ASA refuses to stick to PEI

[evo_grind]

Printer Model

Voron 2.4 r2 300mm

Extruder Type

Clockwork 2

Cooling Type

Stealthburner

I have printing ASA on powdered coated PEI sheet that was working well for a while. I then started to use very small amount of hairspray to counter warping, and have been struggling with warping ever since.
Finally I decided to try to "restore" the PEI sheet and many tutorials suggest sandpaper / steel wool, acetone, soap water, IPA alcohol, and I did all of that:
- roughed the surface with light grit sandpaper
- washed with soapy water and rinsed
- wiped down with pure acetone
- wiped down with IPA or ethanol (ive used both)

Now for some reason the ASA won't stick *at all* to the bed, at 110C the first layer slides right off.

My Z offset seems good, ive had that down for some time now (spent a long time on that), printing ASA at 260 on the bed at 110C.
Any ideas why its not sticking at all?
Id like to see some stickage before I start using hairspray or glue stick again.
Thanks

 

[NoGuru]

I feel your pain. When stuff does not stick its very frustrating.

[Filament]
Have you tried drying the filament?
Changing to a different brand?
probably the most important for ASA, heat soaked the printer for 30+ minutes?

[slicer]
Slowed down the first layer?
Increase the first layer extrusion or "squish"?
Used a brim?

[printer]
Try putting some painters tape down just to test the surface and see if it sticks.
Make sure you are fully tuned and something is not off.

 

[evo_grind]

I feel your pain. When stuff does not stick its very frustrating.

[Filament]
Have you tried drying the filament?
Changing to a different brand?
probably the most important for ASA, heat soaked the printer for 30+ minutes?

[slicer]
Slowed down the first layer?
Increase the first layer extrusion or "squish"?
Used a brim?

[printer]
Try putting some painters tape down just to test the surface and see if it sticks.
Make sure you are fully tuned and something is not off.

The thing is, I'm using the same settings from before I did the bed cleaning. I'm finding it odd that the ASA won't stick to a completely clean PEI bed.

 

[NoGuru]

Then maybe just rinse for longer, and clean with isopropyl a few times to get off any residual.

You could always replace the PEI with PEX from Wham Bam. I think its about $25 for a sheet.

 

[evo_grind]

Update:
I have not solved why the ASA will not stick at all to the cleaned PEI, I have discovered that dissolved glue stick (in water) spread around the plate seems to works very well... so I will keep doing this for now. Would be nice to not have to constantly apply / clean the print bed but whatever I guess.

 

[NoGuru]

What brand is the PEI? They are not all equal. Maybe a different one would be better.

 

[evo_grind]

What brand is the PEI? They are not all equal. Maybe a different one would be better.

I'm not actually sure, it is what came with the kit from voronkits.com

 

[NoGuru]

Remember PEI is a consumable, and can go bad or wear out. Though rare, it could have some defects.
It's just a film, so you can buy a replacement sheet from places like Wham Bam, or you can replace the entire spring steel sheet with a reputable brand.

 

[Andreas]

I know the answer comes late, but maybe this helps others. As NoGuru stated, try slowing down the first layer, you might want to increase the extruder temp by a few degrees. Also make sure you have a well adjusted z offset. It may also help to increase the first layer height and width (extruding more heat "mass" will help to slow down cooling)

I just had similar problems and I can say that I see huge differences between brands. ApolloX sticks great and has no warping, when I use Extrudr or Fillamentum I have to be extra careful with my prints. Also in my case, glue stick made it worse.