<p>I have had problems with items sticking on the build plate, especially when they were big (as they didn't stick well, they corners warped -> all kind of problems).</p>

<p>I also wanted to upgrade my printer (Scratch XYCore-Bowden) to have the ability to use flexible filament so first I modified my extruder motor/cog-wheel so it pushes the filament straight into the Bowden tube (classic modification).</p>

<p>This worked okay for small parts (as was the case with PLA).</p>

<p>The heat-bed seems to flex when heating in an uniform manner so it's not perfectly flat which means the Marlin 3-point test doesn't work out.</p>

<p>To alleviate this I added a borosilicate glass on top of the heat bed for perfect 'flatness', but the inductive sensor didn't reach through those extra 3&nbsp;mm of the glass, so I bought another inductive sensor (old was 4&nbsp;mm LJ12A3-4-Z/BY PNP with a voltage divider, new is 8&nbsp;mm NPN) and this started to function somehow:</p>

<p>As the sensor doesn't sense the surface (or the glass at all), but senses the heatbed under, which isn't either flat nor stable according to temperature, I added aluminium tape under the glass pane. This actually works perfectly well!</p>

<p>Now I am able to tune in the first layer distance really well, but still the flex filament floats around on the glass so I added blue painters tape which makes it work, very very well!</p>

<p>All well for flex printing!</p>

<p>Switched to PLA (which always worked okay whatever some small errors in print height, and not too wide items) and I have all pieces sticking to the bed in a manner <strong>I just cant get them off...</strong></p>

<p>They get big scratches from the pincers, get broken, etc.,...</p>

<p>I have tried:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Pincers (works for some items, doesn't work for some. About always makes marks);</p></li>
<li><p>Ripping off the blue painter tape (the tape was removed everywhere except where the item was stuck. Plus now I have to add new tape);</p></li>
<li><p>Chuck the build plate in the freezer for an hour. It helps a lot but:</p>

<ol>
<li>Still not easy to remove without making marks;</li>
<li>It's a serious hassle;</li>
<li>It's also a time waster.</li>
</ol></li>
</ul>

<p><strong>My question is:</strong> How can you both reliably print and remove your item without breaking it?</p>

<p>Little image of the last part that I broke (the square impact in the middle is after ripping of the "hook" from this hanger when I tried to detach it from the heat bed), as it didn't work at all I had to put it in the freezer for an hour or so to be able to remove the rest:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/BbbjJ.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Print damaged during removal"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/BbbjJ.jpg" alt="Print damaged during removal" title="Print damaged during removal"></a></p>

[{'answer_id': 6042, 'author': 'craftxbox', 'author_id': 6996, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/6996', 'pm_score': 3, 'selected': False, 'text': '<p>If your print is sticking too well, try printing directly onto the glass.<br>\nIf then, your print isn\'t sticking well enough, try using something like a glue stick instead.\nMost people use a paint scraper (<a href="https://mobileimages.lowes.com/product/converted/820909/820909561316.jpg" rel="noreferrer">a small one, like this</a>) to remove prints from build surfaces.</p>\n'}, {'answer_id': 6071, 'author': 'OyaMist', 'author_id': 10938, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/10938', 'pm_score': 2, 'selected': False, 'text': '<p>A bit of rubbing alcohol dripped on the print edges may help, especially if the print is still warm. Wait about 30 seconds and then gently pry up using knife-edge tool. If this technique works for you, dilute alcohol in a spray bottle or just buy a window cleaner. If you are designing models, minimize base area and always use a base layer fillet of about 0.5mm-1.0mm to permit knife-edge access. </p>\n'}, {'answer_id': 6076, 'author': 'theGarz', 'author_id': 10932, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/10932', 'pm_score': 2, 'selected': False, 'text': '<p>For PLA, I usually use hairspay directly on the glass, it keeps the object attached but is not at all a strong glue, sometimes I facilitate the part removal washing it under flowing water. </p>\n\n<p>As <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/6041/how-can-you-both-reliably-print-and-remove-your-item-without-breaking-it-when-de#answer-6071">OyaMist wrote</a>, a small fillet in the perimeter helps because you actually want to push your object perpendicularly to the bed, and therefore you need to have some grasp point for the blade.</p>\n\n<p>If this is not available and/or when an object is really impossible to remove otherwise, I use this technique:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Remove the glass with the object still attached;</li>\n<li>Find a robust piece of furniture with a flat top and a (smooth) vertical wall;</li>\n<li>Put the glass as high as possible but still pushed against the vertical wall; (the object must be on the furniture-side of the glass)</li>\n<li>Move down the glass, a quite fast but still controllable movement.</li>\n<li>The object is supposed to hit the furniture\'s flat top while the glass is sliding on the vertical wall.</li>\n<li>The object will receive an impact, not a force, from the side.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Since this is more an impact than an applied force, the adhesion layer can\'t resist as a whole surface, but only the surface near the hit point can actually do something. That\'s the same concept of fixing a nail into wood, if you can only push you\'ll need a lot of force or -that\'s why we use hammers- you can just apply some relatively small hits. In fact, I usually see (maybe after few movements) that the object start to detach in some spots, then I can proceed with the paint scraper or I can just continue this way.</p>\n\n<p>Be careful not to drop the glass, of course. :)</p>\n'}, {'answer_id': 6105, 'author': 'StarWind0', 'author_id': 2146, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/2146', 'pm_score': 2, 'selected': False, 'text': "<p>First if you print directly to the glass with a glue stick, over time there will be enough oil build up that you will not have this issue. </p>\n\n<p>Following, if the change in heat temp on a bare glass is not enough to pop it off, I personally use a thin strong blade, specifically a leather cutting blade. Note this blade will through mats with ease. That said that blade is made to cut leather, your thumb is easier to slice by a lot.</p>\n\n<p>Last if you cannot do these, then simply print a few raft layers and don't worry about damaging at the removal point. </p>\n"}, {'answer_id': 8516, 'author': 'Electrafide', 'author_id': 14902, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/14902', 'pm_score': 3, 'selected': False, 'text': '<p>If you\'re ever in doubt regardless of what project you\'re working on... <strong>Tooth Floss.</strong>    You need the good old-fashioned braided kind, none of the new "Pro Glide" elastic stuff.  Pull a piece taut and just start sawing back &amp; forth against the bottom layer in different areas (corners work best)... and you\'ll be on your way in very little time.</p>\n'}, {'answer_id': 10795, 'author': 'CrossRoads', 'author_id': 16523, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/16523', 'pm_score': 0, 'selected': False, 'text': '<p>Technology has come to the rescue here. New printing surfaces are available that release PLA very easily.  I am using the WhamBam system.  A magnet is stuck to the AL bed. A flex steel sheet is placed on the magnet. The flexsteel has a PEX sheet stuck to it.</p>\n\n<p>After levelling the bed, a print is done normally. When done, the flex steel sheet is lifted off the magnet. After cooling a minute or two, give the steel a little flex across the two sides, and the piece pops right off.</p>\n\n<p>I\'ve posted a video at this Stack Exchange topic</p>\n\n<p><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10176/printing-pla-on-pex-surface-is-heated-bed-needed">Printing PLA on PEX surface - is heated bed needed?</a></p>\n'}]
['https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/6041', 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com', 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/8328/']