FEP Sticking ...

[Snowmanner]

I am having trouble with print sticking to the FEP. I have bought and tried the PTFE lubricant. I have also toyed with the settings, but nothing seems to be working so far. They look like they are sticking for the bottom layers, but not for most of the others. I attached any info I thought I could get. I have tried printing the test print 3DBenchy as well as the one on the drive Rook.



List of things I have tried
1. I have added Masking tape to the sides of the LCD.
2. I have adjusted the print settings a few times.
3. Used PTFE Lubricant on the FEP and on LCD. (On LCD to reduce vacuum on FEP)
4. Re-leveled the print bed Multiple times.

Edit 1: I edited the Layer Height to 0.04. Let you know soon if this fixes.
Nope, the print failed to stay sticking after layer 150ish.

Edit 2: I am creating a larger base for the piece to adhere to to see if that helps.
Failed, the supports stayed, but the base of the model was stuck to the FEP.

Edit 3: I changed the calibration to two sheets of paper width.
That solved the issue. Hell ya.

[cliffyk]

99.44% of the time "sticking to the FEP" is actually a "not sticking the the build plate" problem. There are numerous current threads about the latter--search is your friend...

What model is your printer, a plain ol' Mars, a "Pro", "2 Pro" or ???

If it's a plain ol' Mars and it has the somewhat glossy powder coated platen used on the later models--or if it's a Pro with the silly near mirror-like finish they put on that--then you need to roughen up the surface of the platen with some 220 or 320 grit paper. Do not "sand away" on it, just "break" the shiny finish. Greasing the FEP is not a proper solution as a) the real problem is the resin not sticking to the platen; and b) it contaminates the first and subsequent layers of resin and reduces adhesion 'tween them.

Can you post a photo of you platen's business end?

[Snowmanner]

99.44% of the time "sticking to the FEP" is actually a "not sticking the the build plate" problem. There are numerous current threads about the latter--search is your friend...

What model is your printer, a plain ol' Mars, a "Pro", "2 Pro" or ???

If it's a plain ol' Mars and it has the somewhat glossy powder coated platen used on the later models--or if it's a Pro with the silly near mirror-like finish they put on that--then you need to roughen up the surface of the platen with some 220 or 320 grit paper. Do not "sand away" on it, just "break" the shiny finish. Greasing the FEP is not a proper solution as a) the real problem is the resin not sticking to the platen; and b) it contaminates the first and subsequent layers of resin and reduces adhesion 'tween them.

Can you post a photo of you platen's business end?

I have the Mars Pro. I changed the print settings so that the test would have a larger base with supports. What is happening is the supports are being left on the plate and the print is attached to the FEP. After this print i will scuff the plate a little and try again.

[cliffyk]

I have the Mars Pro. I changed the print settings so that the test would have a larger base with supports. What is happening is the supports are being left on the plate and the print is attached to the FEP. After this print i will scuff the plate a little and try again.

The Mars Pro platen is absurdly smooth, scuffing it up a bit will help, however as you describe it your platen adhesion s OK and the problem is with the "hangers" and their joinings to the model's main body. I have found it useful to think of "supports" as "hangers". Because models in our printers are printed upside down (the bottom prints first), the hangers serve to suspend the in-progress work from the platen. They are loaded in tension, not compression as things generally called "supports" are loaded.

Because of this the combined tensile strength of the hanger-to-body junctures has to be greater than the model's adhesion to the FEP or they will break off and the body is produced as just a puddle of cured resin in the vat. I just experienced this with my first print using Elegoo's water washable resin. In my case I upgraded the hangers from "Medium" to "Heavy" build and increased their density from 50 to 80%. I also increased the regular layer exposure by 12.5% (8 to 9 seconds) to add additional curing time at the hanger-to-model joinings--the reprint came out fine...

[Snowmanner]

Me releveling the plate with a paper folded in half. So using two layers solved the print issue. I have also no lightly scuffed the plate to give it a satin appearance.

[cliffyk]

Cool... Glad you got it fixed up!

[Snowmanner]

Cool... Glad you got it fixed up!

Also I did take a scour pad to the build plate and reduced it to a satin finish after and that is dramatically increased the adhesion. I appreciate the help.

[sinkingship145]

I also have this issue.  I have not tried the grit yet.  I am using powerresins and this is their setting. Wasted almost all of my resins trying to fix this issue.  Leveled and calibrated the plate 4 times now.

[cliffyk]

I also have this issue.  I have not tried the grit yet.  I am using powerresins and this is their setting. Wasted almost all of my resins trying to fix this issue.  Leveled and calibrated the plate 4 times now.

As I have stated previously, and nearly ad nauseam, "sticking to the FEP" problems are 99.44% of the time really a "NOT sticking to the build-plate problem".

"Snowmanner" (above) apparently had good results using a scouring pad--a not too radical solution.

[Snowmanner]

I also have this issue.  I have not tried the grit yet.  I am using powerresins and this is their setting. Wasted almost all of my resins trying to fix this issue.  Leveled and calibrated the plate 4 times now.

As he said previous. If it a Mars Pro the build plate is a little slick. Use a scour pad. The idea is just to give the resin some texture to adhere to. After all the prints I have made now, this is definitely a good answer. You can use the green side of a scrubby sponge and that works too. I would not use steel wool or sand paper, as these are too harsh. And you want to get the surface to a satin finish.