large foot-print jobs curling and coming unstuck

[Paul Herbert]

Hi All
Being relatively inexperienced, we are finding prints with large footprints are curling at the edges on both Z18 and Replicators, any tips. Extruder is @ 215c.

Cheers
Paul

[Roberto]

Hi there
Print large prints on Raft. This helps with adhesion and prevent warping.

[curious aardvark]

yep and as you don't have a heated bed - raft is a good idea.

The other way to go is use pet tape and thick layer of gluestick.

Not sure how you'd get the prints off the buildplate though. I usually heat my plate up so I can get a scraper under to lever.
Without a heated build plate some of my larger prints would robably still be stuck to the plate :-)

[Paul Herbert]

Hi All
Being relatively inexperienced, we are finding prints with large footprints are curling at the edges on both Z18 and Replicators, any tips. Extruder is @ 215c.

Cheers
Paul

We are using rafts, printing the same file on both z18 and replicator with the same result on both heated and u heated platforms

[Paul Herbert]

We are using rafts, printing the same file on both z18 and replicator with the same result on both heated and u heated platforms

Would relatively low humidity be an issue, 40% and under?

[k2kyo]

Heat is the issue.. as the plastics cool they contract, which makes them peel up. You just need something with stronger adhesion. PET tape + gluestick has been a popular choice, but it's hit/miss for some people.

Another option is a product called wolfbite nano from airwolf 3d.. it's relatively expensive compared to home brew solutions, but it does work extremely well for PLA.. a little will last you quite a while.

[Paul Herbert]

Heat is the issue.. as the plastics cool they contract, which makes them peel up. You just need something with stronger adhesion. PET tape + gluestick has been a popular choice, but it's hit/miss for some people.

Another option is a product called wolfbite nano from airwolf 3d.. it's relatively expensive compared to home brew solutions, but it does work extremely well for PLA.. a little will last you quite a while.

Thank you will give that a try, we are struggling to maintain ambient above 17degC I suspect this might be a cause.

[curious aardvark]

IT does depend what you are printing with.
My workshop temp is rarely above 18c in winter.
At the moment it's 20 and 57% humidity - which is pretty high it's usually between 40-50%

Excess humidity is supposed to effect pla - I've never noticed it and the stuff I use a lot doesn't get stored in bags anymore.

Another thing that might be occuring is the auto calibration might be leaving too large a gap.
Is that adjustable at all ?

[Chemvaldes]

Helper disks. I use them on the edges of my flat prints they really help. Used to be part of the Examples but now I grab them from Thingiverse and add one to each corner in the Makerware before hitting export.