Cleaning build plate (was How hot is too hot for FDM printing?)
Cleaning build plate (was How hot is too hot for FDM printing?)
I recently had two print failures on my Ender 3 Neo. In both, it looked like the part came free from the heated build plate after about an hour or so of printing. Both had good starts in the first 15 minutes or so. I had a successful print finish two days ago.
It has been hot and humid here today, and my printer is in a non-AC shed not connected to the house.
I'm wondering if I should wait to kick off the next print until this evening when it should be cooler. Do I need to clean the build plate? I've not done that at all, other than make sure these isn't any filament left on the plate when it finishes.
UPDATE: It's apparent the problem isn't the heat, but the fact that I haven't cleaned the build plate since... well, ever. Adjusting the title to reflect that.
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Yes. You need to clean the build plate thoroughly after every print with alcohol. You have layers of built up plastic schmoo that is not letting new plastic adhere.
Humidity will degrade your filament too, and cause it to get stringy and warp more severely. Make sure you keep your filament in an airtight box ideally with desiccant.
I bet worst schmoo is grease from fingers tho. Either way alcohol or soapy water does the trick
I'd heard about needing to keep the filament dry, but it hasn't been an issue for me yet. That said, I'll get what filament isn't still sealed into a dessicant loaded container ASAP - thanks!