Glass Bed S5 OEM or can i use PEI sheet flexible

[BrettSneider1 0]

I've added a PEI sheet fulament to my S5. I cannot turn off auto leveling and it isnt recommended. Is it a bad idea to use the PEI sheet. I like it bc then its basically and S7

[gr5 2,210]

 

How thick is this sheet? 

 

The active leveling sensor is a large flat piece of metal about 10mm above the tip of the nozzle and capacitively connects to the large metal print bed about 5mm below the surface of the glass.  That's about 15mm (very rough - I didn't even get out of my chair to measure with my eyes let alone a ruler).  I don't think adding a few more mm will make a noticable difference.  Even 10mm more.

 

What is the melting point?

 

Active leveling heats the nozzle and will probably melt the PEI.  This is so that solid filament on the tip of the nozzle doesn't mess up the measurement.

 

Does UM use PEI on S7?  I don't think so - I think it's some kind of textured metal.  You should instead buy that.  I've heard of people buying something for their S5.  I forget what it is but it bends and you can pop the part off after printing.  They sell this custom sized.

 

You could just turn off active leveling

 

There is a procedure here:

https://community.ultimaker.com/topic/39188-ultituner-a-tool-to-tweak-your-printer

 

I don't recommend this path for parts that use more than about 200mmX200mm of the print bed.

 

[BrettSneider1 0]

Thorough answer! Thanks for that. The PEI sheet is about 1mm thick and you have to put a 2mm thick magnetic stick base onto the glass bed for it to work. I actually am still either considering this bed technique or just using the OEM glass as that is nice. I want to say others use a wham bam sheet or something like that. The fulament is what I have on my creality printer and just thought it would be no harm to try on S5.

 

The ultituner ool seems confusing and maybe a bad idea. How does it work. You send new firmware to V7 to override some settings. Sounds like you put the printer in developer mode, then you can CMD exe. the prompt and somehow that drives firmware to the printer. Or you add the commands as shown and then that tells the printer what you want...Does the command come up on the printer interface or does the firmware just change somehow? If you make changes how do you go back to the orginal OEM version

[gr5 2,210]

I'm pretty sure active leveling will ruin the PEI the first time it runs.  The nozzles will be around 200C and will just melt it.

 

You need to get a metal sheet.

 

Ask questions about ultituner in the linked thread.  I believe the way it works is explained.  The author is one of the moderators on this forum.  You can ask him questions over there.

[gr5 2,210]

Okay I'm seeing that some types of PEI don't melt until over 300C.

[tomnagel 126]

PEI does not melt at 200gr.

I know someone with over 10 S5 printers, and he installed a BuildTak flexplate system in all of them, with PEI sticker surface. He combines it with 3D lac and has good results for most materials. 

Don't turn off active leveling is my advice. The bed is never flat, and running active leveling really gives a better first layer

 

 

[gr5 2,210]

2 minutes ago, tomnagel said:

Don't turn off active leveling is my advice.

Completely agree.  I turned it off for a month.  Much better with it on.  It's worth it.  Everytime I changed printcores (even though I was swapping between two print cores) I had to relevel.

[BrettSneider1 0]

Yes gr5 i do believe it can indeed handle the temps as tomnagel also said. But i also know the S5 is fine tuned for glass and things stick very well to it. I just dont like removing the big glass plate all the time and I seen the S7 implements a PEI sheet, at least thats what Ultimaker says. I feel like the S5 with a PEI sheet is basically an S7 without the inductive sensor. But the capacitive sensor is probably just as good.

Edited March 11, 2023 by BrettSneider1

[tomnagel 126]

The PEI plate on the S7 is just better than most PEI plates around. 

But as I said: I know users who are perfectly happy with a 3rd party system from BuildTak. You stick a magnetic sticker on the glass plate, and after that only remove the steel plate from the printer. The glass stays in the printer.

[BrettSneider1 0]

Tomnagel... How about a fulament PEI sheet. It isnt a BuildTak. A little cheaper but literally its like the same thing I think. I have one on my Creality Cr10S Pro and I wouldnt ever change. Works perfect

[tomnagel 126]

BuildTak was just an example. Feel free to use any sheet you like. 

[AD5CDA 3]

This is a pretty old thread, but I can speak to it.  I was nervous about ruining my glass plate, so I ended up getting the BuildTak with PEI sheet and haven't looked back!  It's a must have in my opinion.  No need to turn off auto leveling and the PEI sheet does not get ruined.  I ended up buying an extra flex plate with PEI sheet, so I can just swap them out when a print finishes and keep going.  I heard isopropyl alcohol is bad for the PEI sheet over time, but I have found wiping the sheet down with a clean rag wetted with warm water and a dap of dawn dish soap is the best anyway.  Hope that helps future inquiries.