1 Topic by brandonb

  • brandonb
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Topic: Using acrylic as a print bed (and other questions)

So I went to my local Lowe's and had them cut me a few 8x8 squares of acrylic while I was having them cut my enclosure parts. I sanded the acrylic sheet with 320 grit sand paper and wiped it down with acetone afterwards. Now, the filament that came with the printer works fine. However the Octave brand ABS I got on Amazon seems to be different somehow.

The first layer or two seems to fuse to the acrylic sheet (does not appear melted to the acrylic, it looks to be sitting on top of it, just very firmly attached), making it near impossible to get the print off. Trying to pry it off seems to just pull off in layers (delamination issue maybe?). I'm wondering if the print bed is too hot or the extruder, or both. They're set at 190c and 90c. I wonder if PLA filament would be better than ABS in this case? What's the general consensus on ABS vs PLA?

Random questions below.

1. Is simply measuring the acrylic plate with a caliper and adjusting the z offset in Slic3r sufficient? If not, what should I do?

2. I'd like to try glass but where on earth do I buy it? Is there an online store that will cut it to my specifications?

3. I'm also having an issue where when the printer moves the extruder close to the plate during the start gcode, it just burns a hole straight into the acrylic. It's getting way too close, and then the anchor fails to extrude. It just makes a whirring sound and moves on. I'm not sure how to go about fixing this. I've only had my SD3 for about 3 days now so I'm extremely new to this.

4. I don't suppose anyone has some SD3 optimized Slic3r profiles? The ones that Solidoodle produced seem kinda crappy, I've never gotten a good print with them.

5. If no to the above, where might I find a decent guide to setting these things my self? I haven't found a comprehensive anything on the subject. I'd like to get everything just right but it seems like there's a serious lack of documentation (specifically dealing with the SD3 that is). Am I just not looking in the right places?

2 Reply by fcichock

  • fcichock
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Re: Using acrylic as a print bed (and other questions)

Printing on acrylic is an interesting concept.  If the print stuck too well at 90c, a lower bed temp may work. Ian Johnson has some good tutorials on YouTube pertaining to Slicr settings. They helped me get started

3 Reply by brandonb

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Re: Using acrylic as a print bed (and other questions)

fcichock wrote:

Printing on acrylic is an interesting concept.  If the print stuck too well at 90c, a lower bed temp may work. Ian Johnson has some good tutorials on YouTube pertaining to Slicr settings. They helped me get started

It actually works quite well minus the 2 problems I have with it. If that can be worked out easily, I figure you can have a huge amount of print sheets for very cheap. 6 of them cost me $8 at Lowe's.

4 Reply by IanJohnson

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Re: Using acrylic as a print bed (and other questions)

Unless it is very thick, acrylic will warp over time.  Solidoodle started out with 3mm acrylic beds, and had to change to 10mm.  ABS sticks too well, if you get it smooshed too much.  I originally found there was a fine line between not enough to stick, and so stuck I needed to soak it in acetone.  I never tried it with heat, but I expect that will soften it enough that the ABS will pull it and warp it even more easily.

As for glass, some home depots will cut it to size for you.  If not them, local or regional hardware stores might.

5 Reply by brandonb (edited by brandonb 2013-06-12 10:21:32)

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Re: Using acrylic as a print bed (and other questions)

IanJohnson wrote:

Unless it is very thick, acrylic will warp over time.  Solidoodle started out with 3mm acrylic beds, and had to change to 10mm.  ABS sticks too well, if you get it smooshed too much.  I originally found there was a fine line between not enough to stick, and so stuck I needed to soak it in acetone.  I never tried it with heat, but I expect that will soften it enough that the ABS will pull it and warp it even more easily.

As for glass, some home depots will cut it to size for you.  If not them, local or regional hardware stores might.

Yeah, I quickly realized my mistake in using acrylic when it started warping from the heat. I figured with clips it would be fine, and for the most part it was - but certainly not ideal.

If anyone needs glass, I've ordered a bunch of 8x8 mirror tiles from this place >> cheapmirrortiles.com

Quite cheap at $2.21 per tile for 8x8.

6 Reply by cod3r

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Re: Using acrylic as a print bed (and other questions)

cool, brandon.. Thanks for the info.  I don't even have my printer and already stressing about getting glass.   Good find.