is very taky and is fairly simple to apply. Thank you for your response, I will look into pricing that

[jheikkila54]

OK, I found a 1/4" 12x12 (300mm 300mm) MIC6 aluminum plate for 40 bucks with shipping. I ordered that, along with a 6061 alum plate to replace my wooden y-plate. I should be able to sandwhich the PCB and cork board between the two pieces of aluminum and then adhear the PEI right to the MIC6 aluminum plate with the 3M tape. This all costed me around 70 dollars and will give me a much flatter surface, better heat spread/transfer, and faster heating temps (of the surface)

[Holy1]

OK, I found a 1/4" 12x12 (300mm 300mm) MIC6 aluminum plate for 40 bucks with shipping. I ordered that,

Care to share the link for the plate? I have a nice piece of unused pei just itching to get stuck to some aluminum.

[jimc]

you can get the plate right from mcmaster.com. mic6 is milled flat and will be the flattest surface your gonna find BUT it can get out of whack depending on how its stored at the distributor. i have made about a dozen plates for people over the past year and mcmaster plates are always flat.

[jheikkila54]

I agree, McMaster.com is the place to go. I got a disccount threw work but the normal price is 44 +shipping. Worth every dollar in my opinion.

[BaudR8]

If you have scrap ABS lying around I've always found I had little to no issues with a level bed + tape of your choice + a quick swipe with ABS Juice(dissolved chunks of ABS in acetone). Acetone is pretty nasty stuff though, so use it with caution.

[Tetraodon]

I've been finding the gluestick method to be incredibly useful. My main issue was adhesion later on in the print with warping - so I ended up putting the bed temp up to 135 at one stage in order to keep it stuck on. I later moved the machine to somewhere warmer (it was in quite a drafty area), put it back to 115 and used the gluestick - it's really handy as the ABS pops off as it cools, but sticks incredibly well while hot (whereas I've heard with the ABS juice it sticks too well when cooled). PET-G, however, still sticks very well when cooled.

[KC_703]

If you're still using the PEI, adjust the z-endstop so a business card can slide between bed and nozzle. Print a test, wait till 50C to remove. If still stuck too well, then raise the nozzle by .1-.3 using the "Z-Offset G-Code" setting in S3D.

The nozzle height and removal temp (50C) is the key to printing on PEI.