Anycubic Ultrabase
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Hello everyone,
Looking for help with my Ultrabase as I am having adhesion issues with PETG.
After sanding the surface a bit with 300-600 grit sandpaper adhesion is getting better but the filament still has a tendency to ball up and stick to the nozzle instead of stick to the build surface. I have tried temp ranges for the plate from 70-95, as well as filament temps from 235-247. The filament temps haven't changed much aside from major stringing.
Does anyone have any tips or advice for using the ultrabase or did I get a dud?
Thanks in advance!
almost an engineer
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@red-sand-robot
I have an ultrabase and what has worked for me when printing petg, is cleaning the bed with alcohol, baby stepping the starting height down a bit (-0.05) to get a better stick and printing with a brim for more surface grip. Also, once you do get a good first layer, you have to be careful with part cooling. Even a little change in bed temp will cause the part to let go.
Oh, and be careful not to scrape the bed with the nozzle, the ultrabase coating will clog it up pretty good. -
PETG likes a bit higher bed than PLA (by 0.05mm) , first layer speed 10mm/s, bed temp 70C, hotend 230C(Hatcbox PETG), first layer width 150%. Had the same problem as you with regular 100% width.
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I'm not sure how ultrabase differs from regular PEI but for me I find PETG likes a really hot bed with a coat of PVA glue stick and very slow speeds for the first layer. And I've found that using 0.4 layer height with an additional 0.1mm baby stepping let's the plastic drizzle out onto the bed and not get stuck to the nozzle. That's really the key. I also use a nozzle sick so there's very little exposed to get stuck to. I like Cura for PETG because it gives you the option for seperate speed accel and jerk settings for first layer print and travel. A super slow and steady first layer is key.
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A bit off topic I know but 3DLac on glass beats all IMO. I'm currently printing new printer parts with PETG at 80mm/sec. First layer speed is 80% of that so 64mm/sec. 0.5mm nozzle, 0.3mm layer height, no baby stepping, 220deg C hot end, 60 deg C bed. I've even printed PLA at up to 300mm/sec first layer when doing pressure advance testing. Proof is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HhxSiv5ajs&t=633s (watch from about 2:30.
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@red-sand-robot said in Anycubic Ultrabase:
After sanding the surface a bit with 300-600 grit sandpaper adhesion is getting better but the filament still has a tendency to ball up and stick to the nozzle instead of stick to the build surface. I have tried temp ranges for the plate from 70-95, as well as filament temps from 235-247. The filament temps haven't changed much aside from major stringing.
Z0 isn't close enough and purple glue stick can help. I've found that if you have the nozzle too close, PETG sticks very hard to PEI.
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I've leveled with a BLTouch to get a consistent nozzle offset of 0.05mm when Z=0; I'd rather not use a brim as I would rather not have to trim pieces from the final print.
I had one success at 75C and letting the bed sit at that temp for around 10mins to ensure the glass was at least approaching that temp (since glass isn't a great thermal conductor). Then every attempt after failed.
About to go back to using a bed sticker on my original MK3 aluminum heated bed as this is becoming a hassle and I want reliability.
Support from Anycubic has been average, going to test a Gcode they sent me to see if their settings work any better than mine.
I do have to say when it did work it was amazing to actually hear the print releasing from the bed and being able to just brush it off with your hand. I feel as though Anycubic has some quality control issues with the surface and definitely needs to have more documentation concerning the proper settings for adhesion.
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On my ultrabase, for PETG I set the bed at 90c (actual temp will be 10c lower), and start with the nozzle 0.1mm higher than for PLA. I am going to replace the ultrabase bed with glass and only use 3dlac.
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I tried everything but PEI for PETG, because I had read that it can stick too much to PEI.
I finally tried PEI and never looked back. I clean with 99% alcohol in between prints and set the temperatures around 82c. I set the nozzle height with printer paper. I mostly print Esun PETG. No gluestick. No hairspray.
Never had an issue removing the prints. Have only had an occasional problems with warping on large thick parts with very dense infill.
In my experience PETG likes moderate temperatures. I think I had some adhesion issues a while back from temperatures set too high.
PETG adhesion can be tricky if you don't have slicer settings dialed in for it. In simplify 3D, I go for a 150% first layer height, 120% first layer width 35% first layer speed (might be able to go faster) and for PETG I set the outline direction to inside out (Don't do this with PLA). I had problems getting PETG dialed in in Cura.
I do have an ultra base (I took the adhesive off so I can switch it with other surfaces) I don't like gluing things down because then your left with a mess when you have to change it out.
I only really printed with it once. The PCB heater is nice though. They are a bit more powerful than the MKII boards (at least the 220x220 version is) and I have run mine set at 118C (measured with IR thermometer to get minimum 110c) for abs, no problem. If you have to run a PCB heater due to weight considerations, these are worth it just for the PCB.
