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.
Yeah, that'd work. And you could get multiple plain glass sheets if you wanted to have different print bed materials.
But the metal sheet is also nice because if you have a big print on it, you can flex it and [tonk] the print will come right off, and this system retains that feature. It's also nice because when the PEI wears out/gets damaged/whatever, you've got a recyclable metal sheet whereas plate glass really kinda isn't recyclable?
glass is at least as- if not more- recyclable than metals. all you really have to do is remove the adhesive film- the plastic is what makes it not recyclable, and that's true of the metal plate as well.
You dont throw out the glass when the PEI is done. You buy a new PEI sheet, take off the old one, clean the glass, and stick on the new pei sheet. The only waste is the pei.
With metal sheets, when the pei is done, the metal could probably use replacing too to prevent warping. Otherwise, theoretically, the sticker method would work with metal too.
In this context, metal is definetely less durable than glass. Metal bends, metal warps, metal scratches. Unless your putting rocks on your glass bed, you won’t scratch it, and glass doesnt bend.
Oh so there's sheet PEI which has no metal and can be peeled back off the glass without a fight? Okay. I haven't seen that, I've only seen the metal sheets. (In terms of coated glass sheets, I was thinking about the Ender glass sheet I have with is coated with something, not PEI but whatever they used with my 3V2, and that won't wear off soon but when it eventually does the glass is done.
Or I guess I could stick these adhesive-backed? PEI sheets that aren't on metal onto the glass sheet and use it that way.
i've had great results with sheets from mcmaster. Apply with soapy water and squeegee the water out to avoid bubbles.
They have other films as well (kapton, for example,) depending on what you're trying to print with.
Though, personally, I just stuck the magenetic base to the glass... and print with no problems. I haven't looked back since taking the leap my biggest beef with the magnetic base is that when doing large prints it seems to shift enough to invalidate the mesh saved to the board. I
I've found that that's a very dangerous website. Especially if you use fusion 360. (you can import parts into your workspace using the mcmaster item number.... For, you know. convenience...)
I’ve been using the magnetic build plates with the adhesive magnet for about a year and a half now. I’ve experienced no issues with it up to this point. I’d say it’s worth the move.
You hear a lot about Ender heating plates having flatness issues, and glass doesn't have that, so that was one of my worries - what if the glass plate is stabilising the flatness of my heating plate, for example? I already know it's not as evenly heating as would really be best (I brought over another post about that) and so I was worried about losing the heat evenness I'd gained, and also about warping. This lets me preserve that while having the general advantages of magnetic plates.
So that's why I wanted to try this, and I can say that it's working quite well for me. But if you don't have either my flatness or heat-evenness concerns, then yeah, I'd think magnet to the plate would be just fine.
I had a friend whose CR-10s I've subsequently adopted... (he wasn't all that into 3d printing, as it turns out.) when were getting started the glass build surface was absolutely terrible. (I kinda expected it would be. it was basically 1/8" picture frame glass. 3/16" or 1/4" boro or bust.)
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.
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