Re: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

I live in a very bad neighborhood in Toronto. There are drive by's all the time and i am considering buying a txt sheet.

If i am holding one while a bullet flies by and it hits my txt sheet, will the bullet pass through?

Can you please check for me.

Thanks!

Re: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

I live in a very bad neighborhood in Toronto. There are drive by's all the time and i am considering buying a txt sheet.

If i am holding one while a bullet flies by and it hits my txt sheet, will the bullet pass through?

Can you please check for me.

Thanks!

for that you would want to buy a plate of ar-500 steel

Re: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

[...] If i am holding one while a bullet flies by and it hits my txt sheet, will the bullet pass through?

Can you please check for me.No problem. Just hold it steady while I aim...

Re: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

That will not end well (for your or the print sheet).

Re: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

My first reaction is that the sheet is really nice. It does seem to require a very careful first layer calibration.

Re: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

My first reaction is that the sheet is really nice. It does seem to require a very careful first layer calibration.
Did you try Jeff Jordan's "Life Adjust" Live-Z calibration procedure? I'd expect it to work seamlessly on a textured sheet, but would like to verify.

Re: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

I have 2 printers - one with the powder coat and one with the steel sheet. Because I was worried about using steel (after getting used to the powder coat) I found a guy selling his own powder coated sheets on Amazon, so I ordered those as well.

As a result, I have 3 different print surfaces and like them each for different reasons.

A couple thoughts:

1. The steel is the hardest to keep clean of oil from my fingers. Washing it well (I've tried alcohol and acetone, no dish detergent yet) is crucial.
2. Both powder coated sheets (from Prusa and the 3rd party guy on Amazon) provide really nice textures on the face-down surface. I take full advantage of this for certain models that I want one face to be textured.

I have NOT really struggled with the first layer calibration, although I definitely use the "Life" test file here on the forum whenever I feel the need to recalibrate.

Overall, I would NOT pay extra for the powder coat (or wait for production runs to catch up) - the steel works fine for anything BUT those models I want the textured surface. About half of my models use a raft, so no special need for the powder coated sheet...

Hope this helps!
Dave

P.S. And no...I would not consider using any of the three (even together) to stop a round... 😯

Re: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

So far, I have about 30 prints on each of the beds, and I would say the biggest benefit is the removal of prints. Txt sheets are simple to remove after a little cooling/

Re: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

I have a genuine PRUSA textured PEI sheet and find it is perfect for PETG, no glue stick or hairspray just a wipe with IPA and print away, and when cool the parts just pop off with a flex of the sheet, PLA works as well, but leaves a slight residue which builds up over time and requires the sheet to be cleaned or print 1 layer of PETG over the sheet and peel, this removes all the PLA residue nicely. I am keeping this now exclusively for PETG.

I also bought a FYSETC UK-MK3 MK52 Plate from Amazon which comes with a 0.2mm PEI sheet. This is stiffer than the prusa plate but with the PEI sheet works well for PLA prints, but I have only used this a few times so far, I also have another one of the same steel sheet that FYSETC kindly sent me as a complete kit for free as the first one had a damaged PEI sheet.
So I bought a 3D Prima BT65X65 BuildTak Print Surface, 165 mm x 165 mm and stuck this to this second sheet and trimmed around the steel edge with a stanley knife and have been using it for polycarbonate prints, which stick to it a little too well!, no gluestick, adhesive or anything required even as low as 80 Deg bed temperature.
If anybody tells me polycarbonate does not stick to anything, then watch this video .

RE: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

Ok, I finished the first week of testing.  I also tested a new powder coated plate from AliExpress.  I am almost ready to start posting the results.

Don’t rush out to buy the Ali-express plate.  I think you will find the results enlightening.  

RE: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

So, here is my rating criteria:

• Adhesion or stackability (20 points)
• Ease of print removal (20 points)
• Price (20 points)
• Availability (10 points)
• Texture quality (10 Points)
• Durability (10 Points)
• Quality (10 Points)

Total of 100 points. The review will be a little subjective, but I value the first 3 more. I will handicap the rest a little because the Prusa is not for sale yet. I may adjust scores as I use them more.

1. Prusa Textured Powder Coated Surface
2. Matterhackers Layerlock Print Bed
3. AliExpress Powder Coated Print Bed
4. TheKKIINNGG V2 Print Surface
5. TheKKIINNGG V3 Print Surface
6. TheKKIINNGG V4 Print Surface

First will be my Original Prusa TXT Sheet.

RE: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

First review:  

The Rating:

• Adhesion or stickability (20 points): 20 pts
• Ease of print removal (20 points): 20 pts
• Price (20 points): 20 points
• Availability (10 points): 0 pts
• Texture quality (10 Points): 10 points
• Durability (10 Points): 10 points
• Quality (10 Points): 10 points
• Total: 90 points

RE: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

Some more images of the Prusa Sheet:

RE: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

Funssor Prusa i3 MK3 Powder Coated Bed
This one is relatively new to the market. I have printed with it for a month. It is a decent surface with some durability concerns. It has the right adhesion, but you never want to remove a print when it is cool and with PETG, Windex is a must. It sticks a bit too much and a piece of the surface came off with 15th print (PETG). The plate I had some small areas that were not quite so uniform or splotches. It is available now on Aliexpress.

Textured Print Bed From AliExpress

The surface at 2.5x

The surface at 300X

The print surface at 2.5x

The print surface at 300X.

• Adhesion or stickability (20 points): 20 pts - Maybe too much
• Ease of print removal (20 points): 16 pts - can stick too much
• Price (20 points): 18 points
• Availability (10 points): 10 pts
• Texture quality (10 Points): 8 points
• Durability (10 Points): 5 points
• Quality (10 Points): 8 points
• Total: 85 points

Overall this is not a bad bed. It prints well as long as you do not allow the print to cool and you use Windex with PETG. I found removing prints at 40-50 degrees Celsius worked well.

RE: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

Also, I received the seventh type of surface from AliExpress.  It appears that not all of them are the same.  

RE: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

Posted by: charles.h13

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The Rating:

• Adhesion or stickability (20 points): 20 pts
• Ease of print removal (20 points): 20 pts
• Price (20 points): 20 points
• Availability (10 points): 0 pts
• Texture quality (10 Points): 10 points
• Durability (10 Points): 10 points
• Quality (10 Points): 10 points
• Total: 90 points

Attachment removed

I disagree a bit with this rating. Given that you are testing theking sheets I would say that at a minimum the surface on theking v3 surface is much nicer, I'd give either of the prusa powder coated plates I have, the yellow lines and the white, a 6/7 and the theking v3 9/10

RE: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

TheKKIINNGG Prusa Clone V2
This one is no longer on the market, but it shows the development by the King. I have printed with it for 3-4 months. It is a decent surface with some concerns in durability and quality. It has the right adhesion, but it is not sealed as well, It releases prints very well. The plate I had some small areas where there is variability in surface thickness making live Z a challenge.

V2 textured Print Bed From TheKKIINNGG.

The surface at 3x

The surface at 300X

The print surface at 3x

The print surface at 300X.

• Adhesion or stickability (20 points): 18 pts - Maybe too much
• Ease of print removal (20 points): 14 pts - can stick too much
• Price (20 points): 14 points
• Availability (10 points): 0 pts
• Texture quality (10 Points): 5 points
• Durability (10 Points): 5 points
• Quality (10 Points): 5 points
• Total: 61 points

Overall this is not a bad bed. My main concern it the variability in the surface thickness. The surface texture on the print is much flatter than the PRUSA TXT Sheet.

RE: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

Posted by: charles.h13

First review:  

Prusa Textured Powder Coated Print Surface

 

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The Rating:

• Adhesion or stickability (20 points): 20 pts
• Ease of print removal (20 points): 20 pts
• Price (20 points): 15 points
• Availability (10 points): 5 pts
• Texture quality (10 Points): 10 points
• Durability (10 Points): 10 points
• Quality (10 Points): 10 points
• Total: 90 points

Attachment removed

I had edited the score from the Prusa based on availability and price changes.  

RE: Review: Comparison Review of Powder Coated Textured Print Beds

Follow up on the review.  My favorite is theKKIINNGG V4.  After a year of printing, it is still going strong.