I love heated glass. I've never tried build tak. I know lots of people who have. I don't know how well PVA sticks to it - maybe that's your entire problem? I don't know. I tend to go overboard and make my prints stick too well. I would have to back off quite a bit not to damage build tak. I have literally picked up my printer by picking up a just-printed Ultimaker Robot (default size). I can get anything to stick to heated glass.
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Well i thought that the Buildtak might have been the issue, but when I tried to take it off to print without it I still had the same issue.
In the past i'd used a glue stick (with my previous printer), however I found that cleaning the glass afterwards was a pain. Plus if i had a failed print i would have to clean it all off and then reapply the glue.
Out of curiosity, do you make the solution yourself? if so do you need to make it each time or can you make a "batch" and leave it in a jar? also - how much do you use?
The one think I like about printing straight to the glass is that the prints come off so easily compared to the Buildtak.
I am not sure if this was aimed at me, but I will stick my big foot in the door, so to speak.
I make my PVA solution from recycled PVA that I can tear off the print without damaging it. When my mason jar gets low, I just add water and bits of the PVA refuse and some alcohol and let it dissolve.
I have a 5 gallon bucket overflowing with PVA refuse (dry) ready to go. The alcohol cuts the surface tension and lets it flow nicely. I apply with a very soft brush. Some prints (without heavy PVA supports touching the plate) I can just put in the freezer for a short time and they will just come off. If there is a lot of PVA support touching the glass, it will bond super duper to the PVA on the glass. For that, I just put it in the old baking pan with water to let it soak. I have several glass plates and this lets me keep a round robin of prints going. The S5 is the only thing I have a single plate of. :(
But, I also am very strict about my cleaning procedures before I put on the slurry.
Thanks @kmanstudios - again i appreciate all of the advice.
I have to admit after reading through your process I've realised that i need to get my act together.
When starting a new print my standard process is:
1. Press print
2. Close my eyes
3. Cross my fingers!
Quick question though - is the adhesive easy to clean off the bed between prints? At one stage I was printing with an XYZ and needed to apply glue with a glue stick for each print - which was a pain to clean off the glass once the print was finished.
No need to remove the thin layer of PVA off the glass. One coating will last me a dozen or so prints. The way kman describes it is the best and easiest way. Alternatives:
1) Use glue stick then use a wet tissue and spread around and at the same time removing 90% of the pba (you want a very very thin layer).
2) Use hair spray (also contains pva glue). but remove the glass first.
Because of this extra step I prefer using a pre-mixed slurry of elmers wood glue and water. kmans addition of alcohol sounds great and I will try that next time I make a batch.
Oh and you can see me doing all 3 of these methods in a video:
Thanks @gr5 - I might give all of the options a try and see which one works the best
Again that you @gr5 & @kmanstudios for all of your suggestions and help!
I'm in Australia and it is virtually impossible to get any assistance here with the UM3 as there are almost no resellers/service centres locally.
Maybe another point of reference:
PLA and PVA I print straight to the glass, nothing extra and no brim.
I clean the glass plate fairly regularly. Usually just some random window cleaner I have. If the weather is good outside, I also use acetone, but hate to use this indoors because it smells awful.
Bigger items may warp in the corners. For those I add a brim and sometimes hairspray or 3dlac. Afterwards, I just leave the hairspray on until the next cleaning (it has never interfered with the following prints, so why bother)
To be honest of all the options to try first I might go with the hairspray - I'm sure my girlfriend has some lying about somewhere!
Funny you should mention acetone - I actually used it not longer ago to smooth my ABS prints inside a pressure cooker. The results were actually quite good - but the process overall felt a bit unsafe!
8 hours ago, Ryan8696 said:Thanks @kmanstudios - again i appreciate all of the advice.
I have to admit after reading through your process I've realised that i need to get my act together.
When starting a new print my standard process is:
1. Press print
2. Close my eyes
3. Cross my fingers!
Quick question though - is the adhesive easy to clean off the bed between prints? At one stage I was printing with an XYZ and needed to apply glue with a glue stick for each print - which was a pain to clean off the glass once the print was finished.
No issues cleaning off the PVA slurry.
3 hours ago, Ryan8696 said:Funny you should mention acetone - I actually used it not longer ago to smooth my ABS prints inside a pressure cooker. The results were actually quite good - but the process overall felt a bit unsafe!
I am surprised it did not blow up! Wow.....do not die dood.....
Yeah I have to admit it probably a great idea in retrospect (prints looked nice though!).
One last question @gr5 that I was hoping to get some help with. Now that I've tried most of the suggestions above, I am now 90% certain that it is the "not enough squish" problem that i'm having (that you mentioned earlier).
I was hoping you could help me with a simple question that will hopefully help to avoid me having to do a manual calibration again - which direction do I need to turn the screws if i'd like to raise or lower the bed?
Sorry - i found this for the Ultimaker 2 - i assume it's the same for the UM3
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kmanstudios 1,120
I use a PVA solution, Basically a glue with water mix. @geert_2 has a salt solution that is getting good reviews from new users that try it and he has a great explanation for everything.
I have printed PLA and PVA straight on glass with no issues before, but it must really be super clean and also a good wipe down with Isopropyl alcohol, as pure as you can, get helps.
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