Gluestick mandatory with heated bed? UM2

[Nicolinux 288]

After reading the manual for the UM2 (sorry for not linking to it, using the iPhone to post), one may assume that the gluestick is mandatory even with the heated bed.

Shouldn't this be marked as optional? Or at least marked as needed with ABS.

I have use a heated bed before and there was never a situation where I'd had to use a gluestick.

What do you think?

[nallath 1,104]

The glue-stick is by no means mandatory. However, if you write in the manual "You might want to use it", it will often be interpreted as "You don't have to use it if you don't feel like it". As the manual is aimed at ensuring that you are able to create a successful print, this is a pretty logical choice to make.

 

[gr5 1,998]

I haven't tried glass yet but people report that it is MUCH less sticky than blue tape or cardboard or Kapton tape.

At MakerFaire NYC they used glue stick *and* had to heat the bed to 50C. When they didn't do both parts popped off.

But it's complicated. Each part is different. You can get away with neither for certain parts (small parts). It sounds like wood glue and water is better than glue stick.

It would be nice if UM had a scientist who would spend a month experimenting with sticking and then another month experimenting with fan speeds, then another month experimenting with bridging, then another week experimenting with maximum flow speeds. All of these with various PLA. Maybe some day. In the mean time we have to rely on people like Illuminarti who do pretty good job with these kinds of experiments (but don't spend the month the issues deserve).

 

[nachokaos 0]

I think the hairspray do more or less the same then glue stick on a glass and its easy to remove.

[Nicolinux 288]

I tried hairspray on glass (not heated) and it didn't work. Maybe I used the wrong one...

 

[mattkaz 0]

Maybe one of those scientists could spend a month working out how to remove a print from a heated bed glue stick combo

[gadgetfreak 7]

We've had the UM2 for four weeks now and printed mostly without the glue stick. It's great for presentation and demos. However, depending on model, plastic type and how careful you level your bed, sometimes you need the glue stick. And when I started a 44 hour print I wanted to be pretty sure it stayed put But usually it would come loose within the first 10 layers or so if it sticks by then it usually sticks the whole print.

Actually yesterday we started a 10 hour print with Colorfabb XT and left office. It had come loose shortly after and actually molten XT had filled the entire fan shroud, it took two hours to clean out :( we had the bed set for 70C but we made another try today where we put the bed to 75C and that print just finished beautifully. T(g) of XT is 75C so that makes sense

[Nicolinux 288]

Good to know, thanks for the info (also about colorfabb XT). This filament is next on my list

 

[nelson-silva 0]

Nicolinux, could you please share the manual so poor souls waiting for a UM2 can take a look? Thx

[IRobertI 514]

Here ya go Nelson: https://www.ultimaker.com/spree/uploads/31/original/um2-manual.pdf

 

[oswaldo-salzano 2]

For me, the combination 60C + hairspray on glass works fine with PLA.

And you can get a nice flat and shiny surface ;-)

[nelson-silva 0]

Thank you Robert! Been waiting for this for some time....

[joergen 2]

glue stick is messy... I found that wood glue slurry (pretty much the same as gluestick, IIRC), dries up in a very consistent matte film, that works pretty good for ABS (95C) bed temp... it doesn't have the massive holding-down of cheap chinese kapton take at 110C, but it is easy to work with.

 

[Nicolinux 288]

it doesn't have the massive holding-down of cheap chinese kapton take at 110C, but it is easy to work with.

 

Where is the difference to normal kapton tape? I didn't know that one can use kapton on a heated bed for better adhesion.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[blackomega 2]

I first used the glue stick for prints but then decided to stop and use nothing. I have not noticed any adhesion problems when printing PLA but then again maybe I've just not being doing sufficiently large prints.