How well to clean the bed between PETG prints?
I have a powder coated bed and I've just started experimenting with PETG. One of the things I've read is that glue stick is a good treatment for the PC bed as it makes PETG a bit more likely to release after the print. I had a print start to lift off a bit in one place early on in a print today and now I'm wondering if I need to completely clean the bed (soap and water followed by IPA) or can I just remove the failed print and start it again?
Also, any pointers on temp settings for PETG? I'm using MatterHackers Build PETG. The spool says 230-255 for nozzle temp and 55-77 for bed temp. So far with their PLA, I've found that running slightly higher temps than recommended seems to help. Just wondering if I should apply a similar strategy here as well.
Re: How well to clean the bed between PETG prints?
I run my bed at 85 Deg for PETG, also I apply an offset to the first layer of 0.025 which helps it not to get too squished into the surface, also read this thread and use some of the G-Code elements in your copy of slic3r, the parts where the nozzle is raised a little for the first purge line. This will prolong your textured bed and to be honest, I flashed the 7x7 version of the firmware and use the G80 N7 bed levelling and found it to be so much better than stock.
I only use IPA to clean my bed and have not had any issues with PETG yet, it's all I ever print with now.
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Re: How well to clean the bed between PETG prints?
I run my bed at 85 Deg for PETG, also I apply an offset to the first layer of 0.025 which helps it not to get too squished into the surface
...
I only use IPA to clean my bed and have not had any issues with PETG yet, it's all I ever print with now.
Thanks for that advice, I also plan to move on from PLA to PETG during the next days (it‘s a bit like advancing to 2nd grade :-)) - but I have a smooth PEI sheet ... any different hints here? I would assume it sticks stronger than on textured PEI?
Cheers,
Mark
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MK3 kit B7-R3 / custom FW v3.5.1 with 7x7 MBL
Slic3r PE v1.41.2
Re: How well to clean the bed between PETG prints?
For PETG prints I clean the bed before a print with Windolene (Windex in the USA or another window cleaner spray). This has the dual advantage of cleaning the bed and acting as a separator to stop the print sticking to the bed too well. It is best if the Windolene is sprayed onto the bed rather than kitchen towel as the solvents in it will evaporate in the towel and not make it to the bed otherwise.
Using Windolene as my primary bed cleaner for PETG keeps the bed clean enough that at most more extreme methods such as acetone are only needed once a month or less. However after using acetone Windolene should still be applied before a print. Ideally the bed surface used for PTEG prints should only be cleaned with Windolene to make sure that the separation layer stays intact.
While I have the smooth PEI sheet the cleaning should be the same for powder coated.
Regards,
Martin
Martin Wolfe
Re: How well to clean the bed between PETG prints?
I concur with Martin. I have a PC sheet and Windex wipe for PETG prints. Sometimes I wash the sheet with dawn dish soap and water first, if I have been printing for a while with PLA and IPA wipes before a PETG print. Then I dry and windex wipe before printing.
I always let my sheets cool down after a print and the prints pop off naturally. I bought a couple of aftermarket PC sheets to enable back to back printing while letting my print cool off on the sheet printed on.
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Re: How well to clean the bed between PETG prints?
When you say a "windex wipe" does that mean you spray it on and then wipe it down with a paper towel? Or do you use a pre-treated "towelette" that has the windex in it already?