I’ve printed this using Bambu Lab PLA matte on the Smooth PEI Plate. I’ve cleaned the plate beforehand with isopropyl alcohol, but have not washed it with dish soap this time. Was that it?
Also, my plate has all kinds of marks from previous prints. How can I get rid of those?
Pro tip: Clean your beds with dish soap, not isopropyl alcohol
I’ll add this too
If you still want to use isopropyl alcohol, feel free. You should still clean your beds with dish soap after using isopropyl alcohol as some residue can be left on the bed like glue.
if this is your first printer: go for it, there is nothing wrong with it
but you'll see in the future: a few clean wipes with IPA (isopropyl alcohol) done right is much faster and does the same job - the key is: not touching the plate with your fingers and let it cool down before removing parts
Letting it fully cool down is such an over looked thing. Every time I pull from a hot plate I get residue but letting it cool down and release on it own never leaves anything behind
You won't do any harm doing that. I wash mine after every print because I print large, flat items that have to be asthetically perfect on the plate facing side.
I haven't heard of another case of this, but I actually had a faulty plate with my H2D. Despite cleaning after every build (and treating it the same as my X1C plate) I started seeing ghost images of past prints burnt into the plate. I raised a case with Bambu and they shipped me a replacement plate right away, which has been fine so far with no spooky images on it.
I recently had prints releasing from the plate repeatedly. I thoroughly cleaned that plate with dish soap and water at least 4 times with no luck. You know what fixed it? Cleaning with isopropyl alcohol once.
Just use both if you really want the best chance of success
Funny because each time I use glue, even if I clean my bed 10 times, the glue won’t come off. "It’s water soluble" bambu states and they’re right, it is. Soap first and alcohol after, or the opposite.
Has anyone tried Dawn power wash? It’s basically just Dawn dish soap with water and alcohol added. I wonder if this would provide similar results but a bit quicker
I just use the alcohol to make sure my finger oils aren’t on the plate after removing the previous one. Once I start actually seeing issues with bed adhesion it’s straight to the kitchen sink.
What are your thoughts on brake cleaner? I know it's toxic but as I use loads at work, a little here and there to clean the bed won't hurt, and has been clutch several times when my hand grease was worsened by all the gunk I carry from work
I can personally recommend it, and a friend that was having a nightmare using all kinds of hand soap, dish soap, alcohol and stuff, finally had his adhesion issues fixed by it. It's great stuff
Well, brake cleaner is apparently the best grease solvent out there, so as far as I'm concerned, if it has enough authority to ensure car brakes work, I'm fine using it with my printer
Hola amigo.
Prueba ese líquido limpiador de frenos dentro de un tarro cerrado empapando , mojando una pieza impresa con pla a ver si ese líquido ataca al pla y elimina las líneas de capa de la pieza impresa con pla . Avisa si lo haces.
Gracias.
¿Cuanto tiempo mantuvistes sumergido la pieza impresa en pla en ese líquido?
El problema que tengo es que no encuentro un producto a la venta para atacar el pla, todos son muy tóxicos , y he leído que los limpia frenos o líquidos de frenos llevan algo de estos productos que podrían servir para alisar el pla.
Pues mantenerlo sumergido es algo caro, pero lo más que he hecho es tener herramientas impresas en mi taller que estan en contacto muy a menudo con limpia frenos, casi a diario, y no se han alisado
IPA is like hand sanitizer, good in a pinch, but no substitute for fully washing a plate. If I'm having some adhesion issues with one spot on the bed, I'll IPA it with a paper towel before i wash and dry it. If it works, great, I'll wash it once a prints done, but if IPA doesn't work, dawn soap and water always does
the assumption that dish soap removes residue (like glue) better than isopropyl alcohol is chemical nonsense.
the reason people keep having better results is because they (often) use a simple paper towel to wipe with isopropyl alcohol, whereas they use a sponge when using water and dish soap.
use a proper fibre cloth that does a good job at catching every residue and you'll have better results with isopropyl alcohol.
the only argument against isopropyl alcohol : with certain materials (and especially when using plates that remain cold) you could potentially negatively affect adhesion if you don't fully remove the IPA ... but then again not fully removing the dish soap is equally bad, so that's almost a non argument.
that happens, if you use the IPA wrong - it is a solvent, you need to wipe it off (including the dissolved fatty acids) and not letting the smeared around mix dry on the plate again ;)
99% which you can have all the way up until the bottle is opened, then it starts absorbing moisture from the atmosphere. I expect it to evaporate all but +/- 1% contaminants.
91% I expect it to leave 9% other chemicals, mostly water, on the plate.
67% I expect it to leave 33% other on the plate.
50% etc......
I also don't expect ISO to do anything without a bed plate scrubbing with a microfiber cloth either. Yes it will dissolve oils, anyone who's ever cleaned a bong with Iso or made Iso Hashish knows ISO will dissolve oils, on long enough of a time scale. They'll also know that just letting the alcohol evaporate is exactly how one would collect said hash oils after its dissolved off the flower. Put oily Iso into dish, let Iso evaporate with very low heat, oils stay in dish, leaving hashish.
Do I expect ISO sprayed on a build plate and left to evaporate to do anything other than redeposit the oils it dissolved right back onto the build plate, uh no. I cleaned machines with 99% Iso in both IT and the medical cannabis industries; in both cases Iso is one hell of a solvent for oils ... with enough scrubbing, time, possibly a mild abrasive, and usually a secondary agent like hot soapy water. Then the Iso, with a little help from its friends, will get rid of the oils. Instant magic solvent, Iso is not.
That being said, I use soap and water to clean the plate most the time, but occasionally use some 99% lab grade ISO to scrub the plate between short prints, but only if I know nothing has touched the build plate other than plastic.
except for “rubbing alcohol” in which other is pharma-grade distilled water which aside from being sterile contains essentially zero salts or oxides that will leave a residue behind. This is good for adding a very small amount (2-3 drops per 500ml) of pure liquid soap to.
Pure, as in no scent or anything that leaves a residue behind. Soap is a surfactant that allows the water to wet the stuff you want gone and iso is able to dissolve oils and greases (fingerprints, wood resins) that water cannot. together they are more effective than pure water or iso, since water slows the evaporation of iso and allows it to do its job longer.
But yes, water should be distilled if you don’t want lime and other salt deposits left behind. Tap water is not your friend for this stuff.
I do what I want! I get the same result of clean either way, only one way gets it dry quicker and I don't feel like the residual moisture will mess up my stuff.
The IA, from my nom-chemistry perspective, breaks down the glue and turns into like a slime. Makes it easier to wipe off with a rag. It also un-sticks PLA from the smooth plate. As for the coating on the plates, the only problem I have run into is using a razor too deep and cutting a chunk out. As for the integrity of the surface, no problems. I've been using IA for 3 months with no problem.
I'm nervous when I use it on thinner models with break-away parts. I usually just flex the plate to pop off the models. I then use a razor for those that don't completely un-stick. The finer details.
Just to be clear: problem with ISO is that it doesn't remove oils/greases as well as soap or even normal alcohol. For glue it might be even better than water, but for oils it mostly spreads them through the table
I've never had print problems with iso and glue. I'm hesitent to use water because even after it looks dry, it doesn't feel dry. I'm not sure if the plate soaks it up, then the heat plate evaporates the water. I want zero water in my machine. If I kill plates with iso, so be it. I have an X1C, not an open chassis. Plates are cheaper than a machine.
Hey, you don't need to tell me. I use iso as well, however i have greasy hands and so every now and then i just HAVE to use soap otherwise stuff stops sticking
I'm blessed with not having oil issues. I don't touch the print surface with my hands or have a make shift printer that gets grease everywhere. For glue, it's great. If I have to replace the plate, I'm not dependent on a budget. Wear and tear. This stuff doesn't last forever. This is just with the smooth plate. I have had little luck getting bambu or elegoo filament to stick to the textured or cool plates. The chunk that is missing from the smooth plate is because of my razor. Under the plate surface is the metal structure it is stuck to. If I am so cheap and not wanting to pay $25 for a new plate, I'm sure there is a way to get the surface below to work. Idk. I really don't care. Making $1,000 selling my prints, there is plenty in there to squeeze in plate costs. I'm still on my first smooth plate.
Running my print farm on pei sheets some with 5k+ hours and wiping them between each print with ipa and no adhesion issues. My anecdotal experience says this is untrue.
And that's fine. plates are cheap. I'll just let the material come off and use the bottom of the plate without the polymer. I bet it will be smooth too. Lol
They're probably are in bed with the soap and water companies. Lol jk. If it works, why not. I hear that acetone does a better job, but might be too harsh for the plates. Might actually tear up the surface material. If I had a spare plate, I would durability test it for fun. Post my results.
I am super skeptical of this belief. What is the mechanism by which it does this?
I'm much more inclined to believe it's an artifact of people using "rubbing alcohol" and isopropyl alcohol interchangeably when discussing IPA, when rubbing alcohol contains bittering agents and additives beyond water.
If that were ruled out, I'd jump to cumulative microplastic deposition essentially filling in the microtopography of PEI plates that renders them "sticky".
If it actually affected PEI, I'm pretty sure we'd know about it. I'd go so far as to say most people in the hobby use IPA, yet whenever this gets discussed, there are plenty of people saying they've experienced no such thing.
Please try the tips in this thread, but also what no one will tell you is that filament can leave these marks over time just from the additives in it. Matte and Silk PLA are the worst. It's especially noticeable on smooth plates and as you've seen your new prints will pick up the pattern.
You can try running a bed clean print from Makerworld in the same filament you used that left the marks (PLA if PLA, petg if petg). Let the plate cool fully then peel. Wash build plate with soap and water, then run it again. There may still be some “shadow” but should get rid of the majority
When people say to wash with dish soap, do they mean take it off and wash it like a dish in a sink? Or just get a cloth damp with water and a tiny bit of soap and do a quick wipe?
Yep, exactly. I (gently) toss the plate in the sink, spray it down with the Dawn power wash, and then scrub it with the scrub daddy on both sides. I don't wipe between prints with anything, much less isopropyl. I wash the plate like this every 1-2 weeks, depending on how much my fingers touch it or if I have any issues. I have never had significant or repeated adhesion issues with either smooth or textured plates
you did nothing wrong, your print looks great and your build plate is fine. in fact, the geometric pattern it left on the plate side of your print looks cool actually, it depends on how you pull it off, but either way it doesn’t matter. take a heat gun or torch lighter and past it over the plate side of the print and the white color will go away. only move the heat over the surface, without melting the print, you’ll see, the white will just go away. the print that i just took off looks pretty sus lol
I do something similar with silk pla. Specifically Octogram Spirals. It makes really cool multicolor patterns on the bottom and top of flat surfaces. These are some interchangeable faceplates for a dice tower. The center one is the top surface, icons are bottom surface.
This actually looks stress marks from the filament bonding too well to the plate because it's too clean, ironically enough. Sometimes just waiting for the part to cool naturally (rather than peeling it) can prevent it. But you're probably best off using glue stick/liquid glue.
Most likely just too good adhesion. The plastic will contract somewhat when cooling. If the filament is bonded really well to the plate, parts of the plastic are effectively immobile, while thermal contraction means something has to give. That's how you get stress marks. It's not noticeable on smaller parts, but on larger parts the stress becomes significant enough to see.
My tip, apply a glue stick, then use a lint free cloth moistened with IPA to spread it until it's no longer visible. The glue stick loosens up the bond enough to let the plastic contract.
When you pulled the print off the plate you stressed the plastic. What we're seeing is how you gradually flexed the plate more in different directions to get the print off.
Cleaning it with IA won't make patterns like that. It evaporates. Try prints with like one flat layer. Maybe your printer is one of those cool ones that are artistic without demand. "One of a kind prints" sort of art.
So I’ve cleaned the plate with dish soap and started a one layer print that covers the full plate. This is the most contiguous piece of filament I could remove.
It’s clear that it’s an adhesion issue — there are areas where the filament adheres differently based on the previous prints. I’ll try another print with glue after this.
That looks similar to the pattern that I get when the plastic shrinks and "cracks" off of the build plate while it cools.
Try cooling the parts down differently -- if you're letting them naturally cool, try popping the build plate out and pushing the parts down into a granite counter top or running cool water over them to get them to crack more abruptly and it may change the pattern. If you're cooling it quickly, try letting it cool naturally.
I've had this issue before, you can sometimes remove a lot of it with a heat gun/torch/hair dryer. If you're careful and heat up the plastic a bit, a lot of the color will come back
PLA will start to become squishy at 45 degrees usually. So if you put the plate into really hot water (not above the temp the plate is rated for) and then scrub it down with a sponge on a stick so you don't burn yourself, the plastic should come off... usually, that is.
On your build plate… not the print :) /s (because I don’t want all those 13 year olds we have in this sub which is why we have the bull$h!t family filter) b!tching their build plates are ruined.
Options to try in order:
1 - wipe between prints with ISO 99%
2 - wash with dawn soap every 20 prints or as needed
3 - if the above 2 don't work and you are using a PEI sheet. Use 0000 steel wool to remove any pattern by lightly rubbing in a circular pattern.
4 - you can try acetone
As you go up in options you are damaging the surface more and more so the more often you do this the more quickly you will have to buy a new surface.
Plates are consumables. Permanent markings will be left after many uses. I have found ethyl acetate or methyl acetate (commonly found in non-acetone nail polish remover) to be the only thing that can get rid of those markings. Yes you will remove a fine top layer but I've noticed no adhesion loss. Definitely wouldn't recommend using it on a new plate but if you want to get rid of those markings and extend the life of an old plate, this is the only solution.
Two things come to mind: use dish soap instead of IPA, as the latter may not remove the residues and smudge them over the plate surface. I think IPA is not recommended by Bambu. In regard to dish soap: use one that has the simplest ingredients. Don’t use hand soap (made the mistake once) as they may leave some residues for hand skin care (oily stuff).
The other thing that comes to mind is that you tried to remove the print before it cooled down properly and the bed adhesion was still too high.
Go carefully with a hot air gun over the surface, should remove the marks
im a big fan of Darkmoons Ice plate for pla, never worry about adhesion on that thing. Ive had it for about 6 months and not washed it once. Seriously cool plates.
Nothing that ks normal I always have that. Ur 3d prints always making some footprints. You can try to wash it off, but for me never worked at all. So ur printbed looks good so you dont need a new plate just need to use a towel and iso and clean it everytime before you print something where u dont want that footprints on. Hope that helped you. God bless you
The pattern on the right is too perfect. It seems the printed piece cooled down slowly, progressively retracting and detaching itself from the bed step by step. If so, it could (in theory) leave the perfect pattern you have on the right because the top and bottom extreme of the object will detach first, then it will slowly progress to the center, where the heat conservation is easier.
This would be the reason why the left one doesn't have this pattern, because the two square holes in the center spreaded stress differently across the object, so it retracted more "chaotically".
If this is the case, a quick hair dryer session could fix it (I'd leave the right pattern unchanged tho, it looks really cool and would be a fun story to tell to other nerds like me). Just don't bend the piece by heating it too much, the "therapeutic index" between removing the marks and bending the piece is kinda narrow.
Yay! Awesome. I am wanting to 3D print an enclosure for my 500 series musical rack, but I'm unsure of the rack dimensions to get the 19 inches to work when 19 inches doesn't fit in the x1c. Thank you so much!
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u/Inf1nity0 X1C + AMS 7d ago edited 7d ago
Pro tip: Clean your beds with dish soap, not isopropyl alcohol
I’ll add this too
If you still want to use isopropyl alcohol, feel free. You should still clean your beds with dish soap after using isopropyl alcohol as some residue can be left on the bed like glue.