Zebra Plate

[Jules]

Just got mine today so I'm looking forward to trying it. Do you put in on the glass plate or in place of?

In place of. It's actually thicker than the glass plate - you'll need to reset your Z-stop.

[Jules]

'Nother thing......

PETG will absolutely refuse to bond to the plate in that spot that you accidentally brushed with a greasy fingertip. (Never cook and remove prints simultaneously.)

Clean it with a cotton ball soaked in isopropyl alcohol.

All is well again.

[dklassen]

That’s disappointing, I was hoping a little Canola on the build plate may improve the prints.

[Jules]

That’s disappointing, I was hoping a little Canola on the build plate may improve the prints.

Ehhhh, who can say? Canola might work.....it ain't too fond of olive oil though........Took me three failed first layers to figure out what i'd done.

[Tim]

I got my Zebra plate a few hours ago, so had to test it out right away.

Doing a PLA print. . . Third time's the charm.

First print failed immediately because the PLA refused to stick. I decided to ignore the advice not to use a heated bed for PLA, and went back to my usual 60 degrees C. Had no further problems with adhesion.

Second print failed because I didn't put the binder clips on, just for kicks (because that was under discussion on another thread). After some minutes of printing (with bed heat), the Zebra plate started warping up at the edges. Eventually, it was no longer properly seated, and it wasn't long before it slipped sideways and put a small discontinuity into my print. Binder clips go back into place.

Third time around looks good.

Of course, I got a handful of good prints from my brand new, squeaky-clean glass plate before it became clear that it would need to be carefully cleaned, and often. How this Zebra plate holds up under long-term use is the key question.

[Jules]

Yeah, i lost the first few to the unheated bed as well. I need to heat the bed to at least 40C for PLA. And at least 85C for the PETG. (And be sure to let it cool some before you pop it off. U can bend your print taking it off of a hot bed.)

But otherwise, I still love it. (Working on a 5 inch tall PETG print right now - it's sticking like a champ, with about another hour or so to go.)

They don't recommend doing tall ABS prints on it though...
Why?

Because of the warp factor, Sulu.
(Sorry.....Need to get out more!)

Update: turned out perfect, popped right off when cooled:

Tall PETG print on Zebra

PETG.jpg (266.03 KiB) Viewed 14482 times

[innkeeper]

(To get the last of the gunk off the plate - pick up a Magic Eraser at the grocery store next time you go. It's a micro-abrasive melamine sponge, and the little things are absolute miracles when slightly dampened.)

tried this tonight, made the bed all glossy where i used it, i dont think thats a good thing, made it matt again with some scotchbright.

[Jules]

.... made the bed all glossy where i used it, i dont think thats a good thing, made it matt again with some scotchbright.

Do report if it doesn't stick as well. (Theoretically, It should be just as grippy as before, if not more so - melamine is an abrasive.)

[Jules]

Another huge plus for this thing.......bed heats up a whoooooole lot quicker.

[Jules]

Had some almost empty MG black PLA leftover on a spool, and decided to just print a little Benchy with it to use it up. (First time doing one.)

Anyway, i was impressed by how well the Zebra held on to some extremely tiny supports while it was printing, so i took a quick shot - (in the interest of complete disclosure though - right after taking the shot i leaned in too close and knocked a couple off with my hair, and the air printing dominoed the situation. )

The good news is - the fan guard removal makes the supports completely unnecessary - no warping at all.

And the Zebra still gets credit for holding on as long as it could! (Just try not to "become one with the print"!)

Terrible photo but the bed is in motion:

benchy.jpg (208.01 KiB) Viewed 14385 times