Filament will not stick right anymore

[curious aardvark]

I think it's mainly down to the high temps you need for abs. For whatever reason a lot of us start out with abs, so the beds get a real hammer in the expansion and contraction stakes right from the start.
The knp has a 4 mm aluminium plate and that's stayed flat - but it's never been heated beyond 60, mostly it gets used with an unheated bed.

Can you get aluminium bolts/screws ? would be interesting to try 3mm aluminium bed with aluminium fastenings and see if it makes any difference.

[Les]

Thnx to all with comments and suggestions fr ejcruz, Aardvark and Geoff

I have been away for several days and will be out all next week (aug7-14) but some updates follow as a kind of summary to your comments and added some detail in one lump:

1-Filament dia is what it is supposed to be.
2-I have changed out the 3M plate cover pad once as it had cracked but I think that was caused by a reading of using acetone and alcohol for a thorough cleaning between prints which removed the protective coating on the pad cover and caused cracks in the 3M plate cover and I did it the hard way by not heating the plate first but removing with a putty knife, cleaning the plate with acetone- What a mess but it was OK at the start until this episode.
3-I am still using 3M masking tape first and then heating to 100 degrees and removing to help the stick & release process. It may be unnecessary but I am reluctant to stop a process that has worked in the past but maybe it is just plain wrong and unnecessary
4-I have cleaned the plate only once recently with alcohol after the 3M pad replacement and felt some un-eveness like small waves as I wiped the surface which makes me wonder if over time I left some residue after the first R&R of the 3M plate cover and it is "growing" over time- It is slight but definitely present but seems evenly distributed.
5-I have not had the "heart:" to replace the pad again but...
6-I put a machinist straight edge on the plate (with cover) moved front and back and corner to corner, used a flashlight to shine under the bottom edge and found only very minor light pattern variations way thinner than anything in my shop to measure same (I not longer have the super thin feeler gauges around but much less gap tham a piece of printer paper)
7-I am willing to replace the plate or to overlay it but do not know where to go for a reliable part(s) that will fit - Any hints in this arena?
8-I am willing to go to glass but read several diff ideas and approaches so do not know the better/best alternatives - Any hints in this area?

Once again, thnx for taking your time to respond to my problem.

[3dex ltd]

I would echo what has been said above. However, I would also suggest cleaning the print bed. This can be done with water. It has really helped us out a lot!

[curious aardvark]

so lets get this straight.
you put blue tape on, heat the bed and then take the tape off ?

Why not simply use a glue stick ?
Much cheaper than the tape and by the sound of it you've made the bed uneven with the tape and cleaning gig anyway.

I did try glass, but to be honest you're not printing directly on the glass, so any flat surface will do.

Currently I've for a 3mm aluminium plate on top of the original warped plate - local aluminium engineering firm made it for me (clients of mine). If you had to buy one it would only be a few dollars.

On top of my aluminium I have a sheet of printbite.
Highly recommended as long as you're not using certain filament types - list on page 3 in this thread: http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...ntbite-surface

great for pla & petg

[Les]

Yes I am using the Blue tape form a prior forum thread donated by an unknown at this point
Never heard of glue stick being used - Is there a particular brand you have found successful?
Do you preheat and apply glue stick or cold apply and let the plate preheat though the print process?
There are all kinds of Alum. did you get a particular type?