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 far 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 before every PLA print I do and since then everything finished ok. Maybe I'm just lucky.
EDIT: Spelling
Got the same printer and basically the same behaviour. At the beginning I used some alcohol wipes which apparently left something on the plate so I got really desperate and had no idea what to do. Then I assumed it's the wipes and took the PEI sheet to the kitchen, used some Dawn and scrubbed it down real good and after that always used Isoprop after a print with a microfibre cloth and never had any sticking issues ever again. I can even get away printing 3-4 prints with PLA before wiping it down real quick. When I print PETG I almost don't get the print off the plate, it's sticking really, really well.
It's the same here. I use kitchen detergent to wash the plate and I just lay paper towel on top to absorb water, no wiping. Then I let the residue water dry off on the printer before printing - it is usually dry throughout the heating of the bed when I start the print.
I can also print a few PLA things one after another before cleaning, but it is best to clean in between every print - just to make sure.
PETG sticks great, no worries there. It goes off the plate without problem once the plate reaches room temperature. If you want to take it off earlier (not too early though, otherwise you can distort the print), you can always just lift the plate and bend it so the print unsticks.
The same goes for ABS and ASA - if they don't warp during print process (corners and such).
Once you know how to approach it, it becomes easy.
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 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.
Just to add data for future searchers:
I've been running print projects at work for the past year and a half, mostly making tools for technicians to use in the field out of ABS (often multicolor) on a Bambu P1S (well, on 3 of them now, as we've slowly ramped up production) with textured PEI plates. I've probably gone through close to a hundred KG of Bambu ABS in that time.
Never touched a glue stick or any other adhesive at work. We got to a place at one point of needing to flip the plates between prints, then clean the plates with dish soap after two prints, then wiping down with IPA after the wash. That got to be time-consuming, and for our money it was worth just buying new plates. That resolved the issue, and we've only had to do that once in the year and a half of running these machines. We now keep backup plates for if that happens again.
Notably, I and the other guys that do design work for our prints typically design with good bed adhesion and reliable printing in mind, as we often run the printers for 16 hours a day and need to have consistently usable prints that we don't have time to babysit while we work on our other job responsibilities. Few of our designs have delicate parts with small bed contact points, and when they do we use brims and supports to make them work.
On the other hand, I have a printer at home (another P1S) that I use for fun prints, like gifts for family, trinkets, and small replacement parts for stuff that breaks at home. I'm really pushing that machine to its limits sometimes, and even then I've only ever used glue (the green stuff that Bambu sells) for the most finicky prints. The only one that immediately comes to mind is an axolotl I printed for a Christmas present, which has delicate gills that start from a very small contact with the bed, and supports weren't working for me. Other than that, washing the bed in the sink with dish soap has usually fixed any issues I've had, using various PLA and PETG filaments on both textured and smooth PEI plates.
I had printed, on my Bambu P1S , for a couple years on a PEI plate without glue. It worked great, never had a failed print. I had tried some ABS and it recommended using glue, so I tried it for the first time. No issues, no sticking issues. However I have used glue on all prints since then just because. I could get away without it but it doesn't hurt.
I think my question is, how often do people reapply glue or completely clean all the glue off and reapply? I will add glue and do like 15 prints before adding a bit more glue. And then I will completely clean the plate after maybe 50 prints. I'm probably not doing this right but I don't have any issues so I'm not sure.
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.
I think everyone's environment and experience varies widely in 3D printing- there are so many different factors (filament brands and types, environments, printers, firmwares, etc) at play. This is something I have started to realize when troubleshooting any problems.
There are people that have never had to dial in PETG. Some people seem to magically just get perfect prints all the time with very little adjustment, etc
Using Ender v3 SE, since starting to use a deeper, rough-textured PEI instead of the stock plate, and adjusting z-offset IIRC, I haven't needed glue at all for PLA or PETG. I always get great bed adhesion now (not too loose or too stuck). I use one side of the plate for PETG and the other for PLA and I wash with Dawn dish soap when necessary
I have never used glue once, but did have a few issues with prints on the stock plate (still probably 80% of them fully successful) that the new plate has permanently solved
Haven't used it in a couple years, but with my monoprice mini I added a glass plate (thin picture frame glass cut to size) on top of the heated bed+textured print surface. I did a thin layer of glue stick on the glass before printing (after it had heated for a bit). If the print got stuck to the glass, I put it + the glass in the freezer for 10 min and the print pops right off. The glass plate helped both with adhesion and also ensuring a level print surface, since the bed had a tendency to warp a little bit. But glue was great for getting initial adhesion, since I often found that first layer wouldn't reliably stick. So, I've been pro glue stick. It's cheap and takes very little time to do
Back when I had a cheap i3 clone and an ender 3, I did use it from time to time. But I dumped those a few years ago and got a Prusa mini. I have a smooth sheet and a textured sheet. I don't print that much, but I've never had a problem with those. I've had a few prints fail, but that was mostly trying to do large pla prints on the textured sheet. As soon as I take the 10 seconds to switch to the smooth sheet, it works every time. Personally I don't like using disposable materials if possible, and it seems very possible to avoid glue stick. When using the correct sheet, my only print failures have been from filament feed issues.
I use a centauri carbon, print mostly in PLA, got a few hundred hours on it. Never used glue, it's working more or less fine. Did have some failed prints, but I've also not cleaned the bed in uhh... Too long, so it's that rather than lack of glue :D
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
I'm also in a more chaotic environment with a lot of different people using them.
I use a prusa mk4s satin sheet for 99% of my printing, most of which is PETG. I've never even bought a glue stick, let alone used one.
I've only rarely had adhesion issues and those are almost always due designs with particularly small contact points (can usually be solved with a brim or other support).
I've had some, minor, issues with ABS warping and pulling off the bed but I only rarely print ABS no idea if it is a glue stick thing or just that I'm not managing temperatures well.
I have a bambu A1 mini. It has a heated bed, but for prints that take up the whole bed or have a lot of flat bottom surface I use a light application of glue. Mostly because the edges of the heated plate aren't the same temperature as the middle.
Others have mostly covered things, but I'll add a +1 for team No Glue. I have an X1C and I print mostly in PETG (various brands) and I'm also team smooth, the smooth side of the plate that comes with the printer. I've had zero issues with adhesion on the smooth side without glue. In my limited experience CoreXY printers significantly lower the change of adhesion issues assuming the bed is heated properly.
I also have an A1, but I use the textured plate with no glue because the bed slinger style puts a lot more stress on the adhesion layer with the plate.
My input is pretty useless here but I wanted to share.
I had this v1 Tevo Tornado (lol) I got in 2016 and I Frankenstein'd the hell out of it. One of the things I added was a cheap ass IKEA mirror to the heated bed (yes not glass, that shit is expensive) and I had to glue that to stop my prints from becoming welded to the print bed.
Other mods included: longer and more numerous z screws, complete extruder swap, new mother board and a custom spool holder/filament routing system.
And then one day I killed it by flashing newer firmware to it and not keeping the working one as a backup lol. Rest in pieces Tornado.
I’ve never used glue on my Bambu X1C, and I had actually never failed a print. I’m surprised that it’s such a commonplace practise.
I haven't 3D printed in quite a few years now (former hobbyist), but I never used a glue stick. With a Prusa flexible textured plate I can't remember parts really ever failing due to adhesion issues, but the primary reason for me is that I hate the feeling of glue and just didn't want that on things I had to touch - it sounds like you're coming at this from a practicality standpoint and might not have considered reasons not to use it that aren't from a maximising performance lens.
On my old Ender 3 V1, glue stick was the only way prints would stay on. I struggled for four years with maybe 30% of my prints actually working otherwise. I cleaned my bed, tried a dozen bed levelling techniques, tweaked the Z-axis, replaced the print bed for glass and PEI, even swapped out the bed frame and heating pad for better quality - still failed frequently. I grew to dread using the printer after a while because I just assumed prints would detach and the head would gum up again.
I still use glue stick on my current printer, a Sovol SV06 Plus, just because of my bad experiences previously. It works, I'm tired of trying something new to make it work "properly", I just reapply every dozen or so prints and I'm happy with the result.
Before I got a cold plate I used hairspray and that worked like a charm.