I’ve had my Ender V3 KE since last October and pretty much been printing non-stop (9+ days of print time according to the printer) since then on my days off. The stock build plate served me well but I always thought I needed glue to help the first layers and that has been my routine. Lately even with my z-axis and bed level dialed in along with temps etc. (mostly printing PLA with an occasional print of PETG) I’m having first layer failure no matter what I do. I think I’ve just worn out the original build plate as nothing really sticks now.
I do have the Creality textured PEI (the gold color plate) and I’ve never had much success with that one for some reason. Probably user error. Anyway I searched around and read a lot of reviews and decided on the Comgrow ArcticGrip Aurora Cold Build. It’s claim is you can us lower bed temps and that everything sticks good.
Let me tell you that this thing rocks. I’ve lowered my bed temps for both PLA and PETG and everything sticks. No glue or any of that nonsense needed. Preheat it and go. I’ve printed a bunch of parts for my M4 Sherman tank build and 3 PETG Dummy 13 frames. I printed 2 PETG dummy 13 frames at once, something my old build plates could never accomplish without first layer issues. I’ve dedicated one side to PLA and the other to PETG. So far so good after probably 25 prints. All I have to do is clean with hot water and dish soap and I’ve even just started another print without doing that a few time without issues. The only thing I’ve noticed is the print is a little harder to remove but a scraper will help. I made the mistake of putting it outside to cool (about 30F) and that made the part stick too good. Actually had to use my heat gun a little to get it off. Now all I have to do is remove the build plate and let it cool for a few minutes before removing the part.
Highly recommended.
