PLA no longer sticking
I have had my Prusa Mini for several years and have had no issues with PLA sticking on my smooth print sheet that came with the printer.
I wanted to print TPU and didn't know that it sticks too good to smooth print sheets and that I should use a textured sheet. And yes, I damaged one side of the sheet.
Since then I purchased and original Prusa mini texture PEI sheet,
- set a new texture sheet profile and recalibrated the first layer with PLA
- It did require setting the nozzle to -2.0mm which is the max.
- The PLA stuck on the calibration, but did not stick when I attempted to print an actual part.
- I used IPA to clean the sheet and also used dish soap per the Prusa knowledge base.
Still not sticking on the textures sheet with PLA during a print
Looking on line it looks like printing PLA on texture sheets is difficult so I switched back to my smooth sheet - flipped over to the non-damaged side.
- Yes, I also made sure to switch back to the smooth sheet profile.
- PLA has been stored in a dry box at below 20% humidity.
And now the PLA is not sticking to that.
I have no idea what is going on.
Any suggestions?
Thanks.
RE: PLA no longer sticking
Maybe your X axis was lifted up? In that case I suggest squaring your Mini.
Also if you need to set -2mm z offset then it means PINDA sensor is too high and needs to be readjusted ( you need to move it up one milimeter in the mounting bracket), and then do z offset calibrations again for each print sheet.
See my GitHub and printables.com for some 3d stuff that you may like.
RE: PLA no longer sticking
Hi _KaszpiR_, thanks for replying.
I'll check the squaring but the X axis was not touched in this process and it had been printing perfectly up until I tried calibrating for the texture plate. the only difference for printing on the smooth sheet is flipping it over to the now good side (damaged the side I had been using when I pulled TPU parts off).
The smooth plate was set to -1.655 mm. I am recalibrating the first layer of the flipped side smooth plate for PLA. Its been going better and adhering better, but still not what it was. I have a test print running right now.
Texture plate is what I was needing to set to -2.0. but i was using PLA which as i learned does not adhere well to texture plates. I will recalibrate using TPU on the texture plate.
Thanks again, I appreciate your comments.
RE: PLA no longer sticking
> X axis was not touched
but the system can just deteoriate over time of use, things wear out, nuts getting loose and so on.
Also make sure to scrub the print sheet with basic dish soap and hard sponge, it really helps.
See my GitHub and printables.com for some 3d stuff that you may like.
RE: PLA no longer sticking
Good point and still good to check
I did scrub with the hard sponge and dish soap - forgot to add that in the original post.
I did adjust the first layer height and got good adhesion again - what I was expecting to get.
My guess is the thickness of the coating from one side to the other might be not be exactly the same, which, thinking about it would not be surprising.
Anyway, it is working for PLA on the smooth sheet now.
Now I just need to get set up with TPU on the texture sheet.
Thanks again.
RE: PLA no longer sticking
Hi there, In case pla not sticking on print bed. I use a piee of printing paper glued on the print sheet. It works for -tpu as well. the point is that this paper sheet will betorn away from the print bed and not the print bed. PLA is not sticking to other plastic. which could be an asset. Maybe the brand of pla contains additive to improve pigment dispersion which may decrease its stivckyness