A little confused..
I am getting ready to place my order, I am a little confused on the flexible sheets. The catalog page says that you can choose between the 2 sheets, do they both come with the MK3S+? If not, when do I choose which one I want? I added to cart and started to check out and it has not asked. Do I need adhesive with either sheet? Sorry about the newbie questions, this will be my first 3d printer, after much research I have landed here.
RE: A little confused..
You choose one or the other when you place the order. Look on the right side of the page and under the price you will see the options to choose "Quantity", "Colour", and "Spring Steel Sheet". The latter is where you select which one you want usually. At the moment the choice is either to have the smooth sheet or to have both at extra cost. You can't request just the textured sheet.
RE: A little confused..
I would argue, go with the smooth sheet as it's your first printer. I think it's much easier to get out of the box great results with PLA with the smooth sheet. While not impossible, the textured sheet is more finicky. To fend off the inevitable "what's wrong with this print?" post, which are getting tiresome, make sure you never touch its surface with your fingers, clean it as needed with hot water and additive-free dish washer liquid, and wipe it with 90+ isopropyl alcohol before use. Also, when you get your print, make sure you set Live Z correctly for your particular combination of printer and steel sheet, following THIS method: https://forum.prusa3d.com/forum/original-prusa-i3-mk3s-mk3-assembly-and-first-prints-troubleshooting/life-adjust-z-my-way/, not the built-in one, which is too hard to get right for novice users.
If you find yourself printing other materials besides PLA, such as PETG, make sure you apply a THIN layer of glue stick prior to print, or the models may stick too well to the sheet.
If you find yourself printing PETG more frequently, I would invest into a textured sheet, which PETG sticks to very well. But then again, PLA is harder to print on it. Again, to stave off the apparently inevitable "why does PETG not stick?" post, if you switch to a different sheet, you should redo your Live Z calibration as (somewhat counterintuitively) the textured sheet is quite a bit thinner than the smooth sheet. IMHO, I would also not but the Prusa textured sheet, as other brands seem to perform better.
But to get started I would highly recommend you stick with (no pun intended) the Prusa smooth sheet.
Happy printing with your new printer!
Formerly known on this forum as @fuchsr -- until all hell broke loose with the forum software...