What's the textured sheet for?
It's obviously not a 3D printer build surface because no plastic sticks to it. PLA, PETG, ABS, nothing sticks. Don't tell me isopropyl alcohol or dawn dish soap or Z offset, I've tried all three. 100% of the parts I've tried to print on this sheet have partially or entirely failed, so I'm not trying to print on it again.
So what's it for? What am I supposed to do with this $50 build sheet shaped object? What is its intended purpose?
On a related note, what print sheet do I need to buy to print PETG on? Don't tell me any sold by Prusa or Printed Solid; being defrauded like this puts me off my spend with a company. Who *actually* makes good print surfaces?
Textured sheets are usually the best surface for PETG, satin is a close second. Textured surfaces generally need a little more first layer squish, especially when new - dial your live X down a little and see if it helps.
Cheerio,
RE: What's the textured sheet for?
If the sheet is new you could try to rinse it with really hot water and use a non-abrasive sponge to scrub it thoroughly first. I use my (Original Prusa) textured sheets for PLA and PETG equally with good adhesion on both.
RE: What's the textured sheet for?
It's obviously not a 3D printer build surface because no plastic sticks to it. PLA, PETG, ABS, nothing sticks. Don't tell me isopropyl alcohol or dawn dish soap or Z offset, I've tried all three. 100% of the parts I've tried to print on this sheet have partially or entirely failed, so I'm not trying to print on it again.
So what's it for? What am I supposed to do with this $50 build sheet shaped object? What is its intended purpose?
On a related note, what print sheet do I need to buy to print PETG on? Don't tell me any sold by Prusa or Printed Solid; being defrauded like this puts me off my spend with a company. Who *actually* makes good print surfaces?
I'm sorry to hear you're having problems. This isn't how it's supposed to be, something is wrong. In my world, there are three different types of plates (excluding specialty plates to print technical filaments).
- Smooth build plate - Filament adheres to this plate very well, sometimes too well. Avoid PETG or TPU or anything with good bed adhesion on this since it could stick too well to the bed and thus damage the bed when removed.
- Satin build plate - Filament adheres to this plate well, but it also releases quite easy. I use this build-plate for 95% of all my prints, including PLA, PETG and ASA.
- Textured build plate - Filament adheres to this plate pretty well. I use this build plate when I want a textured surface finish, or for printing with filament that adheres very well to the build plate (and would damage a smooth or satin build plate). For example, I only print on a textured build with TPU. I occasionally print with PLA, PETG and ASA on a textured plate.
- Cool plate (not currently sold by Prusa) - Plates that are suuuper sticky that are designed to be printing at lower temperatures.
I haven't tried any other build plate manufacturers other than Prusa, but I also don't have any complaints regarding Prusa's build plates. Once again, if you're not getting anything to stick to a textured build plate, something is wrong with the entire setup. I highly doubt something is wrong with the build plates and that you're being defrauded.
RE: What's the textured sheet for?
Well I washed it with dawn, hot water and scotchbrite very thoroughly, I got a couple parts to stick to it. I don't know if I've damaged it or shortened its service life; I kind of hope so because that'll give me an excuse to throw it away.
I'm giving up on PEI. I called it a pointless gimmick when I first heard about it 8 years ago, and I was correct. Now I need to go find some alternative. Might just slap a sheet of glass on it. I've been printing on glass for ten years, it works well, don't know why we bothered with anything else.
RE: What's the textured sheet for?
Well I washed it with dawn, hot water and scotchbrite very thoroughly, I got a couple parts to stick to it. I don't know if I've damaged it or shortened its service life; I kind of hope so because that'll give me an excuse to throw it away.
I'm giving up on PEI. I called it a pointless gimmick when I first heard about it 8 years ago, and I was correct. Now I need to go find some alternative. Might just slap a sheet of glass on it. I've been printing on glass for ten years, it works well, don't know why we bothered with anything else.
Some dish soap have skin softeners or skin moistureisers inside them, to counteract people's skin getting too dried out when doing the dishes by hand. This however also adds a layer of grease to the build plate which makes adhesion impossible. When I wash my build plates with dish soap, I make sure to thoroughly rinse the plates with very hot water, so hot that it would "melt" and push away any residue oils (e.g. when you do the same thing with an oily frying pan, that's how hot you want to get the water).
Having worked with both glass and flexible metal print beds, I would never in my life go back to glass unless I absolutely needed a glass-like smooth surface finish on the bottom of the print. Having a flexible metal print bed allows me to just bend the print bed and remove the print super easily as opposed to having to bring the scraper out to pry off the print from the glass print bed. Additionally, I personally dislike the super smooth glossy finish you get when you print on a glass bed (or even on a smooth PEI sheet), since I think it clashes too much with the other printed surfaces on a 3D print.
You do you, if you like a glass print bed more then there's nothing stopping you from just using a glass print bed. That's one of the reasons why Prusa printer are so popular, it's generally a lot easier to customize and do as you wish with the printer when it's a Prusa.
Good luck and hoping for all your prints sticking to your print beds, regardless of which print bed you choose.
RE: What's the textured sheet for?
@ UjinDesign, how can I put this in a way that won't get me banned? Let's try: I'm already too dead of old age to worry about whether my *dish soap is too oily.* They tell you to clean it with isopropyl alcohol and not to clean it with water because it will rust. Then they sheepishly admit that cleaning it with alcohol doesn't actually accomplish anything so you have to wash it wiht water and dish detergent, but don't submerge it and make sure your soap isn't too oily.
I don't have time for this mickey mouse garbage.
I'm gonna try a G10 bed, if that doesn't work I might try this Tyson Build Plate, and you know what I'm gonna get a glass plate for it, for TPU if nothing else. I can't find any evidence that extruding TPU onto *any* polymer coated surface is a wise choice.
RE: What's the textured sheet for?
Alright, good luck!
and you know what I'm gonna get a glass plate for it, for TPU if nothing else. I can't find any evidence that extruding TPU onto *any* polymer coated surface is a wise choice.
For future people reading: I learned from JoanTabb that putting a few drops of alcohol around your TPU prints (when printing on textured sheet, maybe on others as well) and waiting like 10 seconds will make the alcohol soak underneath the print due to surface tension and allow you to pretty easily remove the TPU from the textured sheet. Lifesaver advice.
RE: What's the textured sheet for?
The sheets will not rust, any liquid that remains on the sheets after drying will evaporate quickly on the heated bed. I have had my sheets (several each of smooth, textured and satin) for several years, there is no rust on them and they work as intended. I have used them for PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, PCTG, PCCF, PACF, TPU, TPE. Not every sheet type is ideally suited for every filament type, but there is a guide for that. I clean and dry them immediately before use. Perhaps if you would clean them with water and put them away when they are not completely dry, there could be a rust hazard, but just follow good practice and clean them before use and they will be fine. 🙂
RE: What's the textured sheet for?
Hey. I would also like to check what printer you are using in this case? If you are on anything older than MK4 (including MINI) then first layer calibration would need to be setup again for the new print sheet and that might explain your adhesion problems. Also, if you have a picture of the bottom of any recent print (even if it failed half way) we could get a look if the height is OK or not.
RE: What's the textured sheet for?
@Tommy_Prusa3D CM,
I am using a MK4S, so there shouldn't be any Z offset issues. I'll attach a picture of a partially failed print, it finished but peeled up on the corners.
Quite a large, irregular area of poor adhesion along the top and at left ... of course the principle cause is warping and it may pay to insert some stress relieving slots in the upper side but the lift-off points have an odd pattern, not like the (depressingly common) fingerprints but similar blotchiness - what potential contaminants are you, or someone else, using near the printer after cleaning? They can be pretty left-field, especially if there are children around or like the cat that chose a cooling but still warm Mk3 print bed as a lurking spot...
PEI. I called it a pointless gimmick when I first heard about it 8 years ago
The early, rigid print beds weren't up to much but the flexible sheets, imo, make a huge improvement.
Cheerio,
RE: What's the textured sheet for?
In terms of height, it looks good, but I think I see some clear signs of warping on it, especially towards the upper side of the image. Any chance there is some larger airflow in the area that could be causing the plastic to shrink? It also still matches cleaning and adhesion issues, but this might be an alternative cause.