Printing PETG with a granular surface
First of all, as it’s my first message here, hi everyone! My name is Julian and i'm discovering the incredible world of 3D printing and loving it 😛
My English is a bit poor so I’m not sure to use the proper terms here and if the subject has already been treated (didn't find anything), but I’d like to know if it’s possible to print PETG pieces with the same “granular surface” there is on pieces from the official kit. It’s supposed to be PETG too and printed with the mk3 so... Is it a post treatment to get this surface? And what treatment it is? Or is it something you get by changing temperature during the print? Or is it an intervention of god himself?
I attached a picture to be clearer...
Thanks in advance!
Julian
Re: Printing PETG with a granular surface
Hi Julian,
I am sure that your English is far better than my command of your native language.
the texture you are seeing, is caused by a textured powder coated build plate
I am guessing that you have a PEI stickered build plate.
My smooth PEI is yellow / silver in colour
Note, Textured sheets are currently not available to order...
regards Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK
Re: Printing PETG with a granular surface
Hi Julian!
The structure of the kit parts comes from the "Powder coated spring steel sheet" that was advertised with the MK3.
Unfortunately the production of this powder coated sheet is still not stable and Prusa cannot produce it in large enough numbers.
At the moment this sheet is only available to the early purchasers who didn't get it with their printer, and it will take months to deliver to those 7000 owners (I am one of them). So for now you only have the option to wait or buy a "fake" off Ebay.
But you could create some kind of texture by sticking a blue painters tape onto your print bed, like this:
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/3d-printer-blue-masking-tape-235x155mm-20pcs-set.html
Cheers!
Re: Printing PETG with a granular surface
Thank you both so much, and you are guessing right Joan about my PEI stickered build plate, I didn’t think about that when it was obvious in the end…
And thank you Georg for the alternative, I really hope the official one will be available soon, the final effect is really amazing, will try your solution!
Cheers!
Re: Printing PETG with a granular surface
I've been using the Double-Sided Pei Textured Powder-Coated Spring Steel Sheet V3 Version 3 from Thekkiinngg. The texturing isn't as fine as with the Prusa sheet, but it is still quite nice looking - and you can actually get a sheet! It is a viable alternative while the Prusa sheet remains essentially unobtainable.
Printing a kg of Amazon PETG on it has been uneventful.
It is a thinner sheet than the Prusa smooth sheet. Had to drop 1st layer z-offset down about 200 and bumped 1st layer temperature to 135, but otherwise same settings as for smooth plate. Not visible blemishes on the PEI surface yet. In comparison, my smooth Prusa PEI sheet has many visible bubbles with far less PETG printing.
With just Windex between print jobs, the textured plate has worked perfectly. It creates a nice texture and parts readily lift off with a slight bend. It's actually much easier to get printed parts off the textured Thekkiinngg sheet than the smooth Prusa PEI sheet. Actually, I can simply lift completed parts without removing or flexing the sheet (after cooling)
No dislodged objects during printing thus far, but my longest jobs have only been in the 12 hour range.