PEI as bed material

I read somewhere that this pei plastic was the ultimate bed material that requires no goop, slurry, hairspray or glue to print ABS. It's available in many thicknesses and what I read was a little vague as to what was best.

So, I bought some 1/16" thick and have been playing a little. It takes a little learning but I have had some pretty good luck on the 20+ prints I have done so far. My piece flexes a little too much so I think if I decide to keep using it I would get a thicker piece. My question is are many people using it? And if so what thickness is considered optimal between not flexing and taking too long to heat up? I got the "natural" that is clear amber but I see there is also a glass filled version (looks like bakelite). Which is best?

Thanks!

I think getting a thicker one from amazon and attaching it firmly to your printbed will do the trick. Am still waiting till I can buy it myself as I have no credit card so I can't use amazon... But I've seen it around a lot lately. I found one webshop that used to sell it, but they trimmed off the corners, something I hate, as I want the full surface because I need the corners to connect the plate to my printbed.

Where did you order it?

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http://www.marinusdebeer.nl/

I have one from Reprap discount. I'm guessing the trimmed corners are to accomodate bed mounting screws. It also has a glossy side and a textured side which I like. Sometimes I like a matte finish on the bottom of the print rather than shiny. I still have to use hairspray, but not as much. I can still get warping with PLA in some instances, and for ABS it seems to be equivalent to glass. The flexibility is a bit of a problem with just binder clips on the edges. It would work better with something to stick it down acoss the whole surface of the plate.

Have you tried printing PLA without heat?

Right now I'm printing on purple glue sticks and an unheated bed and I rarely have problems with warping and sticking. If I do, it's a simple reapplication of glue.

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greghoge.com

HUGE 3D PRINTER PARTS SALE!!!

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IanJohnson
I have one from Reprap discount. I'm guessing the trimmed corners are to accomodate bed mounting screws. It also has a glossy side and a textured side which I like. Sometimes I like a matte finish on the bottom of the print rather than shiny. I still have to use hairspray, but not as much. I can still get warping with PLA in some instances, and for ABS it seems to be equivalent to glass. The flexibility is a bit of a problem with just binder clips on the edges. It would work better with something to stick it down acoss the whole surface of the plate.

Exactly, those corners is what I need to be able to put it on my print bed! It's exactly where I mount the top surface for printing haha. But I see that they don't sell it anymore anyway..

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http://www.marinusdebeer.nl/

I got mine off ebay from Zoro Tools.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2014 04:15PM by tmorris9.

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tmorris9
I got mine off ebay from Zoro Tools.

Too bad, they don't ship to the Netherlands. I guess I'm being excluded by the world once again

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http://www.marinusdebeer.nl/

I have ordered some from Amazon. Reading in another thread people are gluing the thin sheets to glass with tapes or high temp silicone. I believe PEI does not conduct heat well so thicker pieces might not work well; but that is conjecture since I haven't tried yet.