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Funny story. I bought a printer for my kids this year. An Anycubic Mega Zero with a magnetic base. It stays pretty calibrated but I have struggled with base a

Funny story. I bought a printer for my kids this year. An Anycubic Mega Zero with a magnetic base. It stays pretty calibrated but I have struggled with base adhesion once a few prints have been through it. IPA and abrasives have not fixed it...maybe I will get around to some other things...there have been a few random failures, but not many. We printed a few novelties items that came out OK. The real learning curve is about the options in the slicer, the trade off between printing time and accuracy etc. At some stage my kids printed some toy guns. Apparently one of those toys looked real to the phone engineer, the only person who had been in my house over lockdown. Later there was a knock on my door whereupon 4 police officers arrested me and began to search my house for 'section 1 prohibited firearms'. Just as officer 1 finished telling me this, the plastic gun was found. Officer 1 proceeded to give me a ticking off about the dangers of realistic models...while officers 2-4 marvelled at the 3d printer, much to the annoyance of officer 1. Officer 2 asked me if I had tried realistic finishing like with rub n buff, and got chatting about Adam Savage. I had to get a steam punk top hat I made with foam to demonstrate rub n buff to the others. This annoyed Officer 1 enough that he decided it was time to go! I am not quite sure whether I find the episode funny or not. It was pretty scary to begin with. I actually haven't found anything I wanted to print for a while. I make a lot of things but 3d printing is not always the best tool for the job.

davrosthedalek 5y ago
Have you tried covering the build plate with a glue stick? Always worked for me, at least for PLA.
- jimnotgym 5y ago
  I have heard of this and it is on my list of things to try. It seems counterintuitive to me that the glue wouldn't simply become a runny mess. Thank you for confirming it works. Just confirming we are talking about 'Pritt-Stick' when people say glue stick, are we?
  - davrosthedalek 5y ago
    I use elmers glue sticks (the purple ones which dry clear), but Pritt should work as well. It's slightly messy, especially since the purple color comes back if you wet the surface. Then again, this helps to make sure you got all of it off. The underside of the print is slightly tacky, but nothing a wet paper towel can't fix.
  - wasyl 5y ago
    Yep, that's what I've used with success as well
  - dicknuckle 5y ago
    Borosilicate Glass or PEI with spring steel backing (if your bed has the magnets vs the build surface having magnet material) work great in my first hand experience, both will give a much better surface adhesion than most others. Another cheaper option is G10 or FR4. I've got copper backed FR4 on my list of things to try. Apparently it has a more even heating due to he copper against the heated bed. I've been using the glass held on with Binder clips until recently when a few binders popped off and tossed the whole lot on the floor of my garage sending shards everywhere.
    - jimnotgym 5y ago
      Excellent tips. It is the build service that is magnetic I think, but I guess you could glue something similar to the glass...
  - numpad0 5y ago
    Pritt-Stick works, but I have yellow painter’s masking tape on plain sheet of aluminum. Bed’s not even particularly flat, but works for me, no mess. Couple things that comes off my head that caused my “adhesion problems” over past years were incorrect Z=0 height, uneven bed, rigidity issue on moving bed, and worn out nozzle. Worn out nozzle is easy to spot, if your extruded material curls up before dropping down, that nozzle is done. It had been more often an excessive or uneven force forcing print to depart from bed, than print simply detaching for lack of reasonable adhesion. Also, a last-resort workaround is to put the model in the air so first 5mm(1/4”) or more is just supports. Support material is more tolerant and top of it is naturally more flat and parallel. Downside is that the bottom of the print looks just bad.
- m4rtink 5y ago
  This usually has the downside that you have to clean/wash the plate after a few prints, as the glue otherwise accumulates to a height that interferes with printing.
throwaway2077 5y ago
is that a normal experience in all of the US or only certain states? sounds all kinds of fucked up. the random passerby ratting you out. cops showing up over a handgun, which as far as I know are legal to own in all states unless you're a felon. doesn't sound like land of the free at all.
- milliondollar 5y ago
  Don't think op is in US. Nobody would say "phone engineer" in the states.
  - wellthisisgreat 5y ago
    I thought wow some guest working at Apple snitched on your kids?
  - Yajirobe 5y ago
    Come on, this sort of cop behavior is limited to the US
    - rubyn00bie 5y ago
      That’s easily the most naive thing I’ll read today.
    - jimnotgym 5y ago
      Not at all, as I mentioned above I am in the UK. It is hard to get our police to react to anything...but any mention of firearms gets them excited. Interestingly I thought the phone engineer was more of a dick than the coppers.
      - throwaway2077 5y ago
        yeah, fuck that guy sideways.
    - marcellus23 5y ago
      Lol you’ve been shown to be wrong by the original commenter. Get your head out of your ass.
ravenstine 5y ago
I just looked up your printer and it looks extremely similar to the one that I have, which is the Creality Ender 3. Both appear to have an identical stock plate, which makes me think your base adhesion problems will almost certainly be addressed by switching to a spring-steel PEI plate. Although I didn't start having problems after only a few prints, the stock plate on the Ender 3 actually worked too well for me which often caused me to need to use a tool to pry and scrape prints off which resulted in damage and reduced adhesion. I switched to the PEI plate and all my problems related to adhesion went away. It's smoother than the stock plate but somehow PLA sticks pretty well to it, yet not so much that I can't easily remove prints with my fingers. No glue stick or hair spray needed so far. 3D printers really aren't good toys in and of themselves. They're fun for a little while and then you realize you don't need that many plastic doodads. But mine's been very useful for certain projects where I need to build custom parts. People sometimes forget that these printers are just tools like anything else. Fortunately they've become so cheap that it's not really that much of an expense to find that out for one's self. EDIT: Seriously, anyone with adhesion problems should get a PEI plate. I have had nothing but success with mine and I don't know why these printers don't just come with them in the first place.
- jimnotgym 5y ago
  All Good tips, thanks. I think I would get more use out of it if I acquired some basic CAD skills!
  - ravenstine 5y ago
    If you can code, OpenSCAD might be the best place to start. I have 3D modeling experience, but CAD is sort of a different beast and a skill of its own. Most of the free tools that exist are pretty complicated (FreeCAD makes me want to claw my eyes out) and the professional software packages are outrageously expensive. Once I found OpenSCAD, which is basically just modeling by code, I got way more use out of my 3D printer without just relying on other people's models. There's even an extension for VS Code that allows you to use it as an IDE for it with previews. This isn't to say that you can't take the time to learn more standard CAD software, but for what I'm doing I haven't had the time for that and I imagine you probably don't either. After a few hours of learning OpenSCAD and reading the cheat sheet, a whole world of possibilities was opened to me.
wlll 5y ago
> It stays pretty calibrated but I have struggled with base adhesion once a few prints have been through it. Try using a heated bed and enclosing the printer in a chamber to prevent draughts (anything will do, cardboard). A heated bed and IPA work for me.
- jimnotgym 5y ago
  I do have a heated bed. A cabinet would be nice as protection for the printer as well. One day!
  - wlll 5y ago
    For what it's worth, my Prusa doesn't have any issues with adhesion (heated bed, occasional clean, no cabinet). It could be a calibration issue (the Prusa does self levelling which might help?) or a slicer settings issue, not sure. Anyway, it is possible to get repeatable results.
dekhn 5y ago
pretty sure you weren't "arrested"- ah you said you're in UK, not the US.
- jimnotgym 5y ago
  Well he said the words, 'I'm arresting you on suspicion...'. He later 'de-arrested' me. He also told me that details of my arrest would remain in the Police database... which is nice
dTal 5y ago
Could this have been a good cop / bad cop routine? Officer 2 was encouraging you to break the law. It is an offence to manufacture, import or sell a realistic imitation firearm, or to modify an imitation firearm so that it becomes a realistic imitation firearm.
- sharklazer 5y ago
  Where? Making guns at home is as American as apple pie.
  - Someone1234 5y ago
    They're either in the UK or Germany. But I suspect the UK.
  - dTal 5y ago
    Is there some reason you assume "American" by default on the global information superhighway?
  - artursapek 5y ago
    This story can’t have happened in the US
bittercynic 5y ago
I had a similar experience where my first few prints worked great, and then had bed adhesion trouble. It turned out the filament had absorbed water from the air, and drying out the filament solved it.
tristor 5y ago
You’re telling this as a funny story, but to an outside observer that sounds horrifyingly dystopian. Someone improperly reported you like they were getting side-pay by the Stasi and four armed government agents showed up at your door to accost you over a personal possession within your own home. Absolutely nuts, and ironically why many people consider personal firearm possession essential to freedom.
- mdrzn 5y ago
  agree, from an european POV this story sounds crazy and I would be afraid to even invite random people inside my house for fear of repercussions that I'm unaware of. edit: apparently this didn't happen in the USA?
  - throwawayyy181 5y ago
    It sounds like the UK, it’s 100% legal to print guns in the USA
kingcharles 5y ago
Can't find funny bit in "funny story." *looks around nervously*

davrosthedalek 5y ago

Have you tried covering the build plate with a glue stick? Always worked for me, at least for PLA.

jimnotgym 5y ago
I have heard of this and it is on my list of things to try. It seems counterintuitive to me that the glue wouldn't simply become a runny mess. Thank you for confirming it works. Just confirming we are talking about 'Pritt-Stick' when people say glue stick, are we?
- davrosthedalek 5y ago
  I use elmers glue sticks (the purple ones which dry clear), but Pritt should work as well. It's slightly messy, especially since the purple color comes back if you wet the surface. Then again, this helps to make sure you got all of it off. The underside of the print is slightly tacky, but nothing a wet paper towel can't fix.
- wasyl 5y ago
  Yep, that's what I've used with success as well
- dicknuckle 5y ago
  Borosilicate Glass or PEI with spring steel backing (if your bed has the magnets vs the build surface having magnet material) work great in my first hand experience, both will give a much better surface adhesion than most others. Another cheaper option is G10 or FR4. I've got copper backed FR4 on my list of things to try. Apparently it has a more even heating due to he copper against the heated bed. I've been using the glass held on with Binder clips until recently when a few binders popped off and tossed the whole lot on the floor of my garage sending shards everywhere.
  - jimnotgym 5y ago
    Excellent tips. It is the build service that is magnetic I think, but I guess you could glue something similar to the glass...
- numpad0 5y ago
  Pritt-Stick works, but I have yellow painter’s masking tape on plain sheet of aluminum. Bed’s not even particularly flat, but works for me, no mess. Couple things that comes off my head that caused my “adhesion problems” over past years were incorrect Z=0 height, uneven bed, rigidity issue on moving bed, and worn out nozzle. Worn out nozzle is easy to spot, if your extruded material curls up before dropping down, that nozzle is done. It had been more often an excessive or uneven force forcing print to depart from bed, than print simply detaching for lack of reasonable adhesion. Also, a last-resort workaround is to put the model in the air so first 5mm(1/4”) or more is just supports. Support material is more tolerant and top of it is naturally more flat and parallel. Downside is that the bottom of the print looks just bad.
m4rtink 5y ago
This usually has the downside that you have to clean/wash the plate after a few prints, as the glue otherwise accumulates to a height that interferes with printing.

throwaway2077 5y ago

is that a normal experience in all of the US or only certain states? sounds all kinds of fucked up. the random passerby ratting you out. cops showing up over a handgun, which as far as I know are legal to own in all states unless you're a felon. doesn't sound like land of the free at all.

milliondollar 5y ago
Don't think op is in US. Nobody would say "phone engineer" in the states.
- wellthisisgreat 5y ago
  I thought wow some guest working at Apple snitched on your kids?
- Yajirobe 5y ago
  Come on, this sort of cop behavior is limited to the US
  - rubyn00bie 5y ago
    That’s easily the most naive thing I’ll read today.
  - jimnotgym 5y ago
    Not at all, as I mentioned above I am in the UK. It is hard to get our police to react to anything...but any mention of firearms gets them excited. Interestingly I thought the phone engineer was more of a dick than the coppers.
    - throwaway2077 5y ago
      yeah, fuck that guy sideways.
  - marcellus23 5y ago
    Lol you’ve been shown to be wrong by the original commenter. Get your head out of your ass.

ravenstine 5y ago

I just looked up your printer and it looks extremely similar to the one that I have, which is the Creality Ender 3. Both appear to have an identical stock plate, which makes me think your base adhesion problems will almost certainly be addressed by switching to a spring-steel PEI plate. Although I didn't start having problems after only a few prints, the stock plate on the Ender 3 actually worked too well for me which often caused me to need to use a tool to pry and scrape prints off which resulted in damage and reduced adhesion. I switched to the PEI plate and all my problems related to adhesion went away. It's smoother than the stock plate but somehow PLA sticks pretty well to it, yet not so much that I can't easily remove prints with my fingers. No glue stick or hair spray needed so far. 3D printers really aren't good toys in and of themselves. They're fun for a little while and then you realize you don't need that many plastic doodads. But mine's been very useful for certain projects where I need to build custom parts. People sometimes forget that these printers are just tools like anything else. Fortunately they've become so cheap that it's not really that much of an expense to find that out for one's self. EDIT: Seriously, anyone with adhesion problems should get a PEI plate. I have had nothing but success with mine and I don't know why these printers don't just come with them in the first place.

jimnotgym 5y ago
All Good tips, thanks. I think I would get more use out of it if I acquired some basic CAD skills!
- ravenstine 5y ago
  If you can code, OpenSCAD might be the best place to start. I have 3D modeling experience, but CAD is sort of a different beast and a skill of its own. Most of the free tools that exist are pretty complicated (FreeCAD makes me want to claw my eyes out) and the professional software packages are outrageously expensive. Once I found OpenSCAD, which is basically just modeling by code, I got way more use out of my 3D printer without just relying on other people's models. There's even an extension for VS Code that allows you to use it as an IDE for it with previews. This isn't to say that you can't take the time to learn more standard CAD software, but for what I'm doing I haven't had the time for that and I imagine you probably don't either. After a few hours of learning OpenSCAD and reading the cheat sheet, a whole world of possibilities was opened to me.

wlll 5y ago

> It stays pretty calibrated but I have struggled with base adhesion once a few prints have been through it. Try using a heated bed and enclosing the printer in a chamber to prevent draughts (anything will do, cardboard). A heated bed and IPA work for me.

jimnotgym 5y ago
I do have a heated bed. A cabinet would be nice as protection for the printer as well. One day!
- wlll 5y ago
  For what it's worth, my Prusa doesn't have any issues with adhesion (heated bed, occasional clean, no cabinet). It could be a calibration issue (the Prusa does self levelling which might help?) or a slicer settings issue, not sure. Anyway, it is possible to get repeatable results.

dekhn 5y ago

pretty sure you weren't "arrested"- ah you said you're in UK, not the US.

jimnotgym 5y ago
Well he said the words, 'I'm arresting you on suspicion...'. He later 'de-arrested' me. He also told me that details of my arrest would remain in the Police database... which is nice

dTal 5y ago

Could this have been a good cop / bad cop routine? Officer 2 was encouraging you to break the law. It is an offence to manufacture, import or sell a realistic imitation firearm, or to modify an imitation firearm so that it becomes a realistic imitation firearm.

sharklazer 5y ago
Where? Making guns at home is as American as apple pie.
- Someone1234 5y ago
  They're either in the UK or Germany. But I suspect the UK.
- dTal 5y ago
  Is there some reason you assume "American" by default on the global information superhighway?
- artursapek 5y ago
  This story can’t have happened in the US

bittercynic 5y ago

I had a similar experience where my first few prints worked great, and then had bed adhesion trouble. It turned out the filament had absorbed water from the air, and drying out the filament solved it.

tristor 5y ago

You’re telling this as a funny story, but to an outside observer that sounds horrifyingly dystopian. Someone improperly reported you like they were getting side-pay by the Stasi and four armed government agents showed up at your door to accost you over a personal possession within your own home. Absolutely nuts, and ironically why many people consider personal firearm possession essential to freedom.

mdrzn 5y ago
agree, from an european POV this story sounds crazy and I would be afraid to even invite random people inside my house for fear of repercussions that I'm unaware of. edit: apparently this didn't happen in the USA?
- throwawayyy181 5y ago
  It sounds like the UK, it’s 100% legal to print guns in the USA

kingcharles 5y ago

Can't find funny bit in "funny story." *looks around nervously*