PLA is by far and large, the single most popular FDM printing filament available today. PLA filament is very forgiving for newbies who don’t have much experience with this filament type.
It is always very important that the very first layer of your 3D print is always very strongly connected to the printer’s build platform so that the remaining portion of your 3D print can be built on this foundation. If the very first layer is not sticking properly to the build platform, it will definitely create problems later on.
As a general rule pla does not require a heated bed under normal circumstances. But here the thing to remember is that over adhesion can mean that your prints will stick to the bed that they may break once you try to pry them loose.
On the other hand, if they don’t stick to the bed properly, you will end up with under adhesion issues and the part won’t even get off the ground, so to speak.
As with all other filaments, when it comes to stickiness issues you should keep PLA’s limitations in mind when 3D printing with it and you should resist the urge to turn on the heat or too low a temperature setting. If you do so properly, the odds are that your 3D prints would be absolutely fine.
And you will be able to overcome the issue of the print not sticking to the build plate due to wrong bed temperature or the finish of the 60 c 3D part will be marred.
Furthermore, all PLA filaments are an awesome way to ease yourself into the world of 3D printing and experimentation. Even if the print is not sticking it is still a good learning experience.
First and foremost, this is because PLA is easier to work with than ABS (acrylonkitrile butadiene styrene) or even the highly popular PETG (polyethylene terephthalate) filament primarily because of PLA’s amazing adhesion qualities with regard to various temperature variations that also affect the structural integrity of the printed part.
Albeit having said that, it certainly does not mean that PLA would always adhere to the printer bed, as and when you want. If you suffer from such an eventuality, you may have to seek recourse to certain solutions. Let us check them out one by one:
PLA Print Not Sticking To the Print Bed: Solutions
A 3D print that does not stick to your build is not the end of the world. On the contrary, it just allows you to explore the 3D printing world by learning to fine tune your work and try bed leveling to do the needful. Apart from that you can also do the following:
Print with a Heated Bed
In order to avoid PLA print not sticking to the bed properly as well as many other issues with regard to 3D printing work, you will need to first of all find the ideal bed temperature settings. Here it is pertinent to note that, there is no magic settings recipe as such.
In this case you print bed temperature settings are going to be purely a matter of conjecture and experimentation till you fond the proverbial ‘Goldilocks Zone’ with regard to temperature settings for all of your printed builds. If the 3D printer is too cold, the print won’t adhere as such.
On the other hand, if it is too hot, the plastic of the filament will become too soft and it mays get peeled off the bed by extra filament lines stuck to the extruder nozzle tip. In fact, the nozzle plays a key role in regulating printing temperature. If the nozzle is the wrong temperature it can harm the printed part. You also need to check and see if you are using the right glass bed.
Print on Painters Tape
This is another excellent way to ensure that your PLA sticks properly to your bed. If your 3D printer does not include any sort of special build platform material on the bed that will help significantly with bed adhesion, there are still plenty of other options available. They will help ensure that the first layer will stick to the bed.
There is something that you can try using over your print bed. For example, PLA filaments tend to stick pretty well to something known as blue painters tape which is stuck on the bed. With its help your prints will come off quite cleanly with no visible lines on the bottom edge even when using multiple pieces of the stuff on the bed.
The stuff applies very cleanly and easily to the bed and plate surface and you can always just lift the thing off and also reapply the same on your 3D printing bed while using the printer. You just have to make sure that the first layer is always sticking properly on the bed. You can try different types of this stuff to make the perfect build. Just make sure the nozzle is the right height to make the desired prints.
You can also use these tapes for ABS as well and they would take care of the problem and would also give good and clean and even sure shot results, time after time.
Even with ABS, any other layer that comes after the first layer won’t need that much adhesion and you will not need it to be sticking to the bed or the build plate. Many people use different kinds of glass for the first thin layer. Such a glass bedded thin layer can be a boon for many printed parts.
It will stick right due to enhanced layer adhesion. In fact such good adhesion is possible at both high and low temperature settings.
Use a Glue Stick or Hairspray on the Bed
Many 3D printer users have also reported a lot of success by increasing the stickiness of their prints with the help of a temporary glue stick or even hair spray right on top of the build platforms.
As a matter of fact, glue sticks, hair spray, and various other sticky substances tend to work pretty decently if everything else that you have used has failed.
Use a Raft for Large Parts
Sometimes big parts don’t always like to stick well to the surface of the printer. If that is the case you can use your 3D slicer to add a raft under that particular part. This is a great option that can also be used to provide a much larger surface for bed adhesion. Apart from that, you can also utilize the bed leveling feature of your printer to get that first layer to stick well to the plate.
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Conclusion
If your PLA filament does not like to stick properly to the print bed, you can use any one of the above solutions to get rid of your adhesion problems and issue on a permanent basis. Good luck!
