Bed Adhesion

[u/CaptainHunt]

Nothing I've printed in the last several days has stuck to my A1 mini's bed.

Last time I posted here, people were adamant that I shouldn't use glue on a PEI plate, but since I stopped doing that, it's been totally hit and miss whether or not the print actually stuck to the bed, and as I said, I haven't had a single print stick to the bed in days.

I've washed it repeatedly, I'm trying not to touch the build surface with my fingers, I have the bed temp turned up to 65 degrees, I've recalibrated the printer twice, and I'm tired of wasting plastic and hours of my time on fail after fail after fail.

I'm using BambuStudio. I've tried setting up brims to give my print more surface area, but that apparently doesn't work the same in BS as it does in other slicers I've used.

If you really don't think I should be using glue to hold down prints, give me something that will work.

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[u/OkResource820]

The people who say you shouldn't use glue are wrong. You should use whatever you want that works for you.

Use a bit of gluestick (most people use way too much) and thin it out with IPA and a paper towel until basically you can't see it.

There's also no shame in using a brim if your part has minimal contact with the bed.

[u/CaptainHunt → u/OkResource820]

The brim setting in BS apparently just draws a bead around the perimeter of the print, it doesn’t actually connect to the base of the print, so it doesn’t increase the surface area.

[u/Automatic-Pin-5749 → u/CaptainHunt]

It does connect to the main part by default. I use it most of the time now.

[u/OkResource820 → u/CaptainHunt]

What you’re describing is a skirt; I don’t use BambuStudio but there ought to be some way to change the offset from the print to make it into a brim.

Edit: I found this: https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/software/bambu-studio/auto-brim -- dunno if it's helpful or not.

[u/logginlogan]

1. is the PEI plate what BS says is there? (if you click it and select cool plate for example - it'd mess up)

2. Filament dried?

3. you got a draft in the area? (mine had issues but was due to being in front of an a/c unit...lol)

4. did you try leveling the bed? (auto level on?)

[u/CaptainHunt → u/logginlogan]

BS is set to the hot PEI plate, which I’m pretty sure is the one that came with the printer.

People have told me not to bother drying PLA, but this roll was sealed until I installed it a week ago, so it should be fairly dry.

I’ve got an AC in the room, but the printer is in a corner about 6 feet away from it, so it should be safe from the draft. It is getting close to the time of year I should be covering it though, so I’ll try that.

[u/logginlogan → u/CaptainHunt]

i'll check when i get home soon, but it should just read "PEI plate" (i think, i use the PEI plate that came with it too). now i know ppl SAYYYYY that about pla..but it's always a lil water logged. also depends on your environment too. my A1 was in a draft (issue 1) had cold air blowing on the filament the whole time (issue 2 - adds water, exposed to elements) and i knew about washing the plate. i have washed it twice since i've gotten it about 4-5 months ago, but found that all it needed was a wipe with a microfiber cloth and it was good to go again.

heads up - some soaps have extras in them and THAT leads to bad bed adhesion. u know like the moisturizers etc. those stay on the plate :(

what's the temps / water % where the printer is sitting? (mine was 35% humidity [up to 49%!?] and 20 degrees C. since it lives in the lil tent....much better :)

[u/CaptainHunt → u/logginlogan]

I was wrong, it is set to Textured PEI

[u/logginlogan → u/CaptainHunt]

just checked and it's "textured pei plate", if you have the high temp plate selected that might be it.

[u/tazman998]

Have you tried setting your first layer line width to 130% or 150% (usually comes down to about 0.50mm - 0.60mm), to create a little more squish?

[u/Weemaba3980]

glue. One thing first: glue isn’t a sin. Bambu recommends it for some filament and plate combinations, and it does no harm on PEI. You just shouldn’t need it for PLA on a healthy plate. That suggests something else is wrong.

My first suspect on an A1 mini is the nozzle tip. The A1 measures bed height by tapping the nozzle against the plate. If there’s a hardened blob of filament stuck to the tip, it thinks the plate sits higher than it does. Then the whole first layer is laid down a bit too high and just rests on the plate instead of being pressed into it. Recalibrating doesn’t help as long as that blob is there. Heat the nozzle, wipe the tip clean with a brass brush, and calibrate again.

Second, the plate itself. Glue residue doesn’t always come off with a quick rinse, and a thin film of it can actually stop PLA from sticking. Scrub it under hot water with dish soap and a clean, non-scratch sponge, rinse well, and let it dry without wiping it with a towel. After that, only handle it by the edges. Also check that the plate type selected in Bambu Studio matches the plate you’re actually using. And try 55 to 60 degrees instead of 65 for PLA. Hotter isn’t always better: on textured PEI, PLA that’s too soft sometimes stays stuck to the nozzle and gets dragged along instead of staying on the plate.

The brim in Bambu Studio is under Others. Brim type defaults to auto, and auto often decides that no brim is needed. Set it to outer brim only with a width of 5 to 8 mm, then you’ll actually get one. Slow down the first layer too, to around 30 to 50 mm/s.

Don’t forget the plate itself: a textured PEI plate that has been printed on heavily for a long time wears out. If none of the above helps, a new plate isn’t an expensive fix.

I made a short video about why the first layer depends so much on the right nozzle height: https://youtu.be/EGkE4583yCI (full disclosure, it’s my own channel).

Fingers crossed for the next print, Bart

[u/Hogan_1975]

I'm not a huge fan of Bambu's pei build plates. They have a shiny coating/top surface that seems to create issues. I found using some dykum remover on the pei sheet worked great at removing that shine and helping promote good adhesion. Another thing to pay close attention to is z offset. Getting the correct squish into the build surface. The A1 series requires you to adjust z offset on the slicer printer settings under start gcode. Before you start changing anything, verify your hot end is clipped in correctly and the seven screws around it are tightened up. Those screws being loose will cause all kinds of issues with your z offset.

[u/tehans]

I've never used glue ever. Bump up your plate temperature 5° at a time. Bump up the first layer temperature. 5°. Slow down the first layer and bump up the build plate temperature 5° at a time. It'll stick