Print surface for PC blend  

RE:

To print on glass with a Prusa MK3/S/+ you need a bit of home work. Usually glass plates are too thick for the Pinda sensor that only detects metal and it won’t work correctly if it has to be too far from the steel plate underneath the glass. My guess is that plates up to 1mm. would be OK.

What you do is measure with a caliper the thickness of the glass plate. Then correct the value of the Z offset of the regular steel plate you’re using by the thickness of the glass. Say you have currently a  Z offset of -1.200 with the smooth plate installed and the glass measures exactly 1.000 mm. so you correct Z by adding 1.0 to -1,2, which gives -0,200mm.   Then you fix the glass sheet on top of the steel plate using small tweezers or similar, taking care that they don’t interfere with the bed movement. Then. in theory, you’re good to go.

As I haven’t tested glass plates on my Prusa, I wouldn’t know if PC sticks too much. You can always use a separating agent, like 3Dlac/hairspray.  Anyway, the glass plate solution is not my cup of tea. For printing PC on my Prusa I use always the smooth plate with a generous amount of adhesive. I prefer Dimafix instead of white glue stick because it performs way better with the hotbed at high temperatures. Magigoo PA works very well too. Both Dimafix and Magigoo PA are expensive but, as I don’t print PC often, that’s OK for me.  At first, I tried also the satin plate but it gave me adhesion problems on models of medium/big size, even using a brim and Dimafix.   

I never damaged the smooth sheet when printing PC. Be sure to always use adhesive/separating agent and don’t remove the printed parts until the plate has reached room temperature. Don’t use scrappers either. Bend the plate (not too much) on both senses until the models get loose. If the part is tall enough, you can hold it with pliers and rotate or bend it gently to help removing it.

RE:

I print PC-Blend always on smooth PEI sheets. I don't use the Kores stick however but specialized "Magigoo PC" as adhesion/release agent. Sticks well when it should, during print but I have never damaged the plate after complete cool down during release (like Artur said, wait until it has cooled down completely to ambient temp). The surface of the 1st layer is also nice and smooth that way. So if you have no other reason to go for glass, I'd stick with smooth PEI and Magigoo PC. 

RE: Print surface for PC blend

Actually I've already printed PLA on glass, and it works well, without separating agent.

I'd rather have the smoother surface you get with glass, but it's still good to know you've had success printing PC on the smooth sheet. I guess I hadn't added enough glue after all, or maybe I should use something else than the kores glue that comes with the sheets.

RE: Print surface for PC blend

Posted by: @thejiral

I print PC-Blend always on smooth PEI sheets. I don't use the Kores stick however but specialized "Magigoo PC" as adhesion/release agent. Sticks well when it should, during print but I have never damaged the plate after complete cool down during release (like Artur said, wait until it has cooled down completely to ambient temp). The surface of the 1st layer is also nice and smooth that way. So if you have no other reason to go for glass, I'd stick with smooth PEI and Magigoo PC. 

Thanks, that confirms I should at least be able to print on the smooth sheet, I guess I'll try magigoo. Steep price though, how long does one tube last, and does it leave a mess on the parts?

RE:

I have printed a whole kg of PC-Blend and maybe used 20% of the stick, if even that. If you don't intend to print many kilograms of PC-Blend this will be a one time investment.

Be sure to buy the PC version, it is different from the normal Magigoo. The great thing is that it is super simple to wash off, even with water. No comparison to the messy Kores. The only weird thing with it is that if there are detergants or some other traces left, the adhesive is contracting, like hot oil in a pan. Which prevents coverage of the build plate. If you experience that a solution is to print a thin layer of ABS across the whole plate (maybe any other filament works too but thats what I used) and then peel it off. Whatever it is that hates the adhesive, is then removed and application is then super easy. 

No IPA cleaning or other cleaning is needed if you use the adhesive. Just rinse off the adhesive, wipe dry with clean paper towel and apply a fresh layer. 

On the parts themselves, rinse them off after detachment, then everything is gone. It can leave a bit of a shimmer, but you should be able to polish that away.