Anyone used Printbite surface ?

[curious aardvark]

So I'm browsing 3dfilaprint as I haven't bought any filament for a while and i have that itch, and see this stuff:
http://shop.3dfilaprint.com/printbit...0mm-1807-p.asp

It sounds good.
But it's not exactly cheap and this is the first I've heard of it.

So has anyone else seen/heard of/used this ?

Got to admit I am tempted - but £25 ?
Hmm, got to think about it.
http://mutley3d.com/PrintBite/

It sounds seriously good.

PrintBite does not degrade over time nor does it need replacing. It is extremely tough and will survive even the worst of head crashes. We have had several pieces of this material out in the field with beta testers and all results have been positive and problem free. There is no claim that PrintBite is the "holy grail" of printing surfaces (although it comes close), but it is claimed to be the easiest to use and most effective versatile all round printing surface that is available today! PrintBite will allow printing of the following materials on a clean hot level bed without substrates

• PLA (including CF, metalised and other additive formulas)
• ABS (including CF, metalised and other additive formulas)
• Nylon (Taulman range and others)
• Woodlay and stone filaments
• Flexibles such as NinjaFlex and Filaflex
• PET filaments
• PVA support filament
• HIPS

PrintBite features...

• ability to adhere the vast majority of commonly available materials in useage today
• elimination of the use of adhesives, tapes, lotions potions or other substrate application,
• ability to allow these materials to self release or be easily removed once the bed has cooled
• provide a finish on the base of the printed part that is smooth, flat, aesthically acceptable and pleasing to the the eye
• ability to print without brims and without squish to reduce or eliminate post processing of parts before assembly
• zero warp or distortion due to lift or curl at the base of the part
• ease of use

PrintBite will

• allow improved ease of printing
• eliminate need for adhesives and potions, tapes and messy preparation
• allow easy removal of parts once printed and cooled without tack
• allow warp free printing of the widest possible range of materials
• improve bottom layer adhesion and printing speeds
• postively impact upon your whole 3d printing experience
• increase print success rate
• allow for some tolerance in poorly levelled beds

PrintBite will not perform miracles or solve issues related to

• Poor heatbed performance
• innacurate temperatures
• Loose belts
• Poor quality filament
• Dirty bed surface
• Poor Heated Bed performance
• Poor Extruder performance
• Poor Hotend performance

Oh bugger, you know I'm going to try it :-)
Mind you £25 is around 125 glue sticks. That's a lot of glue sticks lol

It's the ease of removal that I'm looking for. getting stuff to stick is not an issue. But having things richochet around the room when they suddenly unstick under pressure happens fairly regularly :-)

[mikethebomber]

Not to be the devil on your shoulder or anything, but that really looks/sounds like PEI to me. Especially since you have to use tape to adhere it on. Don't know much about Industrial supply in the UK, but you can get the stuff through Mcmaster carr or amazon in the US for significantly cheaper.
I did a review of a type of PEI build surface that came pre-backed with adhesive. I got the samples a few months ago, and really put them through the ringer so far, with multiple prints a day with no seeable issues. You can see the video here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGkE8faPmh0 Or you may have seen it here on my old channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJd0_lcbiMA
Not saying for absolute, but from the pictures vs. the video, you can see why I came to this conclusion.
I don't know, you may want to check it out, is all I'm saying.

[curious aardvark]

Hmm, I have pei tape and it's ok but bloody useless for any longish prints - with pla anyway. Plus no good unheated.

This printbite stuff is supposed to work without heating.

Guess it could be pei - but the pei tape i have definitely doesn't do what they claim for this.

Ah:

What is PrintBite

PrintBite is a high grade FR4 class print surface m
aterial that is also Flame Retardant.
It is used in many industries and applications wher
e its mechanical and electrical
properties are of benefit. This includes PCB fabric
ation, electrical cabinets, railways,
mechanical components, model fabrication and much m
ore.
There are many grades, manufacturers and outlets of
this material around the world.
It is made to varying standards and degrees of qual
ity and performance, and the
recipe and chemical makeup varies greatly between t
hem. During our testing and
research a lot of the sample materials in this grou
p classification did not work at all
whilst others showed promise but were shown to be u
nreliable in their adhesive
properties during extended print times and or acros
s a wider range of materials.
Surface finish was also found to vary greatly with
imperfections or uneveness. One
particular supplier material stood out from the res
t. This is what PrintBite is, supplied
for the purpose of 3D Printing alone.
PrintBite is taken from the highest quality manufac
turer that could be found and a
lot of work has gone into identifying not only the
adhesive printing properties of our
suppliers product, but also our suppliers standards
to ensure only the highest quality
product is supplied and passed onto the customer. W
orking with suppliers can be
challenging at the best of time.
PrintBite supplied to customers will have gone thro
ugh a specific inspection and
selection process. The surfaces will be free of ble
mishes and surface undulation and
be perfectly flat. It will also be free of hairline
marking as much as can be reasonably
possible. Sheets with excessive marking are rejecte
d and only the cleanest sheets are
supplied.

So you're probably right.

[mikethebomber]

Yeah, I'm thinking there is a difference, perhaps due to material thickness. I've been using a .010" thick sheet for all my testing, unheated bed, no issues.

[curious aardvark]

well after fighting a mould last night, I have to get something that gives better print release.

So now just work out which one to buy. filaprint has adhesive back. but is a lot more expensive than the mutley stuff that doesn't have adhesive.
Wonder if I could just use pei tape at the corners rather than glue it down permamently.
Got to be worth a try for an extra £4 :-)

Okay ordered the 250x250 from mutley3d.

They also make the flexidrives - great bit of kit that gives you direct drive control of the extruder with the speed and lightweight of a bowden design.

Stay tuned for the printbite review.

[mikethebomber]

well after fighting a mould last night, I have to get something that gives better print release.

So now just work out which one to buy. filaprint has adhesive back. but is a lot more expensive than the mutley stuff that doesn't have adhesive.
Wonder if I could just use pei tape at the corners rather than glue it down permamently.
Got to be worth a try for an extra £4 :-)

Okay ordered the 250x250 from mutley3d.

They also make the flexidrives - great bit of kit that gives you direct drive control of the extruder with the speed and lightweight of a bowden design.

Stay tuned for the printbite review.

Good deal, sir.
Looking forward to the review.

[curious aardvark]

Also added a roll of the vinyl floor tape for £3.34 http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...=sr_1_2&sr=8-2
Click the '5 new from' link for the same thing at £3.34 inc p&p

so overall for 250x250 printbite and tape - if needed. Hell i can always use a good double sided tape - £24.34

So no filament this month, but with luck I'll be able to remove moulds without breaking bits (if you're going to hit things with a hammer - try not to hit the smaller bits that might break ;-) or bouncing the bloody things off the ceiling.

Plus I tried some polycarbonate the other day and it don't stick to pva - I do have a little square of buildtak that came with it - probably similiar stuff to printbite.
Hopefully it'll all get here next week sometime. Suddenly got busy with work this weekend.
(yes doing nothing but watching the last three 6 nations rugby matches on saturday does count as 'work')

But I will be working all day Sunday.

[curious aardvark]

not here yet :-(
got the tape.

I did pay £3 p&p for somethig that probably weighs an ounce or so. was expecting it today.
oh well.

[Alibert]

FR4 usually refers to the substrate from which PCB's are manufactured? So is it a non-copper plated PCB substrate?

[curious aardvark]

I'll tell you when i get it :-)