What You Need To Know About Bed Adhesion When 3D Printing

The capacity of 3D printed plastic to “stick” to the build plate when printing is known as bed adhesion. You can obtain curved, shifted, and even dangerous results when 3D prints don’t remain in position on the build plate. Makers employ a variety of 3D printing surfaces to aid in the adhesion of various materials to the printing plate. Aluminum, stainless steel, glass, BuildTak, Kapton tape, PET tape, masking tape, or PEI film are the most frequently used materials in 3D printers. However, there isn’t a particular bed type that works best for every sort of filament adhesion. Here is what you need to know about bed adhesion when 3D printing.

Wetting The Build Plate Often Helps Adhesion

The ability of a liquid to conform to and adhere to a solid surface is referred to as wetting. During printing, when filament is extruded onto a build plate, it strives to conform to the build surface. The plastic should ideally adhere to a construction surface with a large surface area between it and the plastic. The surface area contacting the construction plate is large for large pieces. As a result, the print’s ability to adhere to the build plate is usually quite good. As a result, adhesion aids like as brims are frequently applied to the base of prints to improve the contact surface area. This significantly improves adherence.

3D-Printed Rafts Are Also Key

Rafts are utilized to take out the print’s possibly problematic bottom layer and replace it with a platform that is easier to print. A raft takes the hit for your print if you’re encountering bed adhesion issues. It should be noted that the raft’s print finish may appear to be bad. This is due to the part being printed on top of the raft. This may be the greatest approach to improve adhesion if the surface contacting the raft does not need to be perfect.

A Clean Build Plate Is Essential for Good Bed Adhesion

The foundation of a good stick is a decent surface. If in doubt, wipe the build plate each time before printing with rubbing alcohol and a microfiber cloth. Naturally, you should double-check that the construction plate material you’re using is rubbing alcohol friendly. (You should be alright if you use glass, which is a typical bed material.) This prevents impurities on the build plate from interfering with the plastic’s adhesion to the build surface.

We hope you have enjoyed our article covering what you need to know about bed adhesion when 3D printing! While these tips can go a long way, bed adhesion will often still depend on the type of filament that you are using. And as such, knowing what the best 3D-printing speed and temperature for your filaments will often yield better results!