Which sheet with which material?  

RE: Which sheet with which material?

If you mean the Prusa print surfaces, both the smooth and textured variants are PEI. The should work well for PLA, PETG, ABS and TPU. You'll need to apply glue stick for nylon or print on an alternate surface like Garolite. Not sure about PC as I've yet to try it, but do some searching as there have been some good discussions on the topic.

RE: Which sheet with which material?

Thanks for posting, yes I did mean Prusa sheets, trying to understand why there are 2 PEI variants (smooth and textured) and whether to buy both.  

RE: Which sheet with which material?

The textured sheet gives the nice pebbled surface, nice for external surfaces. The smooth surface produces smooth finish that is good for part fit and precision. If you can get only one, get the smooth. If you can get both, get both.

RE: Which sheet with which material?

PLA prints on all, although textured sheet is a bit harder to tune and maintain. PETG works great with textured, and too great with smooth - it likes to stick too well, and can damage sheet if you try to rip prints without cooling down. Spray and wipe windows cleaner before printing. I do not have experience with other materials, more people may chip in. 

RE: Which sheet with which material?

Be careful printing ABS on smooth PEI. It does one of two things - 1) fails to stick completely or 2) sticks so hard it rips ups the PEI when removing your part. No 2 has been my experience with it. ABS is the one material I use a glue stick with, not to keep it stuck but to act as a release agent.

RE: Which sheet with which material?

If it's your first printer and/or you have to choose between those two then go for smooth PEI sheet. It's the best all-rounder.

RE: Which sheet with which material?

ABS is the one material I use a glue stick with, not to keep it stuck but to act as a release agent.

RE: Which sheet with which material?

Posted by: @olef

Be careful printing ABS on smooth PEI. It does one of two things - 1) fails to stick completely or 2) sticks so hard it rips ups the PEI when removing your part. No 2 has been my experience with it. ABS is the one material I use a glue stick with, not to keep it stuck but to act as a release agent.

This is one lesson I learned the hard way on one of my first ABS prints on the smooth sheet.  It stuck too well, and I got impatient and used a kitchen implement to pry it loose.  A few pieces of the PEI coating came off with it.  Had I simply waited for it to cool down, it probably would have released due to the shrinkage of ABS on cooling.

I've found that the choice of sheet is more determined by whether or not I want the textured surface and not by filament type.  I do like the surface that the textured sheet gives and it works quite well on larger flat surfaces without texture that are conspicuously visible on the model.  I've also started using it for such things like translucent window panes in model buildings.

Having said that, I've had good luck printing PLA, PETg and ABS on both the smooth and textured sheets.  Yes, a release agent is appropriate for ABS which, if anything, sticks too well.  I was using the Kores glue stick but recently the Layerneer, which gives a good release with a much thinner coat.  PETg sticks well too, and bordering on too well.

I've only done a few prints with the PC Blend, and only on the smooth sheet.  No real reason why I have not tried it on the textured sheet, just haven't.  It prints quite well, and the prints I have done with it came off with no difficulty after cooling to near room temperature.