GREAT RESULT! PLA on OHP / transparency film

Hi everyone,

Not sure if this is new or just something I'm unaware of, but recently I've been experimenting printing on different kinds of materials using PLA and have this great finding.

First of all, I haven't got my heated bed to work, so I was only playing with whatever materials I could find lying around at home and printing on it. I found a box of unused transparency film for laser printers at home, so I though I should give it a try and see what happens. Prior to that, I tried printing on..:

glass at room temp --> did not stick at all
smooth aluminium --> worse than above
paper --> kind of stick, but warping causing the print to come off the paper after 5 layers
polypropylene paper (a type of banner paper) --> stuck EXTREMELY well, it was basically fused with the paper. bad thing was, the paper was single side adhesive and expensive. taking the print out would either rip the bottom few layers or the paper.
cling film --> the PLA decided to stick to the hot end instead..
2mm perspex --> similar to polypropylene paper, stuck too well, removing the model would either rip the model or the plastic sheet, and that was even more expensive!
Finally transparency film --> stuck relatively well, but it can only be printed once.

So I realised this bed material has to be relative cheap, easily replaceable, and possibly some kind of polymer. Since it appears that PLA bonds well with polymer and relatively strong with transparency film, the next problem I had to solve was how to get the film to stay on the aluminium bed.

As with printing on paper, the print stuck quite well. But when warping kicks in, the printed plastic bent the paper as well since the paper was only bulldog clipped to the aluminium plate, without an even sticking force onto the plate, warping would still occur...

As a result, I came up with this idea...
First, get a piece of glass as this is one FLAT material. I got mine from a picture frame for less than £1.50.
Then get a piece of transparency film, cut to the same size as the glass.
Spray/Wet the glass with water and rub the film onto it. As the water suction will keep the film very firmly onto glass and prevents any upward movement. Be sure to squeeze out all air bubbles.
Next was to secure it laterally. Since we are confident that the film does not bend upwards, it is still prone to sideways movements. Therefore simply putting 3 or 4 bulldog clips at each corner will do the job.
Finally, clean the film and the bed is ready to print!

With this method, the model will stick fairly solidly to the film, with very little of warping. Once the print is finished, simply take the film off the glass and run it at the corner of your desk and all models will become detached!

reusing the film is possible but will reduce its stickiness to PLA and more likely to get warping. However you can just flip to the other side and print provided that the film is still flat when you shine a torch at it sideways.

So far I've been getting good results, as I said some warping still occur to large objects, but for those who only need to print small objects around 3-4cm by 3-4cm, or simply don't want the hassle of setting up a heated bed, this seems a very easy method.

Give that a try and please make any suggestions that you have.

Cheers
Adrian

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/06/2012 07:07PM by ahbtsang.

I started printing PLA on my HBP on kapton tape. It worked quite well but sometimes it sticks to well.
Over time it had a lot of ugly scraps. I had to replace it quite often.
I wanted something more durable. Someone reported to have good results with FR4 epoxy, so I gave it a try.
I bought some 2mm white FR4, milled some pockets into it an placed some high temperature magnets in.
The magnets hold the the FR4 plate firmly to the HBP.

It works like a charm. I simply place the plate on my HBP, heat to 55-60 deg Celcius and print. PLA sticks
perfectly at that temperature. After the print I remove the plate, let it cool down and the part simply pops off.

I use that for several month now without any issues. Only had to clean it with some acetone from time to time.

Without a heat bed (for PLA):

I used double sided carpet tape on my bed and then used the blue painters tape (sticky side up) on top of the carpet tape.
This provided a great surface to print on that sticks like crazy but is easy to remove.

With a heat bed (for ABS/PLA):

I use the GFK print plate from Philipp.
I can highly recommend it for PLA and Stoffel15 uses it 24/7 to print ABS on a heated bed also without any problems.
After each print clean with normal window cleaner and then print the next plate.
Best thing since sliced bread!

Highly recommended.

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Bob Morrison
Wörth am Rhein, Germany
"Luke, use the source!"
BLOG - PHOTOS - Thingiverse

I tried using masking tape and it didn't stick at all.. Am I supposed to have the sticky side up?

I hear you need not just any masking tape, but specifically "scotch 3M blue tape 2090" to print PLA on a cold bed.

Personally I print PLA directly on heated glass @48-55C, and get superb results. I usually wipe the glass clean with some acetone, and every other month I take it off, soak it in the kitchen sink and give it a through cleaning with dish washing liquid and clear vinegar. (Yes I'm one of those irritating vinegar-does-everything blokes). If you manage to keep your fingers off the glass, you don't have to clean it at all.

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-Nudel
Blog with RepRap Comic

I went to the sticky side up method because in the Winter the PLA wouldn't stick to the blue painters tape, instead it made rolling balls.

THE METHOD of choice is to use a heated bed with Philipps' GFK print plate.
No muss, no fuss, it just works!
Sticks like crazy at 60 degrees C and pops right off when less than 40 degrees C.

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Bob Morrison
Wörth am Rhein, Germany
"Luke, use the source!"
BLOG - PHOTOS - Thingiverse

rhmorrison Wrote:
> THE METHOD of choice is to use a heated bed with
> Philipps' GFK print plate.

I strongly disagree with this strong a recommendation of a specialized product only available from one vendor (?), when heated glass does exactly the same job and is available worldwide - and most often locally - for a fraction (I'd guess) of the cost.

Not saying that print plate is not brilliant, by all means.

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-Nudel
Blog with RepRap Comic

Glass is no good for ABS though.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

It's not? I have no experience with ABS myself though I hear people printing ABS perfectly on glass, although the temperature was fairly high in the 120-140C range, IIRC.

But of course, that is awful hot.

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-Nudel
Blog with RepRap Comic

I think it depends on the type of ABS. I can' t get it stick at any temperature.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

just wondering.. what is the benefit of printing ABS over PLA??

It isn't brittle and it doesn't got soft at 50C.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

when printing on any type of masking tape, make sure you wipe it down with rubbing alcohol first. if its got grease from your fingers on it, it wont stick.

Quote
Nudel
I strongly disagree with this strong a recommendation of a specialized product only available from one vendor (?), when heated glass does exactly the same job and is available worldwide - and most often locally - for a fraction (I'd guess) of the cost.

The GFK printing plate is only 0,95mm thick instead of 3 or 4mm for glass and weighs almost nothing.
It works for PLA and ABS and can be hot swapped (glass can NOT), I know because I broke one hot swapping it.

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Bob Morrison
Wörth am Rhein, Germany
"Luke, use the source!"
BLOG - PHOTOS - Thingiverse

Don't you need the glass to keep it and the PCB flat though?

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

I was running PLA and a heated bed glass bed, but it became cumbersome heating up and cooling down. Now I print on 3" wide super-cheapo masking tape and it works great. In fact best prints come off the 2nd or 3rd re-use as it sticks well enough to prevent warping, but not so strong that the tape tears off when I remove the pieces.

Seems like people are getting exotic with their materials...

I made a magnetically secured glass bed and I hot swap it all the time. I even have one sheet of glass that's bare for PLA and one sheet covered in PET for ABS.

Then you must have a better quality glass than I did although I paid more for it than I did for the GFK printing plate which is much better.

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Bob Morrison
Wörth am Rhein, Germany
"Luke, use the source!"
BLOG - PHOTOS - Thingiverse

Picture frame glass from a local frame shop, with neodymium magnets JB Welded to sanded corners. I think I paid more for the magnets than I did the glass.

do the neodymium magnets stick to aluminium plate??

Yes i got my picture frame from a budget shop for £1.20.. not bad..

No, I drilled holes through the aluminum and sunk another set of magnets into the wood blocks my aluminum was mounted to (I have a bed similar to [reprap.org]). The glass also overhangs the edge of the rest of the bed by a centemeter so I have something to hold onto when I pull it off.