<p>There must be a trick to doing a good job of applying Kapton tape on a printer bed plate…</p>

<p>We built a Bukobot and even with a great deal of care ended up with bubbles under the tape and occasional overlaps. I'd appreciate any pointers.</p>

[{'answer_id': 272, 'author': 'tjb1', 'author_id': 233, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/233', 'pm_score': 5, 'selected': True, 'text': '<p>There are several things you could try without spending much but even PLA will warp on an unheated bed.  I had a Legacy Kossel that I switched to an acrylic bed and had many issues with warping and prints pulling off the bed.  </p>\n\n<p>Some cheap things to try would be...</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Adding a brim to the print.</li>\n<li>Blue painters tape on the acrylic, remove the other material if doing this.</li>\n<li>Place cheap piece of glass/mirror on bed and use hairspray/gluestick.</li>\n<li>Use hairspray/gluestick directly on acrylic.  You must be careful here because first layer height is very critical to prevent damage to the acrylic from the plastic welding.  A layer of hairspray or glue should prevent it but dial in your height before printing.</li>\n<li>If you aren\'t currently using a fan, you could try sealing the sides to prevent drafts.  I doubt this would change much since you are using PLA but it\'s an option.</li>\n<li>If these are your designs, there are steps you can take to reduce warping as seen <a href="http://hackaday.com/2011/11/15/a-technique-to-avoid-warping-on-large-3d-prints/">here.</a></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Also many other suggestions <a href="http://www.makerbot.com/blog/2011/06/23/12-ways-to-fight-warping-and-curling">here.</a></p>\n'}, {'answer_id': 306, 'author': 'Dimitri Modderman', 'author_id': 264, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/264', 'pm_score': 2, 'selected': False, 'text': '<p>I use 3DLAC from Reprapworld on a heated bed. People I meet once a month during our 3D Printer meets use this stuff on non-heated beds.</p>\n\n<p>I suspect it is just hairspray, but for me it did miracles. Especially printing large objects that go all the way up to the edge.</p>\n'}, {'answer_id': 10365, 'author': 'markm46', 'author_id': 16788, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/16788', 'pm_score': 0, 'selected': False, 'text': "<p>Try a dilute solution of PVA glue (approx. 5:1 water:PVA) applied to the bed or the BuildTak like sheet and allowed to dry. \nKeep the ambient temperature as high as possible (but not so high as to soften any plastic on the printer obviously). \nBig brims help - consider adding them to the model rather than just applying them in the slicer. I've used 12&nbsp;mm by 0.5&nbsp;mm deep circles to good effect, particularly on acutely angled parts of the model or the extremities.</p>\n"}]
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