I’m a brand new proud owner of a snapmaker 2. I was playing with an ortur laser master 2 for now. But I decided to upgrade my setup and discover some new territories.
I tried today my very first 3D prints. The vase print was perfect, indeed. My other tries needs… more attempts, I would say.
Anyway, each 3D print leaves filament residue around the print itself. Those PLA waste are hardly stuck on the bed and I wonder if I really have to scratch and destroy my bed each time I clean it after a print ?
I red it would be easier to remove when the bed is hot so here is my attempt with a 70°C bed.
I feel dumb having such difficulties to remove those plastic strings with this tool (is it a left-handed palette knife BTW ?). Do you confirm ? Am I missing something ? Do you have any tips for me ?
Printing a few layers overtop the stuck-on PLA will sometimes allow you to peel the residue free along with the new print.
Coating the bed with acid-free gluestick can make it easier to peel things free. Some people prefer hairspray. Blue painter’s tape on the bed is also an option, but it’s usually overkill. (These things are also adhesion aids—they help the plastic stick to the bed while you’re printing, as well as creating a film/intermediate layer that makes the finished print easier to remove.)
Luban’s skirts can be a pain to get off the bed. I find it’s better to do without them.
Make sure your nozzle isn’t too close to the bed—it may be trying to, well, embed the plastic into the surface (although usually when you do that, nothing comes out).
Skirts help to kind of ‘prime’ the head and get everything flowing right and a chance to look and see if it’s printing right. Just increase the skirt number to 2 or 3 and it will be thicker and much easier to remove.
@ElloryJaye is right. Usually when you can’t remove items cleanly it’s because you’re printing too close. Raise your z-offset. Gluestick works great and adds a little extra margin of error.
I don’t find the skirt is any more useful than just watching while it prints part of the first layer, but variable mileage and all that. Agree that thickening it up makes for easier removal.
If you do have to lightly hack at it to get it off, I would suggest getting some plastic razors. They’re about ten bucks for 100 of them with 2 scraper handles. They’re so nice for getting things off the print bed without damaging it.
I skip the skirt, since the SM primes before it starts printing. Brims can be difficult to remove though. I managed to damage my original’s print bed trying to get a too-thin brim off. I fixed the thumbscrews and recalibrated, and it was much easier to get off.
