Polycarbonate - prints better on satin (compared to smooth and textured sheets) - when
printing with PC often, glue stick layer is recommended to prevent possible damage to the
sheet.
Never clean the satin powder coated sheet with acetone!
Doing so will create
microfractures in the PEI coating and cause the surface to deteriorate.
6.3.2.4 Aftermarket sheets
The MK3S+ is a fully open source, so we expect other manufacturers to manufacture
compatible aftermarket sheets. Look for references online before buying them, or check with
our online support.
Sheets must be coated from both sides! If only one side is coated, the metal edge
on the bottom side can damage the heated bed surface when the protective
lacquer is scratched off.
6.3.3 Increasing the adhesion
On some special occasions, such as printing a tall object with a very small contact area (with
the print surface), you might need to increase the adhesion. Fortunately, PEI is a very
chemically resistant polymer and you can temporarily apply various adhesion solutions
without damaging it. This also applies to materials that would not stick to PEI otherwise, like
Nylon, etc.
Before applying anything onto the bed, consider using the
Brim option
in PrusaSlicer which
increases the surface area of the first layer.
For Nylon blends, a simple glue stick does the trick. The glue can be easily removed later
either using a window cleaner or dish soap water.
For ABS prints, ABS juice can be used and later cleaned with pure acetone. Be very gentle
when applying the juice and do so while the bed is cold. Prints will attach very strongly
. Do
not use ABS juice on the powder-coated spring steel sheet!
Prepared juice can also be purchased in our e-shop. Unfortunately, carriers do not
allow us to deliver any acetone-based products due to shipping constraints. In that
case, you get only the bottle and ABS from our e-shop and you have to source the
acetone locally.
6.3.4 Selftest
(kit only)
The purpose of the selftest routine is to check the most common errors when assembling
and connecting electronics and to help indicate any possible errors after the assembly. You
can run the
Selftest
from the Calibration menu on the LCD panel. This should not be
necessary on the assembled printers as those are pretested.
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