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Kapton tape for 3d printing
Bed Surfaces: Applying Kapton Tape
Certain filaments call for certain bed surfaces. Kapton Tape is a key choice for ABS, but it can get tricky when it comes to application. Learn how to apply this sticky tape flawlessly with our helpful tutorial.
MatterHackers
April 28, 2016
Kapton tape is the recommended bed surface for 3D printing ABS filament. The tape protects the bed surface and acts a base layer, while the hair spray or juice provides the adhesion.
Kapton tape (a registered trademark of DuPont) is a polyimide film. Created for the aerospace industry in the 1960s, Kapton tape as a flexible adhesive tape that is stable over a wide range of temperature, from -269C to +400C. The film was used for many awesome projects like the Apollo Lunar Module.
The tape was then discovered and utilized widely in the Electronics manufacturing industry for its electrical isolation properties in addition to the thermal stability. 3D printing, in particular the RepRap Community, discovered a new use for the robust material as a bed surface.
Kapton tape comes in large rolls which allow you to cover the entire bed with a single sheet. Unfortunately, applying the tape is tricky since it is easy to trap air bubbles underneath or make creases. In this guide we will show you an easy way to apply Kapton without trouble.
Step 1- Create Soapy Water Mixture
- First, you will need an empty spray bottle and some dish soap.
- Fill the spray bottle with water, then add a few squirts of dish soap. The exact mixture is not important.
- Shake vigorously.
Step 2- Remove Glass Bed
- Remove the glass build plate from your printer.
- If necessary, scrape off any residual plastic and clean the surface using Windex.
Step 3- Spray Bed With Soapy Water
-
Things are going to get messy at this point. Either lay down some towels or do this some place where you don't mind getting water everywhere.
-
Spray the entire surface of your glass plate with the soapy water. Do not be afraid to use too much.
-
Spread the soap around and make sure that the entire plate is covered. If you miss a spot, the tape will get stuck there and you will have a problem.
Step 4- Lay Down Tape
- Pull enough tape off the roll to cover the entire bed, plus plenty of extra.
- Be careful not to let the tape get stuck to itself. You may need someone to help you at this point to hold the sheet as you cut it from the roll.
- Lay the tape down on the glass. The soap will prevent it from sticking and allow you to slide it around to get it in the right position.
- When you have the tape aligned correctly, stick the overhanging edges to the workbench below. This will hold the tape in place during the following steps.
Step 5- Squeegee Water Out
- Use a credit card or some other object with a hard edge to start pushing the soapy water out from under the tape.
- Begin at the center of the bed and work outwards.
- You will probably want to use a paper towel to soak up the water around the edges.
- Do your best to get out as much of the water as you can, especially around the edges. If you don't, they will be likely to peel up.
Step 6- Cut Tape to Size
- At this point you can cut off the excess tape with an art knife or sharp blade and then throw it away. The sheet will be stuck to the glass.
Step 7- Bake Moisture Out
- Now you have a perfectly applied sheet of Kapton with no bubbles underneath, however it is not ready for use yet.
- When the bed is heated, any residual moisture under the tape will boil, creating bubbles of water vapor. To prevent this, we need to thoroughly dry your build plate before use.
- Install it back on the printer, and turn on the bed heater to low heat (60-70 °C).
- Let the build plate bake for an hour.
Step 8- Apply Hair Spray or ABS Juice
- You are now almost ready for printing.
- Apply your favorite bed adhesion solution. Hair spray works well and is convenient, but for the toughest prints you will want to use ABS juice.
Step 9- Print
- Heat your bed to at least 90 °C. If your printer is capable of getting up to 100 or 110 °C, then do so.
- Enjoy printing with ABS.
- If you are still having problems with peeling or layer separation, consider building an enclosure for your printer.
And that's it! It is really that easy. Now, get that Kapton tape on your printer and enjoy!
Happy Printing!
Kapton Tape | Filament2Print
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From classic to mystic. My print surface test.
Subjects:
1. Blue Male Scotch
2. Capton tape
3. Flon Lomond Self -adgesive Inkjet Film 1708411
5. Catalyst - Pivo - beer 'VelkopopoPOVIL
Blue masking tape
Great for printing small PLA parts without heating the bed.
With an increase in the area of \u200b\u200bthe part, the edges rise along with the adhesive tape.
Kapton tape
I glue fresh tape, smear 'Light Goat' beer on a table warmed up to 110 degrees.
The bottom surface of the part (ABS) is smooth, except for the corners, which were unpleasantly raised. It does not adhere very well to fresh beer and the beer itself remains a brown film on the bottom surface of the part. Beer is easily washed off with water. The part separates well from the table after cooling, but it cannot be left overnight. The plastic begins to pull the tape and air bubbles form under the tape.
Such a surface after a few days of printing
Left the part overnight and the kapton wrinkled.
The lower surface is glossy, but there are bubble holes
Lomond film
I looked at this film for a long time, but the moment came when it was time to replace the Kapton and I decided to experiment.
I cut the film into two equal sheets and glued one onto the washed surface of borosilicate glass.
I completely forgot that the top layer of the film must be thoroughly washed off with water. At first, the ABS filament did not want to stick to the surface. After several calibrations of the nozzle relative to the table, the print still went. But the result did not satisfy me at all - the corners of the part were raised.
After the first print, there are air gaps under the film along the contour of the part.
I rubbed the surface of the film with my finger and remembered that the top layer needed to be washed off, which I did.
Sweat this bottom surface is obtained from ABS parts at Lomond. Minus one - it is very difficult to tear off the part from the film.
After a few days of printing, air bubbles begin to increase and appear on the underside of the part.
But this film is much denser and stronger than Kapton tape, so you can print much more before the appearance of obscene-sized bubbles.
Bubbles under the film.
Sitall glass
Let's move on to the mystical-cosmic material. So far, unexplored material that few people held in their hands.
Sitalls are crystalline materials obtained by introducing catalysts into molten glass, as a result of which crystallization centers appear in the volume of the material, on which crystals of the main phase grow. The term "sitalls" was proposed by the professor of the Moscow Chemical Technology Institute. DI. Mendeleeva I.I. Kitaygorodsky and comes from the words "glass" and "crystal" . For the first time glass-ceramics were made in the 50s. 20th century Materials similar to sitalls are called pyroceram, devitroceram, glassceram abroad. Glass-ceramics have high strength, hardness, wear resistance, low thermal expansion , chemical and thermal resistance, gas and moisture impermeability.
Packaging
Wipe thoroughly with 646 Thinner. Reconfigured the dimension along the Z axis. Started printing the gear from the Prusa i3 Rework kit. ABS 265 degrees, table 116 degrees.
The result disappointed me. At 76 degrees on the table, the part is removed by hand, as if it had just been placed on glass.
Added 2 degrees to the table.
Brim cannot be printed. At a table temperature of 85 degrees, the part can be removed from the glass.
Now I wonder how Brim works. I'm printing an extruder part from the Prusa i3 Rework kit. If Brim will hold parts with a large bottom area, then this will be ideal, but so far I have not noticed any advantages in adhesion.
Table 118 degrees.
Looks like Kapton without beer so far.
Table 122 degrees. Model cal.stl from the Mendel90 project. I lowered the nozzle along Z by 0.
1 mm.
Additional bubbles have appeared on the bottom surface of the part.
Tried to remove an underprinted part from a hot bed (119 degrees). Came off very easily.
I wiped the glass with alcohol - no effect.
Since the effect is like that of Kapton without beer, I decided to smear it with beer. The temperature of the table is 118 degrees.
This result is already acceptable. It shoots great.
A little tack on a large piece, just like beer should be.
My findings
Blue tape. Great for small PLA parts. Does not require table heating.
Kapton tape. Good for medium sized ABS and PLA parts. It is obligatory to heat the table and apply a layer of beer. Brim is required. If you print infrequently, then enough for a long time.
Lomond film 1708411. PLA did not print with plastic.
