Hello, long time no see! Like many I've simply been plodding on using my BigBox as and when I can. Not really had a lot of time but being doing bits and pieces. One of the problems I've had for the past few months is adhesion and I'm coming to the conclusion that it's the UHU Stic I'm using. I bought a fair few off ebay (I think 10) and when I started to use it, it felt different when applying it to the bed. The glue felt softer and left a thicker trace on the bed. Applying it to a hot bed left a thicker but rougher layer. Once the bed is hot, the glue feels very dry to the touch and even PLA doesn't reliably stick to it. Looking at the sticks, they're marked "Solvent free". Does anyone know if this is a new formulation or can recommend an alternative brand? They were cheap, maybe old stock or counterfeit versions? It's a strange one I know but I'm interested to know if anyone else has had similar issues! Cheers! Jason
UHU I have is "acid free" & "solvent free" and works well with Edge filament and I believe that E3D have used UHU on their print farm machines. Too thick and you get white lumps and it is proud of the glass surface. I posted the technique I used, using a toothbrush which gets a thin almost clear, smooth coating which lasts for at least ten prints, will look for that when I have more time.
It's pretty much any filament I have tried recently. PLA from E3D, Colorfabb PLA/PHA, ABS......... ABS I'm used to, Has always been tricky to get to stick if the part warps but PLA has been quite reliable until the last few months. I'm trying a Tesco's 'Glue Stick' own brand and it seems to be OK so far. Attached is a pic of what I'm using. Does the P12.12.02 at the bottom refer to a date? 2002 or 2012!?!?
I think UHU glue stick is PVA adhesive. You might want to try painting on diluted PVA adhesive instead. However, for printing good brands of PLA I find that the best glass bed coating is...none! The glass needs to be prepared in the right way: 1. Wash it in clean hot water with washing up liquid and scrub it with a clean washing up sponge. 2. In the remaining steps, be careful not to touch the side you will print on, or you will leave grease from your fingers on it. 3. Rinse off the soapy water and stack it vertically to drain for a short while. 4. Wipe it dry using a paper towel. Do not use a tea towel, because it will be contaminated with traces of fabric conditioner. 5. Install it in the printer. 6. Before each print, wipe it with a paper towel lightly moistened in distilled malt vinegar, either before or after heating 7. Heat the bed to about 55-65C before printing PLA on it. 8. After the print completes, let the bed cool (remove the glass + print from the printer to speed up cooling if you like). When it has cooled, the print will detach from the glass bed. 9. Do not use acetone, isopropanol or any other organic solvent to clean the bed. If you put a finger mark on it, start again from #1 if you need to print on that part.
