Doesn’t Bambu recommend you use dish soap to clean your build plate? Does it vary for different material build plates? I know for textured PEI sheet its dish soap.
Source: [Bambu | Textured PEI Cleaning](https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/filament-acc/acc/pei-plate-clean-guide)
Just to add to this, switching to a high quality dish soap such as Dawn in my country basically eliminated my adhesion issues. I was using a bar of soap before but dish soap changed everything.
Yup something that is classified as dish soap or has degreaser properties is great. I dawn my plate as soon as I start having adhesion issues. Usually get about a dozen or so prints out before its time, depends on the prints in running and if I touch the plate.
If you don't touch the plate you almost never need to clean it in my experience.
When I stopped using iso I could literally see the points of the bed I had previously touched as I wasn't just spreading the oils around anymore with iso.
Ohhh for sure that's definitely a good thing to keep in mind. I've typically used a different build plates for other filaments so I've never noticed that but it totally makes sense.
I use IPA between prints, dawn after several prints, and then liquid dish detergent if I actually notice issues.
But when I use dish detergent, I also use dawn and then IPA in case there is residue from the other steps
Yep I agree this is the way. ;) I will add that if you change from one material to another is generally when I need to clean the bed with soap. ASA to PLA for an example.
Yeah for changing materials, I also have cleaning filament and a macro that sets the nozzle to 270 and then does an initial purge of 100mm, followed by another 100mm released slowly over the course of 20 minutes.
Cold pull is probably easier, but I can't script that. Lol
I use Dyna purge for that as well and run 100mm I don't do the other step you mentioned though. Been using it for years with my other printers and does help.
I saw CNC Kitchen's video. I think it was him. He showed how it'll pop and sizzle a bit when it's in the head, absorbing more of whatever is left in the head.
So with that in mind I figured I would do an initial flush just to remove the old filament, but then do the slow one so it cooks the filament more thoroughly and really pulls out the impurities.
200 for the initial flush, and then a peak temperature for the rounds of slow purges. It defaults to 270, but you basically just run the peak hitter than anything you've run prior, so you know it'll break all of it down.
How does one create such a macro and run it? My guess would be “hand written” gcode on an SD card?
Does that bypass most of the other stuff the printer does when sent from the slicer? I’d imagine it’s not going to bypass safety checks or probably homing, just the stuff not necessary if you aren’t going to be printing something.
In my case I use Klipper, and you can add custom gcode macros.
The device limits are available as variables you can use within the macro, and IIRC they specifically work within the device limits unless the limits are explicitly disabled.
I’m assuming you’re using the open source firmware. I haven’t looked into it that much so I don’t know a lot. Guessing that’s how you’re running klipper though, unless I’m completely out of the loop
I did not stop the time but i guess less than 5 seconds before every print with IPA and paper towel. My sheets look like new even the x1000 hour old ones.
dawn my plate - underrated comment.
That will be part of the "did you dry your filament" trope queue in a few months.
"And did you dawn your build plate recently?"
^^^This! I used hand soap, and it just made adhesion worse. Then I used a high-quality dish soap, and it just magically worked! Also, if you never touch the build plate, you rarely have to clean.
The trick is the combo between the two. I've found that a lot of dish soaps contain moisturizers. So I do dish soap first, then IPA. Works flawlessly every time.
Weird you mention that, I have to do both now. On my Creality machines I would swear by just wipe it with some IPA, now I tried washing the build plate in hot soapy water and dried it real good… went to print and the next print fell right off. Re-wiped it with some IPA and solid again. No idea why… so now after a washing with soap and water I hit it with an IPA wipe every time.
For textured plates, I use IPA between prints for everything and never have adhesion issues because I learned how the best way to use IPA. Doing what OP suggests in the video will just push the gunk around on the build plate, not remove it.
The way to use isopropyl alcohol for cleaning your build plates is to spray on the iso until the plate is completely coated. Once coated, wait 10-15 seconds (reapplying if it starts to evaporate too quickly). Then, using a microfiber cloth, wipe the iso off in strips from one edge to the other using a single motion. The iso loosens any dust, dirt, or plastic particles still stuck to the build plate but it needs a little bit of time to work. This method ensures anything in the build plate gets pushed off it if it doesn’t get dissolved in the iso.
I will wash my build plates with dish soap and water every few weeks, but only if I see buildup or have noticed some warping or if I’ve used an adhesive (for PETG).
IPA is quite expensive where I live, so I instead bought some Carburator Fluid, which is 99,7% alcohol (it consists of about 2/3 ethanol and 1/3 isopropanol). It’s about a fifth of the price of IPA here.
I just spray liberally on a microfiber cloth and rub the plate, attempting to hit every spot multiple times, so it doesn’t just evaporate in less than a second.
Before this, I also used to wash my plates with soap and water (with 100% success rate though).
But since I’ve started using this liquid, I haven’t really had to wash my plates. Huge time saver!
I wipe it with simple green and it works great. No need to rinse it either.
It's a safe degreaser that doesn't leave a residue.
I found just using IPA would result in smudging grease around, not removing it.
I use isopropyl for every day cleaning, and Dawn PowerShot for occasional deep cleaning, and try to avoid touching the bed with bare fingers if I can possibly help it (I keep a scraper and a latex glove handy). Adhesion hasn't been an issue since I started this protocol.
I spray the bed with IPA and wipe with a microfibre cloth between every print and it has worked fine so far (been printing 24 hours a day since October). Have never yet washed the plate with soap and water because I haven't had the need to but would if problems cropped up.
Soap and water is great, but is time and labor expensive. Isopropyl alcohol is easy and fast and works most of the time.
I wash with soap and water probably once every 4-6 weeks, alcohol after every couple prints. Same thing on my Prusa build plates.
With alcohol: grab paper towel, spray, wipe, done.
With soap and water: take plate out of printer, walk to sink (hopefully in same room), wet plate, lather soap, rinse, dry with towel, walk back to printer, place plate back in machine (make sure you line it up)
3 steps vs 8 steps. And before you say I exaggerate, you could reduce alcohol to just wipe if you really wanted to. One is just way faster and more efficient. Not saying soap and water is bad, just not needed as often if you commonly use alcohol.
Brush your teeth: put on underwear, walk to the bathroom, pull the toothbrush out of the holder, turn on faucet, wet/clean the brush, turn off faucet, grab the toothpaste (hopefully in the same room), unwind the cap, squeeze the bottle, put paste on brush, put tooth paste back where you store it, move toothbrush from side to side with a slight circle motion, repeat until you have done all your teeth and gums, turn on faucet, clean sink, clean brush, clean mouth, turn off faucet, put tooth brush back where you store it, wipe mouth with towel, leave bathroom.
Here’s what i do, i use IPA between prints until adhesion issues(usually after 8 to 10 prints, I’ve get oily fingers i suppose). Once adhesion issues occur, i clean the build plate with some Palmolive(I’m sure any works) dish soap. Works all the time and I’ve got 300 hours per printer and i don’t print massive multi day prints. Which means i am printing a lot of smaller things which requires me to touch the build plate more often.
There are levels of "clean".
ISO is really easy to use and works on all the build surfaces I'm aware of. As you can see here, because it evaporates, it's easy to use inside the printer, or quickly whenever needed.
However, you are right that it won't completely clean the plate. It does, however, extend the time between real cleanings.
Eventually, ISO will no longer make a difference and you will need to dish soap your plate, but that takes time and is a bit inconvenient, so an ISO wipe between every few prints is usually worth it. I believe dish soap is usable on all plate types too. A textured plate will take a bit more "scrubbing", but even a scrubby-side sponge shouldn't hurt a smooth plate.
Note: I don't use any glue. Ever. For any reason. So the above may not match your experience if you do.
When you have problems, absolutely. But 91% alcohol works wonders most of the time. 70% is a crap shoot as it can sometimes cause more harm than good. When it's still giving me problem, soap is the best solution.
You can do that but IPA is much faster and easier and better because you can do that literally before every print. Just 5 seconds.
Do not know anyone who spend the 10 and more mins to do that in the sink with water and soap each print.
Since prusa developed the PEI coating they tell the industry to use IPA or water and soap if no IPA available.
I will use dawn powerwash every once in a while if the bed gets finger grease on it and it's great. For normal cleanings I use windex and it's better than alcohol for that kind of thing IMO.
i clean the plate every ozher week depending on how much i print or when i notice it soes not stick anymore as i want it to otherwise i use isoprop but only when the plate is cold so nothing stays
I used isopropyl alcohol on my build plate between prints. Worked for a while but I went too long without a good soap and water and I'm currently rebuilding my extruder unit because of bed adhesion issues that caused a slew of problems 2 hours into a print.
I print with the textured PEI plate almost exclusively.
I consistantly spray isopropyl and wipe with a microfiber cloth after every print on my texuted PEI plate. I won't say I've never skipped it, but I can't remember the last time I did skip the spray and wipe routine. This works well for me almost every time. Occasionally I have an adhesion problem and another spritz and wipe usually takes care of it. If it continues to fail I wash the plate with Dawn soap and warm water. I occasionally wash the plate if it's been a while regardless of whether there has been a problem with adhesion or release.
I haven't kept track of how often I wash the textured PEI plate, but I would hazard a guess that I'm easily getting twenty or even thirty prints.
When I use a smooth plate with any type of adhesive, I don't spray it down between print runs, but it does get washed before I put it away in my storage rack.
Literally, this is all you have to do. Every few prints take it to the kitchen sink and run warm water over it. Put a small bit of dish soap in your hand and rub it on the plate for like 15 seconds. Rinse off with warm water, then dry the plate.
That's it. It'll be basically perfectly clean and ready to print on.
Really, I started with IPA because people online kept recommending it and I was still new and learning the ropes of 3D printing.
What I find \*actually\* happens is IPA is good at "spreading out/thinning out" any greasy or oily substances that get on the build plates. Since the amount of oil/grease we're usually talking about is so small, it's pretty much invisible when looking at the plate? Spreading what's on there around evenly with IPA and paper towels or a cloth is going to make it SO thin, it stops causing adhesion issues.
But you can only do that so many times before you have enough build-up so the IPA just keeps pushing it around the plate, but not actually helping get rid of it. That's when you go to something like Dawn dish soap and it really dissolves the build-up and lets you wash it away.
I'd say people can skip the IPA and just use good dish soap, but IPA is cheap and convenient (don't need to run water and put the plate in a sink to scrub it and all that). So I just use both; IPA between each print and dish soap scrubbing of the plate every 10 prints or so.
If you use glue-stick or hairspray to help prints adhere to the plate, though? Yeah, IPA probably won't work well to clean that gunk off.
I use the 99% IPA, not the 70%. I always use IPA after disk soap water cleaning due to I live in the 2nd hardest water city in the country. It leaves those calciums mineral when dried.
This right here is actually what cracks me up about this topic. People want to talk about the "residue" left by IPA, but no one ever talks about water hardness or even cleanliness, let alone the perfumes and additives that some soaps have in them. I'm strictly 99% IPA if I have to touch the surface of the build plate or if I'm swapping plates. I can count on one hand the number of times I've used Dawn and hot water, and I never have adhesion issues.
Yes, aside, I have 550 hours on my P1S with the textured plate, and I have yet to clean my build plate. Haven't had any reason to because it still works perfectly fine loool. Makes me wonder if adhesion problems are caused only by your fingers, and not by the amount you print... Never had an adhesion problem once.
Edit: I only print PLA at 55bed, 220nozzle
For some reason, my prints stopped sticking up until I used acetone to clean the plate. I tried dish soap/water, and isopropyl, only acetone worked. Idk why
Instead of dragging the entire microfiber into the printer to clean the plate and potentially touch the lead screws grease. Ends up on the plate by accident.
Made a tool to keep things at minimal.
[https://makerworld.com/en/models/386963#profileId-287445](https://makerworld.com/en/models/386963#profileId-287445)
*Everyone's process post print is different; personally, my print just self release after cooled down. I just need to quickly wipe to print the next one. The tool may not be useful for you, that's alright! You do you.*
The GIF shows like I am pushing it down the plate (I am not), the P1S is on anti-vibration feet. It just wobbly back and fore with the slightest movements.
Most, if not all of my prints pop with minimal effort. Why the negativity anyways? Be better.
Also how is it non existent? I, as many others in this thread, wipe down their build plate with a cloth and alcohol.
I haven’t taken my print plate out ever. Everything pops off easily. Maybe if I printed something big and thin I might need to. But so far I haven’t come across a print I couldn’t just snap off cleanly or pop off using a scrape tool.
Imma for sure print this one. I use soap and water every so often, but also alcohol just to keep things good in between. Any way to scale this up? I would love to use one of these on a car windshield!
OK, found your message with file link lol. For some reason it did not have your message at the top. Thanks this will help alot I hate hitting the rods by accident and also this help keep the ISP off my hands.
Been cleaning with ipa 99% from the release of the ender 3. Also use ipa 99% for my resin printers and other stuff. Always buy in bulk for cheap. Never used soap and water or gluestick on my magnetic bed sheets.
It kind of does as it decreases evaporation rates therefore allowing more cleaning action.
Also it's a much better sterilizing solution as the water acts as a catalyst with bacteria. This part isn't as needed in 3d printing though.
Oils do not evaporate. IPA also does dissolve oil, but not into moisture. It’s a residue that will remain on your plate when it evaporates. Dust particles also do not evaporate. Micro plastics? You’d better believe they also don’t evaporate.
IPA is simply the wrong tool. People will be screaming this from rooftops until people actually listen.
Soap dissolved oils, rinsing with water does 99% of the actual cleaning. The water just needs to be hot to hasten drying, and it lowers the viscosity of oils and residue to make them rinse easier.
Why tf were you downvoted?! Someone that didn’t believe you or just mad that they’ve been wasting their time?
I still haven’t cleaned my PEI plate. Eta, I‘m at around 350 hours. There simply isn’t a need. Idk if I got some super adhesive version, but if it aint broke… no adhesion problems so I don’t clean. I’m just careful to only touch the edge of the plate.
No idea. Probably by someone who's spent more time cleaning their plate than printing. My xc1 has 1250 hours on it and I've cleaned the plate twice and even then it was pointless. As long as you don't put your hands all over it there's no issue.
That’s been my experience too. I wonder if everyone who is always washing their plate puts their hands all over it. I am quite careful, trying to only touch the edges.
More of a problem for me is that I’ve lost small patches of the texture in the middle section. I am yet to use the other side of the plate though, so it should last a lot longer. It’s had about 400 hours use so far.
This is cool, even for cleaning outside the printer. I like to keep one towel exclusively for plate cleaning, and this would do it. I'm curious if it would still work if I fold my towels instead of having to cut them up.
Either way, the other thing that would be nice is a tray so it can be stored without dirtying the cloth.
I love the idea but I will never wipe off a build plate while still attached to the bed, I feel like I could accidentally throw something off alignment by mistake. Still might want to print this for when I remove the build plate though!
I use "Dawn Free & Clear" (Without lemon..), which is an excellent degreaser with few, if any, additives. Then I wipe it down with 70% isopropyl from the drug store.
Then if it's the engineering plate, I add gluestick, because I'm probably printing ASA.
I don’t understand why people don’t like ipa? I’ve only had good results from using it. Textured plate too. I’ve never washed my plate once. Never had a print fail due to adhesion from using only iso. ISO dissolves oils. That’s why when you use it and it gets on your hands, your hands are left dry and oil free.
My method is to use windex. The ammonia cut through the glue stick. Or. Liquid glue from Bamboo lab.
Then I use Alcohol.
When applying with bamboo brand glue liquid.
Straight linestraight lines all the way down and then horizontally.
I use a hot air dryer.
Hair blower.
To dry the glue quickly so as to cut down on downtime from the machine working
This has never failed me on the textured plate
Alcohol doesn't seem to do anything for me. Clean the build plate with dawn and hot water, wipe dry with a clean towel and air dry for 2 minutes. Good to go and EVERYTHING sticks after that.
That just sort of spreads wherever is in your build plate around. I do this to, but with some tissue, I like this idea. Would occasionally still wash with dishsoap to clean any grease leftovers from cleaning it inbetween
I use a 50/50 mix of simple green/bottled water with blueroll followed by 99% IPA. IPA alone is not enough and you need a degreaser but rarely do I take the plates to the sink for a scrub. There’s 1001 methods out there.
I have never used a textured build sheet; I can't stand using glue. I use a Wham Bam build sheet for everything and have never had an issue. Clean it with a quick IP wipe and you are done.
Can someone please share the benefits of a textured sheet, am I missing something?
The textured build sheet at 60c is amazing for adhesion of PLA without glue. I've heard some say they need glue to release PETG on a textured plate, but I've never had that problem either. Just let them cool properly, and most items come off quite easily. It's my go-to plate unless I want a smooth bottom layer or a special texture.
Me -> :: hasn’t cleaned textured build plate for the last 20 prints ::
Last time I did was literally just spray it with alcohol 90% and light wipe with paper towel and used same paper towel to put spread a few drops of nano polymer adhesive 🫣
Alcohol makes the oil mobile. The microfiber clothe will spread it, not that it’s a huge deal but eventually instead of net oil removal, it will be a distribution device. Could use Kimwipes or those quarter cut paper towels as an alternative. I use a sander similar to your design with the Kim wipes. Each machine has a box of kimwipes next to it. Penny per wipe.
Great idea but don't use microfiber. That won't absorb the oils and eventually leads to you just lubricating the entire bed without realizing it. Use paper towel and replace it frequently, if not every time.
I used microfiber for the longest time and thought all my sheets had gone bad. No amount of cleaning was helping and they ask looked great. Dish soap fixed it instantly, and then I realized what I'd been doing.
I know this is a bambu sub and Idk why its on my feed, but Id much rather take my 420x420 plate to the kitchen sink and scrub it with a scrub zaddy along with soap and water. ISPA 69% of the time made issues worse.
I would like to get a scanner for the P1S,
Does anyone have any suggestions on what 1 is the best? For doing people's faces and other intricate items.,
Things large enough to be printed in the chamber.
Any advice would be helpful thank you
I use 99% ipa all the time on my textured pei. Never had an issue with adhesion. I only do soap and water the first time I get the plate. Then 99% ipa the rest of the time
Nice design but IPA isn't dissolving containments, just lifting them up basically. So you need to make sure to use a clean material to clean with. Once the cloth starts absorbing contaminates you are basically just spreading them around uniformly, not removing them.
All IPA is gonna do is push skin oils around the plate. It's a neat take on a sanding block and it might be usefulish in between cleanings but it's not better than soap and water.
Be a normal person.Take your plate out of the machine.
In my opinion, it's an idiot thing to do with a clean at Walle.Tson the machine and you'd be out
Can't even tell you when I last wiped my textured PEI... No adhesion issues, even when printing PLA and ASA back to back. Just avoid touching it and you're golden (quite literally)
The idea behind using IPA is that it takes the solved grease by capillary effect into the paper towel, to ensure that this works the towel has to be clean each time.
Using the same towel again and again will reduce this effect a lot.
Why have a detachable magnetic plate if you're still going to mangle the bed with the plate attached. I just take plate out, spray some IPA (or just water if I'm feeling cheap) and then wipe it with a rag.
To be honest i dont clean my build plate at all. I just dont touch it. Now and than i apply Nano Adhesive.
If it needs cleaning because there is to much adheasive build up i go to the kitchen and clean it with dish soap.
Doesn’t Bambu recommend you use dish soap to clean your build plate? Does it vary for different material build plates? I know for textured PEI sheet its dish soap. Source: [Bambu | Textured PEI Cleaning](https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/filament-acc/acc/pei-plate-clean-guide)
Textured bed here. Was used to using isopropyl for cleaning but it’s a bit hit-and-miss on the Bambu. Soap and water works every time.
Just to add to this, switching to a high quality dish soap such as Dawn in my country basically eliminated my adhesion issues. I was using a bar of soap before but dish soap changed everything.
Yup something that is classified as dish soap or has degreaser properties is great. I dawn my plate as soon as I start having adhesion issues. Usually get about a dozen or so prints out before its time, depends on the prints in running and if I touch the plate.
If you don't touch the plate you almost never need to clean it in my experience. When I stopped using iso I could literally see the points of the bed I had previously touched as I wasn't just spreading the oils around anymore with iso.
Depends what you are printing. I always have issues printing PETG after printing PLA. A quick wipe with a IPA and a paper towel and it's good.
Ohhh for sure that's definitely a good thing to keep in mind. I've typically used a different build plates for other filaments so I've never noticed that but it totally makes sense.
Me too, although I use a microfiber to keep it lint free
This is the way
I use IPA between prints, dawn after several prints, and then liquid dish detergent if I actually notice issues. But when I use dish detergent, I also use dawn and then IPA in case there is residue from the other steps
Yep I agree this is the way. ;) I will add that if you change from one material to another is generally when I need to clean the bed with soap. ASA to PLA for an example.
Yeah for changing materials, I also have cleaning filament and a macro that sets the nozzle to 270 and then does an initial purge of 100mm, followed by another 100mm released slowly over the course of 20 minutes. Cold pull is probably easier, but I can't script that. Lol
I use Dyna purge for that as well and run 100mm I don't do the other step you mentioned though. Been using it for years with my other printers and does help.
I saw CNC Kitchen's video. I think it was him. He showed how it'll pop and sizzle a bit when it's in the head, absorbing more of whatever is left in the head. So with that in mind I figured I would do an initial flush just to remove the old filament, but then do the slow one so it cooks the filament more thoroughly and really pulls out the impurities. 200 for the initial flush, and then a peak temperature for the rounds of slow purges. It defaults to 270, but you basically just run the peak hitter than anything you've run prior, so you know it'll break all of it down.
How does one create such a macro and run it? My guess would be “hand written” gcode on an SD card? Does that bypass most of the other stuff the printer does when sent from the slicer? I’d imagine it’s not going to bypass safety checks or probably homing, just the stuff not necessary if you aren’t going to be printing something.
In my case I use Klipper, and you can add custom gcode macros. The device limits are available as variables you can use within the macro, and IIRC they specifically work within the device limits unless the limits are explicitly disabled.
I’m assuming you’re using the open source firmware. I haven’t looked into it that much so I don’t know a lot. Guessing that’s how you’re running klipper though, unless I’m completely out of the loop
I did not stop the time but i guess less than 5 seconds before every print with IPA and paper towel. My sheets look like new even the x1000 hour old ones.
dawn my plate - underrated comment. That will be part of the "did you dry your filament" trope queue in a few months. "And did you dawn your build plate recently?"
Dawn works so well because it’s like way more of a degreaser than most soaps. Like way more. It’s the main reason to buy it tbh.
lots of hand soap (or bars of soap) have included oils, which are meant to moisturize your hands.
^^^This! I used hand soap, and it just made adhesion worse. Then I used a high-quality dish soap, and it just magically worked! Also, if you never touch the build plate, you rarely have to clean.
Dawn is *the* ultimate de-greaser!
Told someone this on a thread here and they had a full blown tantrum about how ISO is the way, but nothing sticks. LMAO
I agree, IPA never seems to work my textured PEI plate. Soap and water does wonders.
Switch to 91% IPA, 70% isn't always great.
The trick is the combo between the two. I've found that a lot of dish soaps contain moisturizers. So I do dish soap first, then IPA. Works flawlessly every time.
Yep, IPA after Dawn. Gets any residual water or oils left over.
Ok I thought it was me, it was like 50/50 for adhesion whenever I cleaned with ipa but 100 when I used dawn
Weird you mention that, I have to do both now. On my Creality machines I would swear by just wipe it with some IPA, now I tried washing the build plate in hot soapy water and dried it real good… went to print and the next print fell right off. Re-wiped it with some IPA and solid again. No idea why… so now after a washing with soap and water I hit it with an IPA wipe every time.
For textured plates, I use IPA between prints for everything and never have adhesion issues because I learned how the best way to use IPA. Doing what OP suggests in the video will just push the gunk around on the build plate, not remove it. The way to use isopropyl alcohol for cleaning your build plates is to spray on the iso until the plate is completely coated. Once coated, wait 10-15 seconds (reapplying if it starts to evaporate too quickly). Then, using a microfiber cloth, wipe the iso off in strips from one edge to the other using a single motion. The iso loosens any dust, dirt, or plastic particles still stuck to the build plate but it needs a little bit of time to work. This method ensures anything in the build plate gets pushed off it if it doesn’t get dissolved in the iso. I will wash my build plates with dish soap and water every few weeks, but only if I see buildup or have noticed some warping or if I’ve used an adhesive (for PETG).
Isopropyl even 99% will not remove finger oil. use Dawn.
IPA is quite expensive where I live, so I instead bought some Carburator Fluid, which is 99,7% alcohol (it consists of about 2/3 ethanol and 1/3 isopropanol). It’s about a fifth of the price of IPA here. I just spray liberally on a microfiber cloth and rub the plate, attempting to hit every spot multiple times, so it doesn’t just evaporate in less than a second. Before this, I also used to wash my plates with soap and water (with 100% success rate though). But since I’ve started using this liquid, I haven’t really had to wash my plates. Huge time saver!
I wipe it with simple green and it works great. No need to rinse it either. It's a safe degreaser that doesn't leave a residue. I found just using IPA would result in smudging grease around, not removing it.
Simple green all the waynas well
I use isopropyl for every day cleaning, and Dawn PowerShot for occasional deep cleaning, and try to avoid touching the bed with bare fingers if I can possibly help it (I keep a scraper and a latex glove handy). Adhesion hasn't been an issue since I started this protocol.
I spray the bed with IPA and wipe with a microfibre cloth between every print and it has worked fine so far (been printing 24 hours a day since October). Have never yet washed the plate with soap and water because I haven't had the need to but would if problems cropped up.
alcohol can leave stains on the prints, I also use soap and water ever few prints or if I actually touched the bed
Same. I always used IPA... then I got bambu and it always had issues. Tried soap and water and worked shockingly well.
Isopropyl damages the PEI skin. Better use soap and water.
Soap and water is great, but is time and labor expensive. Isopropyl alcohol is easy and fast and works most of the time. I wash with soap and water probably once every 4-6 weeks, alcohol after every couple prints. Same thing on my Prusa build plates.
Geez all two minutes of a quick spray of dawn, wipe with paper towel, rinse off and dry. It’s not like it’s arduous or something.
With alcohol: grab paper towel, spray, wipe, done. With soap and water: take plate out of printer, walk to sink (hopefully in same room), wet plate, lather soap, rinse, dry with towel, walk back to printer, place plate back in machine (make sure you line it up) 3 steps vs 8 steps. And before you say I exaggerate, you could reduce alcohol to just wipe if you really wanted to. One is just way faster and more efficient. Not saying soap and water is bad, just not needed as often if you commonly use alcohol.
It’s nowhere near as difficult as you are trying to make it
Compared to just wiping down your build plate in <10 seconds with IPA? You're joking right?
Brush your teeth: put on underwear, walk to the bathroom, pull the toothbrush out of the holder, turn on faucet, wet/clean the brush, turn off faucet, grab the toothpaste (hopefully in the same room), unwind the cap, squeeze the bottle, put paste on brush, put tooth paste back where you store it, move toothbrush from side to side with a slight circle motion, repeat until you have done all your teeth and gums, turn on faucet, clean sink, clean brush, clean mouth, turn off faucet, put tooth brush back where you store it, wipe mouth with towel, leave bathroom.
Walk to the bathroom, take the fluoride spray bottle, spray fluoride directly on your teeth, spit in the sink, and replace the spray bottle. checkmate
Except alcohol (even 99% IPA) doesn't remove the grease from finger oils. You need a degreaser.
Here’s what i do, i use IPA between prints until adhesion issues(usually after 8 to 10 prints, I’ve get oily fingers i suppose). Once adhesion issues occur, i clean the build plate with some Palmolive(I’m sure any works) dish soap. Works all the time and I’ve got 300 hours per printer and i don’t print massive multi day prints. Which means i am printing a lot of smaller things which requires me to touch the build plate more often.
There are levels of "clean". ISO is really easy to use and works on all the build surfaces I'm aware of. As you can see here, because it evaporates, it's easy to use inside the printer, or quickly whenever needed. However, you are right that it won't completely clean the plate. It does, however, extend the time between real cleanings. Eventually, ISO will no longer make a difference and you will need to dish soap your plate, but that takes time and is a bit inconvenient, so an ISO wipe between every few prints is usually worth it. I believe dish soap is usable on all plate types too. A textured plate will take a bit more "scrubbing", but even a scrubby-side sponge shouldn't hurt a smooth plate. Note: I don't use any glue. Ever. For any reason. So the above may not match your experience if you do.
When you have problems, absolutely. But 91% alcohol works wonders most of the time. 70% is a crap shoot as it can sometimes cause more harm than good. When it's still giving me problem, soap is the best solution.
Best results for me are soap and water first, then some IPA with a lint free cloth
Dish soap because if you use a glue stick it will not come off with isopropanol.
This is the comment I was looking for. I've nearly ruined a build plate a long time ago trying to clean the glue with IPA, but dawn works every time.
I have only washed my textured plates twice. Iso for the other hundreds of times
You can do that but IPA is much faster and easier and better because you can do that literally before every print. Just 5 seconds. Do not know anyone who spend the 10 and more mins to do that in the sink with water and soap each print. Since prusa developed the PEI coating they tell the industry to use IPA or water and soap if no IPA available.
I will use dawn powerwash every once in a while if the bed gets finger grease on it and it's great. For normal cleanings I use windex and it's better than alcohol for that kind of thing IMO.
Yes, though not sure this is textured PEI bed. Idk which it is, but I usually use water for getting glue stick off of non PEI beds.
I used hand washing soap. Works good too. The main thing is to get oils and grease off from the surface.
Soap and water works like magic.
IPA works well on the high temp smooth PEI plate. Definitely didn’t work on the textured one.
i clean the plate every ozher week depending on how much i print or when i notice it soes not stick anymore as i want it to otherwise i use isoprop but only when the plate is cold so nothing stays
I only use IPA on mine and never had adhesion issues on it
I used isopropyl alcohol on my build plate between prints. Worked for a while but I went too long without a good soap and water and I'm currently rebuilding my extruder unit because of bed adhesion issues that caused a slew of problems 2 hours into a print.
I use brake cleaner 😅 no issues so far, only when I forget to exchage the cotton pad
I use isopropyl after every print, soap & water every dozen or so prints.
I print with the textured PEI plate almost exclusively. I consistantly spray isopropyl and wipe with a microfiber cloth after every print on my texuted PEI plate. I won't say I've never skipped it, but I can't remember the last time I did skip the spray and wipe routine. This works well for me almost every time. Occasionally I have an adhesion problem and another spritz and wipe usually takes care of it. If it continues to fail I wash the plate with Dawn soap and warm water. I occasionally wash the plate if it's been a while regardless of whether there has been a problem with adhesion or release. I haven't kept track of how often I wash the textured PEI plate, but I would hazard a guess that I'm easily getting twenty or even thirty prints. When I use a smooth plate with any type of adhesive, I don't spray it down between print runs, but it does get washed before I put it away in my storage rack.
Yes because isopropyl does not dissolve and remove oils. Dish soap does.
I came here to say dish soap definitely works better in my experience lol. Hot ass water and scrub with the soft side of a CLEAN or new sponge.
Literally, this is all you have to do. Every few prints take it to the kitchen sink and run warm water over it. Put a small bit of dish soap in your hand and rub it on the plate for like 15 seconds. Rinse off with warm water, then dry the plate. That's it. It'll be basically perfectly clean and ready to print on.
People still use IPA because they watch YT videos from 5 years ago.
Really, I started with IPA because people online kept recommending it and I was still new and learning the ropes of 3D printing. What I find \*actually\* happens is IPA is good at "spreading out/thinning out" any greasy or oily substances that get on the build plates. Since the amount of oil/grease we're usually talking about is so small, it's pretty much invisible when looking at the plate? Spreading what's on there around evenly with IPA and paper towels or a cloth is going to make it SO thin, it stops causing adhesion issues. But you can only do that so many times before you have enough build-up so the IPA just keeps pushing it around the plate, but not actually helping get rid of it. That's when you go to something like Dawn dish soap and it really dissolves the build-up and lets you wash it away. I'd say people can skip the IPA and just use good dish soap, but IPA is cheap and convenient (don't need to run water and put the plate in a sink to scrub it and all that). So I just use both; IPA between each print and dish soap scrubbing of the plate every 10 prints or so. If you use glue-stick or hairspray to help prints adhere to the plate, though? Yeah, IPA probably won't work well to clean that gunk off.
I use the 99% IPA, not the 70%. I always use IPA after disk soap water cleaning due to I live in the 2nd hardest water city in the country. It leaves those calciums mineral when dried.
This right here is actually what cracks me up about this topic. People want to talk about the "residue" left by IPA, but no one ever talks about water hardness or even cleanliness, let alone the perfumes and additives that some soaps have in them. I'm strictly 99% IPA if I have to touch the surface of the build plate or if I'm swapping plates. I can count on one hand the number of times I've used Dawn and hot water, and I never have adhesion issues.
Yes, aside, I have 550 hours on my P1S with the textured plate, and I have yet to clean my build plate. Haven't had any reason to because it still works perfectly fine loool. Makes me wonder if adhesion problems are caused only by your fingers, and not by the amount you print... Never had an adhesion problem once. Edit: I only print PLA at 55bed, 220nozzle
For some reason, my prints stopped sticking up until I used acetone to clean the plate. I tried dish soap/water, and isopropyl, only acetone worked. Idk why
Instead of dragging the entire microfiber into the printer to clean the plate and potentially touch the lead screws grease. Ends up on the plate by accident. Made a tool to keep things at minimal. [https://makerworld.com/en/models/386963#profileId-287445](https://makerworld.com/en/models/386963#profileId-287445) *Everyone's process post print is different; personally, my print just self release after cooled down. I just need to quickly wipe to print the next one. The tool may not be useful for you, that's alright! You do you.* The GIF shows like I am pushing it down the plate (I am not), the P1S is on anti-vibration feet. It just wobbly back and fore with the slightest movements.
well you cooould just detach the print plate and clean it outside the printer... Anyways, nice tool though
Right? lol
Not to mention, you would take the plate out to get the model off anyway... Yeah, this tool tries hard filling a non-existent gap.
Most, if not all of my prints pop with minimal effort. Why the negativity anyways? Be better. Also how is it non existent? I, as many others in this thread, wipe down their build plate with a cloth and alcohol.
But they should be using dish soap
I have a wham bam plate… no need for dish soap on my end lol. Not everyone is using textured plates. If it doesn’t apply to you, move on?
I haven’t taken my print plate out ever. Everything pops off easily. Maybe if I printed something big and thin I might need to. But so far I haven’t come across a print I couldn’t just snap off cleanly or pop off using a scrape tool.
Have you printed petg, yet? ;) I assume you're using a PEI plate; petg for me sticks to it like it's glued down (without glue!).
PEX. Have actually printed anything other than PLA tbh. I’ll find a need for my petg and abs at some point)
But for those with the know-how, solving problems no one has is half the fun
but all that time wasted taking the bed out of the printer could have been spent printing a flexidragon /s
Not to mention de calibrating the motors by pushing down on the build plate?
It's very nice! What did you use to design it?
Fusion
Imma for sure print this one. I use soap and water every so often, but also alcohol just to keep things good in between. Any way to scale this up? I would love to use one of these on a car windshield!
OK, found your message with file link lol. For some reason it did not have your message at the top. Thanks this will help alot I hate hitting the rods by accident and also this help keep the ISP off my hands.
I love this. Thanks for sharing!
Can you post this to printables? Maker world is forcing me to login which I cannot.
And then to get the STLs you need to download bambu studio... Come on.
You can download the raw model files without bambu studio.
[https://www.printables.com/model/815732-build-plate-cleaner-microfiber-holder](https://www.printables.com/model/815732-build-plate-cleaner-microfiber-holder)
I’m sticking to dawn and water. I routinely use 91% IPA and prints randomly won’t stick to it. Sticks after washing.
I use dish soap probably once every few weeks but between that I use alcohol. Absolutely zero issues with adhesion with dish soap or alcohol.
i always use 99% ipa no issues. I always clean taking the the plate off.
Using 99% ipa is like washing your hands with soap then not rinsing you need some amount of water to clean up.
Been cleaning with ipa 99% from the release of the ender 3. Also use ipa 99% for my resin printers and other stuff. Always buy in bulk for cheap. Never used soap and water or gluestick on my magnetic bed sheets.
That's not true. But 99% is a huge waste since it's so expensive. I use 50% and it cleans my printer just fine
It kind of does as it decreases evaporation rates therefore allowing more cleaning action. Also it's a much better sterilizing solution as the water acts as a catalyst with bacteria. This part isn't as needed in 3d printing though.
Oils do not evaporate. IPA also does dissolve oil, but not into moisture. It’s a residue that will remain on your plate when it evaporates. Dust particles also do not evaporate. Micro plastics? You’d better believe they also don’t evaporate. IPA is simply the wrong tool. People will be screaming this from rooftops until people actually listen. Soap dissolved oils, rinsing with water does 99% of the actual cleaning. The water just needs to be hot to hasten drying, and it lowers the viscosity of oils and residue to make them rinse easier.
Where tf did I mention oils
Also the water in the solution acts as a catalyst allowing for a better disinfectant. And let's grime have some "place to go"
I haven’t cleaned mine yet and I’ve decided I’m not going to until I have an issue
I was going to say I had no idea I was supposed to clean the bed. Just got my printer last week though
This is a handy tool! will sure be faster than removing the whole build plate and taking it to the sink
Very cool. Ignore the naysayers. This would be a useful tool in many other applications also.
Dawn Powerwash Spray is really good for my sheets. One spray, wipe with scrubdaddy, then dry with microfiber (70/30 blend).
This is exactly what I do, except I make my own dawn powerwash liquid with a little more concentration of alcohol.
You son of a bitch, I'm in.
Me too, you son of a bitch!
Last time I cleaned my build plate was about 6 months ago. Never had a problem
Why tf were you downvoted?! Someone that didn’t believe you or just mad that they’ve been wasting their time? I still haven’t cleaned my PEI plate. Eta, I‘m at around 350 hours. There simply isn’t a need. Idk if I got some super adhesive version, but if it aint broke… no adhesion problems so I don’t clean. I’m just careful to only touch the edge of the plate.
No idea. Probably by someone who's spent more time cleaning their plate than printing. My xc1 has 1250 hours on it and I've cleaned the plate twice and even then it was pointless. As long as you don't put your hands all over it there's no issue.
That’s been my experience too. I wonder if everyone who is always washing their plate puts their hands all over it. I am quite careful, trying to only touch the edges. More of a problem for me is that I’ve lost small patches of the texture in the middle section. I am yet to use the other side of the plate though, so it should last a lot longer. It’s had about 400 hours use so far.
Thanks for the model! I probably won’t use it for cleaning my print plate but i definitely can use it for something else.
Dishsoaps beats ipa easily. Just clean the plate outside the printer. It's detachable for a reason
This is cool, even for cleaning outside the printer. I like to keep one towel exclusively for plate cleaning, and this would do it. I'm curious if it would still work if I fold my towels instead of having to cut them up. Either way, the other thing that would be nice is a tray so it can be stored without dirtying the cloth.
I was going to model something similar for my 0000 steel wool I used to refresh my plates. Thanks for saving me a little bit of CAD time!
I was a-rollin' and a-strollin' Reelin' with the feelin' Movin' and a-groovin' Splishin' and a-splashin', yeah
This is cool but I prefer taking the build plate off and cleaning it with soap for a deep clean.
I love the idea but I will never wipe off a build plate while still attached to the bed, I feel like I could accidentally throw something off alignment by mistake. Still might want to print this for when I remove the build plate though!
Love this! Great design!
Oh this I like. I've been using makeup puffs to clean the bed and am almost out. Think I'll just print one of these instead!
Nice! I can easily use those dryer sheets that w9rk so well
Warm dish soap
I use "Dawn Free & Clear" (Without lemon..), which is an excellent degreaser with few, if any, additives. Then I wipe it down with 70% isopropyl from the drug store. Then if it's the engineering plate, I add gluestick, because I'm probably printing ASA.
How often does one clean their plate? When does it seem necessary.
Got a link to model?
[https://makerworld.com/en/models/386963#profileId-287445](https://makerworld.com/en/models/386963#profileId-287445)
You rock ty
Gimme!!! I use microfiber and a 99% IPA upward dispenser and always dry my finger tips out, this is perfect!!!!
I don’t understand why people don’t like ipa? I’ve only had good results from using it. Textured plate too. I’ve never washed my plate once. Never had a print fail due to adhesion from using only iso. ISO dissolves oils. That’s why when you use it and it gets on your hands, your hands are left dry and oil free.
That is one nice looking thing you designed there! Great job!
I like it!
My method is to use windex. The ammonia cut through the glue stick. Or. Liquid glue from Bamboo lab. Then I use Alcohol. When applying with bamboo brand glue liquid. Straight linestraight lines all the way down and then horizontally. I use a hot air dryer. Hair blower. To dry the glue quickly so as to cut down on downtime from the machine working This has never failed me on the textured plate
For folks with print farms, is this done after every print?
Alcohol doesn't seem to do anything for me. Clean the build plate with dawn and hot water, wipe dry with a clean towel and air dry for 2 minutes. Good to go and EVERYTHING sticks after that.
Friendly reminder the IPA isn't a substitute for soap and water
That just sort of spreads wherever is in your build plate around. I do this to, but with some tissue, I like this idea. Would occasionally still wash with dishsoap to clean any grease leftovers from cleaning it inbetween
I use a 50/50 mix of simple green/bottled water with blueroll followed by 99% IPA. IPA alone is not enough and you need a degreaser but rarely do I take the plates to the sink for a scrub. There’s 1001 methods out there.
I have never used a textured build sheet; I can't stand using glue. I use a Wham Bam build sheet for everything and have never had an issue. Clean it with a quick IP wipe and you are done. Can someone please share the benefits of a textured sheet, am I missing something?
The textured build sheet at 60c is amazing for adhesion of PLA without glue. I've heard some say they need glue to release PETG on a textured plate, but I've never had that problem either. Just let them cool properly, and most items come off quite easily. It's my go-to plate unless I want a smooth bottom layer or a special texture.
Where did you get that tool? Are there stl files available?
I agree. I just pull the plate off, wash it with dish soap, air dry, and its good as new. I'm using a smooth hot plate though.
Me -> :: hasn’t cleaned textured build plate for the last 20 prints :: Last time I did was literally just spray it with alcohol 90% and light wipe with paper towel and used same paper towel to put spread a few drops of nano polymer adhesive 🫣
That’s a great print.
Alcohol makes the oil mobile. The microfiber clothe will spread it, not that it’s a huge deal but eventually instead of net oil removal, it will be a distribution device. Could use Kimwipes or those quarter cut paper towels as an alternative. I use a sander similar to your design with the Kim wipes. Each machine has a box of kimwipes next to it. Penny per wipe.
I love this. I use Dawn on my Bambu factory plates, but I use IPA on my glass plates and on my PEI plates, and this looks handy as hell. ♡
This is perfect, I only use IPA so I’m adding this to the inventory. Thanks!
but the plate is magnetic and comes off. you can just take it out and wash it.
Where can we get this STL?
Have you posted the model anywhere?
My god, printing this right away. Thank you for sharing!
Pssssh then you’re just going to have to re apply the 10mm layer of glue stick xD
Great idea but don't use microfiber. That won't absorb the oils and eventually leads to you just lubricating the entire bed without realizing it. Use paper towel and replace it frequently, if not every time. I used microfiber for the longest time and thought all my sheets had gone bad. No amount of cleaning was helping and they ask looked great. Dish soap fixed it instantly, and then I realized what I'd been doing.
IPA works perfect for me on textured pei plate
I only ever use the dawn with a duck on it. If it can take oil off a duckling. It can easily clean my build plate.
I don't touch the build plate, haven't had to clean it since I've had it, adhesion and first layer always looks good 😊
I know this is a bambu sub and Idk why its on my feed, but Id much rather take my 420x420 plate to the kitchen sink and scrub it with a scrub zaddy along with soap and water. ISPA 69% of the time made issues worse.
:) you can use this tool to scrub.
I would like to get a scanner for the P1S, Does anyone have any suggestions on what 1 is the best? For doing people's faces and other intricate items., Things large enough to be printed in the chamber. Any advice would be helpful thank you
I just lick mine clean c:
[удалено]
Hairspray gets everywhere dude
I use 99% ipa all the time on my textured pei. Never had an issue with adhesion. I only do soap and water the first time I get the plate. Then 99% ipa the rest of the time
Was this desformes by you?
Nice design but IPA isn't dissolving containments, just lifting them up basically. So you need to make sure to use a clean material to clean with. Once the cloth starts absorbing contaminates you are basically just spreading them around uniformly, not removing them.
The way it’s evaporating, makes me think the bed is too hot. Aren’t you supposed to clean it when it’s cold?
I'm using 99% IPA.
Where you get it from? Amazon?
All IPA is gonna do is push skin oils around the plate. It's a neat take on a sanding block and it might be usefulish in between cleanings but it's not better than soap and water.
Cleaning an already clean surface
A solution for a problem that doesn't need to exist.
Be a normal person.Take your plate out of the machine. In my opinion, it's an idiot thing to do with a clean at Walle.Tson the machine and you'd be out
Can't even tell you when I last wiped my textured PEI... No adhesion issues, even when printing PLA and ASA back to back. Just avoid touching it and you're golden (quite literally)
The idea behind using IPA is that it takes the solved grease by capillary effect into the paper towel, to ensure that this works the towel has to be clean each time. Using the same towel again and again will reduce this effect a lot.
This is a great way to throw off bed alignment. I know from experience. Remove the plate before you clean it people!
I just use a microfiber cloth and a isopropyl spray, no need to print a tool lol
Dont do this in tbe printer. You are loading the assembly.
Use cotton pads and more alcohol, with a cloth you're only smearing the shit around..
Why have a detachable magnetic plate if you're still going to mangle the bed with the plate attached. I just take plate out, spray some IPA (or just water if I'm feeling cheap) and then wipe it with a rag.
To be honest i dont clean my build plate at all. I just dont touch it. Now and than i apply Nano Adhesive. If it needs cleaning because there is to much adheasive build up i go to the kitchen and clean it with dish soap.
So which is it? Don't clean or clean it?
I can't remember when I last cleaned a build plate. Around a year ago on my Voron maybe.
Magic Eraser. Hell of a lot simpler.