A new surface to print on..What do you think?

[PrinterNinja]

Ever since I got my printer I've been disappointed with the choices for printing platforms. So I developed something that I think is a better alternative. I'd love to get some feedback and/or questions on this plate. Thanks!

Ninja Printer Plates

[jimc]

interesting. so abs bonds well enough to lock down corners on tall prints? does abs pop off easy when cool?

[PrinterNinja]

interesting. so abs bonds well enough to lock down corners on tall prints? does abs pop off easy when cool?

It's worked well with what I've printed on it so far. I would love to try some parts you've had trouble with to test it further. Can you share a file with me? I can work in a 5" cube. Thanks.

[NJ_Lifer]

Pretty sweet if you ask me. Nice job!

[jimc]

sure ninja, let me dig something up

[Brian_Krassenstein]

I was just looking at this, as a buddy asked me about it. Awesome platform. My concern would be the ability for the print to stay in place. It's kind of a give and take with this kind of thing. You want the print to stick well enough so that it would move during printing but you want it to easily come off once dried. Looks like a nice product for sure.

[PrinterNinja]

I was just looking at this, as a buddy asked me about it. Awesome platform. My concern would be the ability for the print to stay in place. It's kind of a give and take with this kind of thing. You want the print to stick well enough so that it would move during printing but you want it to easily come off once dried. Looks like a nice product for sure.

IN the past few months, we have continued to develop these plates and have come to a few conclusions and an improved design. The current design is more rigid than the early versions, but still flexible enough to help remove the print. Conclusions: The surface works fantastic with PLA. It will print great without heat. Even small ABS parts and nylon can be printed without heat. But for larger ABS parts, the shrinkage of the material continues to be a challenge. What it comes down to is that something has to give. The force of the material shrinking is incredibly strong. So one of four things happens (or a combination thereof): 1. The layers of the part itself pull apart. 2. The part pulls off the plate, especially at the edges or corners. 3. The layers of the printer plate separate slightly. 4. The flexible printer plate flexes up a little.

The fact that the plate pulls apart or flexes up sometimes is a testament to how good the adhesion is. This is with no added glue or hairspray or anything else. Getting a good first layer usually results in a very strong bond. But it can still pop off after it cools. What size ABS part can be printed is a function of several other variables so it's hard to define how big you can go.

After much experimentation, we believe the solution for printing larger ABS parts ultimately lies somewhere other than with the printing surface. Heated build chambers like industrial machines use is certainly one way to go, but I guess we'll have to wait for those patents to expire or else build them at home. Would love to hear some other opinions about that...what other solutions are there for printing big ABS without warping?

Wayne Huthmaker
PRINTinZ.com
(Formerly 3DPrinterNinja.com)