Separation Agent with nylon and polycarbonate
Hello,
No matter which separation agent I am using, I have really big troubles in removing Nylon and Polycarbonate prints from the PEI sheet (I am using an old expendable PEI sheet)
I tried different type of glue sticks (including the one that is coming in the Prusa PC blend box), but still, I need to apply a lot of force to remove the model from the sheet.
Do you have any tips for lowering the adhesion of PC and nylon to the PEI sheet. Do you think other glue types like vinylic glue (the white wood glue) might work better?
Cheers
Luca
Best Answer by Swiss_Cheese:
Aside from using glue or something like it, try putting the build plate and model in the freezer for a while after its cooled, of course.
I use Elmer's Disappearing Purple School Glue, its worked as release for nylon printing for me. I normally put on two coats for nylon # crisscross.
and then there is Kapton or blue tape or garolite
I once printed an ABS model directly on my smooth PEI sheet, I was sure I was never going to get it off, It was stuck fast, I thought the freezer might be worth a shot, and it worked out great I left it in for several minutes.
RE: Separation Agent with nylon and polycarbonate
Aside from using glue or something like it, try putting the build plate and model in the freezer for a while after its cooled, of course.
I use Elmer's Disappearing Purple School Glue, its worked as release for nylon printing for me. I normally put on two coats for nylon # crisscross.
and then there is Kapton or blue tape or garolite
I once printed an ABS model directly on my smooth PEI sheet, I was sure I was never going to get it off, It was stuck fast, I thought the freezer might be worth a shot, and it worked out great I left it in for several minutes.
The Filament Whisperer
RE: Separation Agent with nylon and polycarbonate
I've used both the Kores glue stick and Layerneer for PC Blend, and items pop right off with both of these.
RE: Separation Agent with nylon and polycarbonate
Hello,
Thanks for your pieces of advice. I will try the freezer trick and the products.
I read on the Layerneer website that using the Layerneer Bed Weld with Nylon is "not recommended". Do you know why?
RE: Separation Agent with nylon and polycarbonate
Layerneer Bed Weld, is predominantly a bonding agent, not a release agent. TPU, Nylon, PP and a couple others bond so well that getting them to stick isn't the problem, as your seeing now with PC it's getting them to release that can be difficult, JSW has reported in past posts that he uses it as a release as well. this may be true, you don't normally think of glue as a release agent either, but if you 3d print you learn that it can be, especially if it's water soluble
I haven't tried Layerneer so I'm not sure. but I'm pretty sure after reading their specs.
The Filament Whisperer
RE: Separation Agent with nylon and polycarbonate
I have determined that it works well as a release agent. PLA, PETg, ABS, and PC Blend.
No clue why they say not to use it with nylon.
RE: Separation Agent with nylon and polycarbonate
Thanks @swiss_cheese,
The freezer tip works like a charm.
I was able to remove model from the PEI sheet by just bending it.
Fantastic 😀
RE: Separation Agent with nylon and polycarbonate
Glad I could help, I ordered my first roll of PC blend during the Black Friday sale, it should be here in a few days.
The Filament Whisperer
RE: Separation Agent with nylon and polycarbonate
I just printed my first nylon cf on Prusa nylon sheet - and didn’t use a release agent. I removed most pieces, but if you have a suggestion on how to get the remaining off, please let me know. Thanks!
RE: Separation Agent with nylon and polycarbonate
I've actually slipped a normal sheet of paper under it and use it to very gently pry it off. If you have a plastic spatula that could help also
RE: Separation Agent with nylon and polycarbonate
I never had issues removing PA-CF printed models from Prusa's PA nylon sheet but I read about other people having the kind of trouble that BMC reports. It depends a lot on the brand of filament. In my experience, Prusament PA11-CF sticks very well, too much maybe. It's significant that my PA plate for the MK3/4 series has a texture like the regular satin, but my unit for the XL, that I ordered much later, feels like an intermediate between a satin and a textured. Possibly Prusa decided to reduce the adhesion properties after receiving feedback from the customers.
Anyway, if your models stick too much to the PA plate, try to prevent future issues raising manually the Z offset of the first layer ( 20 microns or so ). Wash the plate solely with water ( no dish soap ) and don't set a bed temperature higher than the value recommended by Prusa.
RE: Separation Agent with nylon and polycarbonate
As it would turn out, the very best method for removing nylon if a separation agent is not used are fingernails. They don’t scratch the plate and they’re just thin enough to wedge beneath the nylon. That’s how I cleaned the plate. Glue stick has been used ever since.