Basic PLA printing with Mendel
My question, how do most people print PLA succesfully? Plain glass or tape? Heated bed or cold? Skeinforge or slicer? I completed my printer (Reprap Pro Mendel) just before Christmas and after some...
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I had similar problems with the RRP Mendel (though I'm sure it applies equally to any heated glass bed) Acetone is not enough - I occasionally had to take the glass off and wash it using bathroom...
View ArticleRe: Basic PLA printing with Mendel
Thanks for replying. >I now use a thin layer of PVA glue (mixed with water - probably 2 parts water to 1 glue) - wipe it on the glass and it works for several prints. And are you still heating the...
View ArticleRe: Basic PLA printing with Mendel
Yes - the bed is heated to 50C - I haven't tried without heating. Parts come off more easily if you have the patience to wait until the bed has cooled :-) You only need a small amount and many glues...
View ArticleRe: Basic PLA printing with Mendel
I use pla on pva coated glass too, and I'm really happy with it. I use a 70C bed, extruding at 207C. I use repraper filament, which is not amazing quality, and it never stuck to plain glass (it seems...
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Thanks James. I think the variable quality of different manufacturers PLA may be playing a part in some of my problems. I started off with my sample from Faberdashery and then bought some 1kg reels...
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Terrykid, if you have problem with objects sticking, try using brim (for Slic3r) or raft (for Skeinforge). I had similar problems with objects slipping off and destroying the print until I started...
View ArticleRe: Basic PLA printing with Mendel
Acetone is easy to find in Germany - check Bauhaus or Max Bahr. Both have it for around 4 euros, but it wont help you (in my opinion) with PLA. I have had good luck with Tesa Malerkrepp for outdoor....
View ArticleRe: Basic PLA printing with Mendel
Hi Terrykid I have found the same as you, having completed my Mendel pro just before Christmas. Initially no problems at all with sticking to glass base heated to 85 PLA extruded 205 Then all of a...
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Thank you, demetris,mitchese and Core Storage(great name, I too wrestled with magnetic core many years ago) cheers Terry
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mitchese Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > examine the toolpath. If you have skeinforge > installed, you can still use the skeinforge tools > to analyze the...
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I also have had some problems with this on my RRP Mendel. I ended up removing the glass and clean it. When I put it back I noticed that there were some burr around the holes in the aluminium plate and...
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Thanks Markus, another useful tip. This reminds me how indeterministic, with these layers of alluminium and glass, the actual bed surface temperature probably is. If the bed heater is rising towards...
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Lemon juice, that's genius!! PLA = poly lactic acid. It's organic and can decompose overtime. Lemon juice is a highly acidic blend of citric, ascorbic, and malic acids. Maybe it eats away at the PLA...
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The temperature on the glass surface can be quite different to the bottom. I have a thermistor on the underside which reads 90C, I then used a thermocouple on the top side which reads 68C. It's easy...
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I can testify to the effectivness of lemon juice, straight from the lemon, for cleaning glass. I cut a lemon in half, gave the glass a wipe over with the lemon and then polished the glass dry with a...
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lemon could be a quite good idea and chemically not so offensive. lemon juice has sugars inside so by heating it up you probably create a nice gluey caramel that sticks to PLA :) as you can see in the...
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Firstly you must print your first layer slower than the other layers. I use 30mm/s on my heated bed, but back in my blue tape and cold bed days I had to use 5-10mm/s. Then to guarantee a strong stick...
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thanks konwiddak I already use 35% of regular (27mm/s) speed on first layer. your sugar suggestion seems nice. I used a slightly more expensive one, ie the lemon approach discribed in previous posts...
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Hmmm, interesting to see this one pop up again. I had some success using a lemon to clean the glass but I switched to just taking the glass off and using hot water and washing liquid then drying with...
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Generally I use a heated bed with clean glass, bed set to 70 deg as the glass is around 10-15 deg lower than the bed. Before each print I clean the glass surface with household glass cleaner and the...
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I have found Acetone cleaned glass or 100mm Kapton tape to work best. But I am going to be trying some of the methods above (especially the lemon) to see how they compare. I buy my Acetone from Boots...
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You can get larger quantities of acetone, much cheaper on eBay than in Boots. It doesn't matter how scruffy you are then :)
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I have to report on the marvels of lemon juice. We have to give kudos to the girlfriend of the guy who suggested it For PLA , no kapton tape or anything, just lemon juice on glass, it sticks so hard...
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