3D Print Bed Build Plates

Here are some tips and thoughts about 3D print beds or build plates.

This is based on a several years of printing experience with a Creality Ender 3 Pro that I have over time quite heavily modded (more on that in another article).

Below then are my thoughts on three common print bed types that I have used interchangeably over the past few years for different purposes using different filaments, primarily though PETG and TPU/Flex.

First, why I prefer PETG

I am not a big fan of PLA not least since I really dislike the smell of it – despite people saying it doesn’t smell, the filaments I have tried do, and my printer is in my home office so I have to endure this all day.

I am also not convinced its as biodegradable as manufacturers would have you believe. Do a little searching around and you will probably find a lot more detail about this.

PLA results do tend to be less stringy and cleaner than PETG, however I usually print functional parts not dungeons and dragons characters, so whilst we all prefer good clean prints, I almost exclusively choose PETG over PLA for its mechanical robustness and ability to withstand heat, UV and the elements better. The downside is that you need to print at the hotter end of the standard printer / hotend’s abilities, despite which I have never had an issue with PTFE bowden tubes melting or giving off fumes.

Print Beds

My choice of print bed heavily depends on the filament, print itself and the finish I require as I will explain here.

Another point to note – I don’t use glues, hairsprays or other adhesives on my print beds … I tried a couple of things and to be honest it was too much of a pfaff and clean up, so instead I focused on getting my print settings right (bed and filament temps, and first layer speeds)

Textured / Magnetic Beds (Creality)

This was the default bed that was delivered with my Creality Ender3 Pro printer.

Pros

  • Works with most filament types, so no need to switch when printing Flex/TPU, PLA, PETG, etc
  • MAgnetic so easy removal and replacement on print bed
  • No loss of print bed size with clips (as per glass bed)
  • Flexes to allow for easy print removal
  • Textured base of print (also in Cons list depending on use case)
  • Textured finish helps grips the base of the print, especially Flex/TPU prints

Cons

  • If your print bed is slightly warped then the bed will adhere to it closely and so be hard to level
  • Larger prints have a tendency to warp or curl at the edges and so come unstuck more easily. Moreso if your print bed is not 100% flat as per above point.
  • Can be a little fragile – repeated printing, especially if you use the centre of the bed on most prints, can cause the surface to weaken and crack or get damaged.
  • Textured base of print (also in Pros list depending on use case)

Summary

Relatively easy starter bed, creates textured textured base, works for most filament types (so “set and forget” bed levelling). Not great in my experience with larger / longer prints though.

The cost is not too great if you wish to try this bed, however you do require a magnetic sheet to be applied to your print bed for it to work.

Tempered Glass Bed – Lightly Textured (Creality)

As part of a printer bundle I also received this bed with my Ender 3 Pro printer, along with 4x bulldog clips.

Pros

  • Super flat surface – so easier to level especially if your print bed is a little warped
  • Produces nice glassy finish to base of prints (or top if you print face down)
  • Flex/TPU adheres well on this and since the final print is flexible then it is not too difficult to remove prints afterwards.

Cons

  • Those bulldog clips are a bit of a clunky solution to fixing the glass to the bed – they reduce the size of the print size somewhat and can catch motors and the print head if you don’t position them correctly.
    • Tip: to increase print bed size (and improve looks?) print some simple (PETG) retaining clips for the edges or corners and use those in place of the bulldog clips.
  • With PLA/PETG and not keen on using glues/hairspray/etc, I have always struggled to get consistent print bed adhesion with the glass bed
  • It is very thick – there is a big adjustment in the bed height vs other print surfaces.
    • to help compensate for this I made a simple Z-stop spacer which clamps on to my printer above the Z-stop switch.
  • It doesn’t bend, so releasing prints can be a little harder and/or require a scraper which can cause damage
    • waiting for prints to properly cool does help pop them off more easily.

Summary

Good “go to” for Flex/TPU printing especially since PEI beds cannot be used for these filaments (see below). Difficult to get good adhesion with harder filaments without glues etc, so higher chance of failed prints.

PEI Magnetic Bed (smooth)

Saving the best till last?

Prusa and other high end bed manufacturers use this on their build surfaces, although some people hate it, and I am not sure why!?

(as explained at the beginning of this article, I don’t print in PLA, so maybe PLA doesn’t work so well with this – feel free to share in the comments if you have more experience of this)

Pros

  • Excellent adhesion with PETG – can almost be too good
    • great for prints with small surface areas
    • rarely if ever require rafts or brims
  • Magnetic, so is very quick and easy to remove, clean and replace, etc
  • If you already have a magnetic sheet installed for a textured bed (as I had), this just drops straight on there with no extra work
    • If you don’t have one already the Creality PEI bed comes with a magnetic sheet, and if you don’t need it, you now have a spare.
  • Flexible steel sheet means prints pop off quite easily (smaller, thinner, or slightly flexible prints can be more of an issue to remove)
  • Steel sheet lays nice and flat so less prone to levelling issues than textured magnetic beds – very good if you have even a very slightly warped print bed (which I do, but is not enough of an issue to replace)

Cons

  • Can not be used with Flex/TPU as they pretty much bond together and cannot easily be separated – think of trying to remove chewing gum from a carpet and you get the idea.
  • [edit – people do report that you CAN use PEI with TPU / Flex filaments, albeit with little or no heat in the bed, however I have no experience of this and know that any molten TPU that has ever got near my smooth PEI sheet has bonded so hard to it that I am not inclined to risk ruining my print bed)
    • I did once see a tip which involved using ethyl alcohol to essentially drown the build plate and print repeatedly in order to work them apart (I’ve not tried this myself, but if you ever make the mistake, it might be worth looking in to).
  • Perhaps more delicate than other print surfaces
    • I try not to use the same (centre) area repeatedly as the PEI film can adhere so well it gets pulled off with your print
    • The film’s bond with the steel does degrade over time when you do repeated prints on the same area
    • Always try to flex and peel the print rather than pulling it off directly as this may also pull the PEI film straight off the steel plate in chunks.

Summary

In over two years of using PEI as my main print surface for PETG parts, and despite it perhaps requiring a little more care in use, I have had almost zero failed prints due to them coming unstuck, even during longer and larger prints.

So …. hopefully this helps some of you reading – feel free to share your experiences in the comments.

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