BuildTak for nGen
Looking for advice on a second Spring Steel Sheet (SSS) for my Prusa i3 Mk3.
I'm fairly novice at this, although I've successfully printed flutes in PLA over the past year on a MakerSpace Mk2 and now my own Mk3 ...
I am expanding to printing in ColorFabb nGen co-polyester and I'm paranoid about messin up the PEI on my SSS. Been using glue stick and Magigoo to prevent destroying the PEI from overadhesion. This has worked, but I'm looking to reduce the effort when switching materials (which I do often). A BuildTak FlexPlate sounds great, but ... do I get PEI? Does it do me any good if I have to coat with gluestick or Magigoo anyway? I can get the Original Printing Surface ... for which I still need glue stick or Magigoo if printing in nGen ... is that correct?
Is there any BuildTak surface that I can print nGen directly on ... and still have it (a) stick and (b) not destroy it ... or do I always need to apply something?
The product by Thekkiinngg ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CXV5W2W ) ... although designed for the Mk3 ... for me there's not enough testing / community surrounding it, and it's still PEI which I will need to protect ...
Thanks for any assistance ...
-- Clint Goss
Re: BuildTak for nGen
The standard BuildTak surface should be fine for your needs. I've printed PETG directly on the build sheet quite a bit on my last printer (a rebadged Di3 V2.1 which used FakeTak) and while it adhered well I found that it wasn't really any harder to get off than PLA (just took some careful prodding with a "part removal tool"). It should be even easier with the FlexPlate. You won't need to lay down any separation layers or anything like that.
About the only thing you absolutely do not want to print directly on BuildTak is flexible material.
Re: BuildTak for nGen
The standard BuildTak surface should be fine for your needs. ...
Thank you for the advice! Navigating these waters as a newbie is challenging ...
I assume that the BuildTak sheets can be cut when you adhere them? There is not sheet that exactly matches the size of FlexPlate that they offer for the Mk3 ...
-- Clint Goss
Re: BuildTak for nGen
Thank you for the advice! Navigating these waters as a newbie is challenging ...
I know that feeling! I got into 3D printing in July 2017 and sometimes even phrasing my question or Google query was tough. Don't worry. All of this will seem like second nature soon. 🙂
I assume that the BuildTak sheets can be cut when you adhere them? There is not sheet that exactly matches the size of FlexPlate that they offer for the Mk3 ...
Yeah, you can trim it down to size without damaging it. I don't really understand why they sell MK3-sized spring steel sheets without selling MK3-sized build surfaces. Maybe that's coming further down the pipeline.
One thing you may have to do is smooth out the edges of the spring steel sheets. From what I've read, they arrive quite sharp and can cause damage to the hotplate.
Re: BuildTak for nGen
On the BuildTak FlexPlate "burr" issue - If I run my finger around the edge of a new FlexPlate (BuildTak's "spring steel sheet") and it feels smooth...
... do I still need to file it down?
If so, what is the best filing method? (sorry, kind of newbie at this)
-- Clint Goss
Re: BuildTak for nGen
That's unfortunately outside of my expertise. I don't have one of the BuildTak sheets yet, so I'm not sure how the edges should feel. Sorry!
I wouldn't imagine that it would be a problem if the edges are smooth, but I can't say with 100% certainty.
Re: BuildTak for nGen
On the BuildTak FlexPlate "burr" issue - If I run my finger around the edge of a new FlexPlate (BuildTak's "spring steel sheet") and it feels smooth...
... do I still need to file it down?
If so, what is the best filing method? (sorry, kind of newbie at this)
I'm the one that had the issue... You want to round the edges as much as possible, I used fine emory cloth and a cheap set of needle files from Harbor Freight. I have to say the edges of the plate didn't seem sharp to me either but it sure scratched my bed fast. Of the things that added to the problem is that the print head stays pretty low when small prints are complete and I would just slide the bed under the print head when removing or adding, I now raise the print head and set the sheet on the pins and ease it forward to seat it. The other day I decided to put BuildTak sheet on both sides of the print surface and kind of wish I started that way.
Removing the plastic after the built in Live Z adjust is a bit of a pain, first scratch on my sheet was from trying to scrape it off. It's easier to remove the part if it's a minimum of a couple mm as it's easier to pop a stiff part loose than a flexy single layer so consider printing a small part rather than the single layer when dialing in Live Z at least until you get a handle on how to remove parts. Also it's much much harder to remove parts from the BT print surface than the PEI so don't expect to be able to just bend the plate and pop the part off like the Prusa sheet. If all you ever used was the PEI sheet, it will take what seems like excessive force to get parts off of the sheet. Overall the BuildTak sheet is growing on me and it's all I've used for the past couple of weeks, I forced myself to start using it again, and now I have little desire to go back to the PEI.
Re: BuildTak for nGen
You want to round the edges as much as possible, I used fine emory cloth ...
Thank you for the detailed advice!
-- Clint Goss
Re: BuildTak for nGen
You want to round the edges as much as possible, I used fine emory cloth ...
Thank you for the detailed advice!
-- Clint Goss
Re: BuildTak for nGen
I print nGen directly on the original SSS PEI sheet, cleaning with IPA, without problems. Flexing the plate is sufficient to release the print without damaging the PEI surface. I do observe tiny air bubbles in the sheet when I print nGen, but I think they are just related to the higher temperature of the print bed using nGen. The tiny bubbles are a bit more dense where the print sat but actually appear all over the bed. They disappear again after some time. I think the bubbles are created in the glue layer at high temperatures due to some solvents that are still present.
For Colorfabb XT I do take additional measures to prevent damaging the PEI sheet: glue stick. With XT the heat bed is even a bit hotter than for nGen, so also a bit more bubbles appear. But also here without any negative effects.
Last nigh I printed Prusa PETG for the first time, following the Prusa instructions by using a Windex equivalent as cleaning agent. The pieces came off pretty easily without damage. Next time I print XT I will also try Windex only because I find the glue stick a bit messy.