SoliForum - 3D Printing Community — Has anyone tried etching their glass bed?

Re: Has anyone tried etching their glass bed?

2013-12-04T20:24:20Z

Claghorn wrote:

michael.t.albers wrote:
Actually a rough surface has more area for adhesion than a smooth surface especially with extruded materials as they are being melted onto that surface.
A liquid would touch more surface, but I have my doubts that the extruded ABS is liquid enough to get down into the pits. After all, the printers can print plastic out into space for overhangs :-).

Its not liquid OR solid. Its right in-between. As in, if you squish it enough (as proof seen with first layer and adjusting Z height) it will deform to what it is being pushed into.

Re: Has anyone tried etching their glass bed?

2013-12-04T18:47:07Z

michael.t.albers wrote:

Actually a rough surface has more area for adhesion than a smooth surface especially with extruded materials as they are being melted onto that surface.

A liquid would touch more surface, but I have my doubts that the extruded ABS is liquid enough to get down into the pits. After all, the printers can print plastic out into space for overhangs :-).

Re: Has anyone tried etching their glass bed?

2013-12-04T18:42:11Z

Claghorn wrote:

Certainly my experience with using 220 grit to grind a tile flat didn't give the impression that a rough surface is better. The tile is too thick to heat well, but the ABS stuck to the original tile (even though it wasn't very flat) much better than it stuck to the flattened, but 220 ground surface tile. I suspect the smoother the surface the better, more contact area for the ABS to stick to rather than a lot of tiny pits under the plastic making no contact.

Actually a rough surface has more area for adhesion than a smooth surface especially with extruded materials as they are being melted onto that surface. If the extrusion was solid (cold) before it hit the surface then, yes, there would be less surface area in contact with the part. This is one of the reasons why it is suggest that you sand plastic before painting it.

Re: Has anyone tried etching their glass bed?

2013-12-03T15:31:07Z

Certainly my experience with using 220 grit to grind a tile flat didn't give the impression that a rough surface is better. The tile is too thick to heat well, but the ABS stuck to the original tile (even though it wasn't very flat) much better than it stuck to the flattened, but 220 ground surface tile. I suspect the smoother the surface the better, more contact area for the ABS to stick to rather than a lot of tiny pits under the plastic making no contact.

Re: Has anyone tried etching their glass bed?

2013-12-03T13:38:55Z

under the train of thought that the Kpton tape was helping to add texture to aid the part sticking (kind of like keying a surface before painting) I etched the bed with glass etc paste. (e.g. the hydroflouric acid based glass etching cream.)

it didn't work.

I only put a light etc, (enough to slightly "frost" the glass) so longer exposure to the cream may have helped.

on the whole I was happy with using and replacing kapton tape though, I thought that if I could have gotten a surface that I could use and reuse that I'd have been happy to have never had to buy Kapton again.

but given the amount of experimentation required, and the relatively cheap price of buying a wide kapton roll (not precut squares) I though that it was just easier to keep using kapton.

A more aggressive etch might work. -but I doubt it, I think it's the same effect as shot blasting with beads, peening the glass rather than cutting the glass as said above).

I wonder if blasting with sand, and with etching paste (to have softened the glass) would produce a better surface?

or sanding with one of those diamond knife/chisel sharpening blocks, to add very good/deep groves.

Re: Has anyone tried etching their glass bed?

2013-12-01T10:57:26Z

For the sake of completeness here are some images

Re: Has anyone tried etching their glass bed?

2013-12-01T09:57:30Z

A few years ago I lucked into some 1/4 inch decorative glass with parallel ridges across the surface...perhaps .1mm grooves/ridges The plates are extremely flat and prints stick like nobody's business. It was pure serendipity and I happened to pick up five plates. This was before i even knew about consumer 3D printers. to boot, they are exactly 8" squares, the gods must have been smiling on me that day...

Long story short, a textured glass can do wonders... if you find a source, please post it. Mine was Goodwill...

Re: Has anyone tried etching their glass bed?

2013-09-17T00:41:03Z

I tried sandblasting a piece of glass with glass beads and I couldn't get anything to stick to it after that. I don't know how other media fairs but I can tell you glass beads do not work.

On the other hand I've been having great success with kapton tape on the glass bed. Seems to stick better than hairspray on glass and give a much smoother finish

Re: Has anyone tried etching their glass bed?

2013-09-16T21:22:51Z

Here's a post at the Makerbot group on etched glass. Seems the guy who tried it had some success with it - https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic … 8cSw30ZOeQ

Re: Has anyone tried etching their glass bed?

2013-09-16T20:23:59Z

I went over to Lowes and had them cut a piece of glass up. The first time I used it I used acetone/plastic slurry to cover it. after that I used Aqua Net. I don't clean the print bed every time I print, just a slight shot of hair spray on the previously printed area, while the bed is heating up, along with a plexi-glass case to stabilize the temp. I run about 85-89 degrees on the heat bed. No problems.

Re: Has anyone tried etching their glass bed?

2013-09-16T20:06:10Z

Ah... But it might depend on the type of sandblasting media they used. If they used glass beads it probably peened the surface, a common error rookie powder coaters make. You have to use an aggressive blast media to get angular cuts in the surface. I have no idea what etching would do, probably no very aggressive. I have a bottle somewhere, if I can find it I'll try it and report back.

Re: Has anyone tried etching their glass bed?

2013-09-16T19:06:44Z

I remember someone trying that with sandblasting, and it didn't help. It doesn't seem to be the increased surface area that does the trick, but one of the plastics contained in the hairspray.

Re: Has anyone tried etching their glass bed?

2013-09-16T19:00:19Z

you can sand it to get the same affect... sand paper is harder than glass... (I didn't know until i have to diy my glass bed)

Has anyone tried etching their glass bed?

2013-09-16T18:39:12Z

The craft stores sell Glass Etch that makes stenciled designs in glass. Seems like it might make a pretty nice surface for our purposes and, if so, replace hair spray. Anyone tried it yet?