3D printers, do you use glue stick?
I have found myself confused about glue stick on the heat bed. I always have some applied, either reusing some from a previous print or applying it fresh. I manage a small print shop and have seen many prints fail, even on nice textured PEI plates, because no glue was used. I’ve seen prints fail only where there was no glue under the part many times. Yet I frequently hear from people, face to face, that they never glue. I’ve seen these people’s prints fail because they don’t use glue.
There are even special plates you can buy (SuperTack plates) that stick extra well to PLA to absolve you of the need for glue. But I find these coating on these plates to be too fragile.
Overall it seems like there’s a large contingency of people risking their prints and purchasing accessories to save what is maybe 20 seconds per print (that’s including periodic cleaning as you can reuse the glue many times). How do Tildes people feel about this? I teach a 3D printing class and tell people to always glue as they have nothing to lose. But maybe I’m missing something.
I have Ender3 V3 KE (What a naming scheme! What does it all even mean?) with textured PEI plate that was included with the printer. So faf I have printed say 10kg of filament, probably 50/50 PLA and PETG with a bit of TPU, ASA and ABS mixed in. I have never used glue. I had prints fail, especially when I started printing after I bought the printer. Then I started cleaning the plate befpre every PLA print I do and since then everything finisbed ok. Maybe I'm just lucky.
I still use it for ABS/ASA, even with a heated bed and actively heated chamber.
It does help and I find a thin layer that's then spread out and smoothed with IPA provides just a little extra stick without distorting the bottom layer's texture.
Nice technique.
I do not. I kind of didn't realize that was still a thing.
My main textured plate is coated with ABS juice, and that seems to last long enough that I don't need to care anymore. I switch to a smooth plate for plastics that specifically adhere better to that.
(In one memorable large ABS print, ABS juice was so strong that it still allowed the print to warp but it pulled the whole steel sheet up off the magnet with it and continued printing on top of the now-taco-shaped bed.)
Generally you use glue stick when you have a poor adhesion surface for the material you are using, such as glass or a particularly low quality “PEI”.
That being said you don’t need to constantly reapply every time. It should just be a very fine application that is refreshed once it all gets lifted away.
Often times when people add glue stick they should have probably just cleaned the bed.
I have a Bambu lab x1c, and a variety of AliExpress plates. I use liquid glue stick on almost everything, but very little. My method is to wipe on a few streaks, spray with distilled water, then wipe down with a microfiber cloth. It dries very quickly into a very thin layer. I use it not for adhesion per se, but as a release agent. It keeps the print surfaces from degrading. I print a wide variety of materials, but mostly PLA, PETG, and ASA.
Hi, sorry for pretty stupid question, but you are using heated beds, correct?
Yes.
I have been using Bambus Supertack for almost a year, and it seems to still keep well after 100+ prints.
I guess it depends on what you are printing and which filament, 90% was overturr pla matte, but after a couple of tpu prints it had noticeable degradation