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Smooth PEI Sheet Crack both side. Did happen to you?  

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Zayar Naung
(@zayar-naung)
Active Member
Smooth PEI Sheet Crack both side. Did happen to you?

Hi Folk,

I bought Smooth PEI sheet two months ago and it cracked both side while print ABS. I know it is two months old. Did that happen to you? Should I complete remove surface both side (If I could remove) and put PEI sticker on? Please give me advice.

Best Regards,
ZN

Posted : 04/04/2019 3:02 pm
bobstro
(@bobstro)
Illustrious Member
Re: Smooth PEI Sheet Crack both side. Did happen to you?

I've got 2 of the PEI sticker sheets and haven't had any issues like that. I did manage to peel up and damage one side using high-temp PETG that stuck too well. That bed looks like it's been worked over with a metal tool. Have you waited for the sheet to cool completely before removal?

You could contact support via online chat to see if they'll help you out. If not, I think you'll find that by the time you order replacement PEI and do all the work to remove the PEI, ordering a replacement sheet with the PEI pre-applied is worth it.

My notes and disclaimers on 3D printing

and miscellaneous other tech projects
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan

Posted : 04/04/2019 3:56 pm
Zayar Naung
(@zayar-naung)
Active Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: Smooth PEI Sheet Crack both side. Did happen to you?

Thank you for advice brother. I will contact via chat but recently I complain about white vanila fillament. So, I just don't want complaint too much. Again, thank you for advice.

With respect,
ZN

Posted : 04/04/2019 4:03 pm
vintagepc
(@vintagepc)
Member
Re: Smooth PEI Sheet Crack both side. Did happen to you?

I've had my printer the same amount of time and my bed looks nothing like that... I've printed both PLA and PETG.

I agree with the sentiment it appears to be caused by handling issues. The notes state that over-use of acetone can make the PEI brittle. Are you perhaps cleaning the bed with acetone too often?

Posted : 04/04/2019 4:38 pm
Zayar Naung
(@zayar-naung)
Active Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: Smooth PEI Sheet Crack both side. Did happen to you?

Yes. I used Acetone each time. I start using after I chat with Prusa team. At that time, I have fast layer issue and I clean with isopropyl alcohol and they ask me to clean with Acetone. May be I over used.

Posted : 04/04/2019 5:44 pm
vintagepc
(@vintagepc)
Member
Re: Smooth PEI Sheet Crack both side. Did happen to you?


Yes. I used Acetone each time. I start using after I chat with Prusa team. At that time, I have fast layer issue and I clean with isopropyl alcohol and they ask me to clean with Acetone. May be I over used.

Not maybe, definitely.

Have a read:

https://help.prusa3d.com/article/6Gtws6Yqjg-pei-print-surface-preparation

About once a week, or when prints stop sticking, use ACETONE to clean the bed. It removes grease better than IPA or Windex. It also rejuvenates the print surface. However, if you use acetone every day, PEI will become brittle and start cracking.

Time to shell out for a new bed or replacement sheets...

Posted : 04/04/2019 5:51 pm
Zayar Naung
(@zayar-naung)
Active Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: Smooth PEI Sheet Crack both side. Did happen to you?

Thanks for the link. Yeah! that was my fault. First, I did not read their instruction. Unfortunately, I did not get that link and info while I chat with prusa team. Gosh, I feel sorry. 😥 😥 😥

EDIT: I guess people will avoid the mistake that I made when they see my post and your link (thanks to you).

Posted : 04/04/2019 5:58 pm
vintagepc
(@vintagepc)
Member
Re: Smooth PEI Sheet Crack both side. Did happen to you?


Thanks for the link. Yeah! that was my fault. First, I did not read their instruction. Unfortunately, I did not get that link and info while I chat with prusa team. Gosh, I feel sorry. 😥 😥 😥

EDIT: I guess people will avoid the mistake that I made when they see my post and your link (thanks to you).

Yep... though I can also see how typed instructions to clean with acetone could have been misinterpreted as you did to mean every time instead of a one-time thing if context was left out.

For next time, have a search around here on dish soap for cleaning the bed, it works far better than isopropanol at removing accidental fingerprints. I washed my sheet a few days ago and have done a number of prints since then. If you are careful not to touch the bed, you can go quite a while between prints without cleaning the bed... and it's a lot less stinky than IPA or acetone, which are only needed in cases of severe contamination by something the dish soap won't remove.

On the bright side, it's a relatively cheap mistake to repair; there are many more one can make that will cost a lot more to fix... 🙂

Posted : 04/04/2019 6:30 pm
Zayar Naung
(@zayar-naung)
Active Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: Smooth PEI Sheet Crack both side. Did happen to you?



On the bright side, it's a relatively cheap mistake to repair; there are many more one can make that will cost a lot more to fix... 🙂

absolutely. 🙂 🙂

Posted : 04/04/2019 7:17 pm
Mustrum Ridcully
(@mustrum-ridcully-2)
Honorable Member
Re: Smooth PEI Sheet Crack both side. Did happen to you?

Been printing since October on both the smooth sheet and the Powder coated sheet and I have yet to open the can of acetone I bought and the 99% ISO alcohol I have used perhaps 2 OZ total in that time....

I wash them with warm water and dawn dish soap (in the UK use Fairy liquid) by using a wad of clean kitchen paper towel, dampen it with warm water and put a dollop of Dawn on the pad and scrub (i do it twice at 90 deg to each other holding the plate by the edge as if it is a phonograph record, rinse under running water and dry with clean paper towel keep touching only by the edge... I do this every other day of printing with both kinds of plate. as I found the instruction to wipe with ISO alcohol to not be effective for me as it perhaps lengthened the time between washings from 3 full days of printing to 4. I decided then to just wash the plates properly every 2 or 3 days and that seems to work for the filaments I use (mostly PETG with some PLA and a bit of ABS (and a small amount of NinjaFlex that is relegated to one side of the smooth plate that gets rubbed on my nose and forehead (if i can't find the talcum powder)). I have plans to make a plate with a Garolite surface for Nylon printing https://www.matterhackers.com/store/c/garolitebuildsurfaces but I have yet to have a need for nylon parts.

Posted : 04/04/2019 11:28 pm
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