3D Printing

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The question I’m sure was on everyone’s mind: can you combine PEI and glass beds? (solarbird.net)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I like the thermal mass of glass for temperature stability, as I've found that's pretty key to getting good print adhesion. But I really wanted to try out PEI without having to stick a giant magnet directly to my heater plate, something I definitely did not trust.

Turns out, you can solve both problems! This was how I did it.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not sure why sticking a giant magnet to the heater plate should be considered risky?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Probably not in general, but it seemed like it'd be a massive pain in the arse to get back off if I didn't like it. I'd been getting pretty good results with coated glass and didn't want to have to worry about going back.

Also, I could lose the thermal momentum and heat evenness I was seeing with underbed insulation and a glass bed. (I brought that post over too, separately.)

Also also, I hear a lot about warped and/or warp_ing_ heating plates, and glass doesn't have that issue.

So basically it's a stabilising element at a cost of a little more heating time and increased chance of ringing if you overdrive your bed speed.

I do have to say that I'm finding PEI to be better than coated glass in most ways, but it's also a lot more fragile and will clearly wear out sooner. Which is ironic - a metal thing more fragile than a glass thing - but there you are.