I have just upgraded to the K2 combo after previously using the Ender 3 VE SE. With that printer I was still using the V4.3 slicer software. However now I have the K2 I am using the latest version V7. None of the prints I have tried yet have worked as they do not stick to the bed plate. I cannot find anywhere on the V7 software where I can add or change base plate adhesion settings so I can use a raft and then hopefully the prints will actually stick to the bed plate!!
I have looked online but cant find any help so would be most grateful if someone could offer some help before I go back to the reliable Ender 3 and put the K2 on eBay!!!
When people refer to “adhesion settings,” they are often thinking of a single control. In modern slicers, adhesion is not governed by one setting but by a group of first-layer and build-plate-related parameters.
Within the slicer, the dominant factors are:
Bed temperature, typically defined in the filament profile.
Build-plate adhesion features such as brims or mouse ears, usually found under build plate adhesion or skirt/brim settings.
First-layer parameters, including first-layer height, extrusion width, speed, flow multiplier, and initial cooling or fan delay. These settings often have more influence on adhesion than the nominal bed temperature alone.
Z-offset or live Z adjustment, which directly affects first-layer squish and is frequently the deciding factor between good adhesion and failure.
Outside of the slicer, build plate type and surface condition matter just as much. Plate hygiene is commonly overlooked. Textured plates hide fingerprints and contamination, so they should be assumed dirty unless recently washed. Proper cleaning means hot water and dish detergent. Isopropyl alcohol is acceptable for light maintenance, but it is not a substitute for soap and water.
PEI build plates are popular for a reason. When heated, they adhere strongly to most common filaments, and when cooled, parts typically release without glue. Other plate types serve more specialized roles. High-tack plates can enable lower bed temperatures, and for materials such as pure nylon, specialty surfaces like Garolite AKA G10 are often required.
In short, adhesion problems are rarely solved by a single toggle. They are almost always the result of first-layer setup combined with plate condition and material choice.
Hi During a print you would you can dial Z-Height via the onboard screen, look into the gear, expert mode and you can adjust, mine printed flawlessly out of the box.
You can also check the plate settings in Creality Print upper right corner it should display your plate setting(PEI Textured), check that description match your actual plate.
Thank you both for your replies. I’ve tried those things (Fedez) without any success. So am I correct then Joe, that there is now no longer an option to have a raft on your print when slicing? And where can I find “build plate adhesion or skirt/brim settings on the slicing software? (I’ve looked and can’t see them).
I have adjusted bed temperature, the z axis and it’s a brand new PEI plate that I am using, oh and to add to that, it’s also official Creality filament I am using too.
I’ve tried eight prints so far, none of which have stuck to the bed, even including the included onecolourandmulti coloured “test” bencheys!!
Rafts are still an available option, but they are generally independent of supports. In some slicers the setting is grouped under support-related menus, which can make it look like supports are required, but a raft does not inherently require model supports. If you do not want supports touching the part, you can change orientation or use support blockers as needed.
That said, you are likely chasing the wrong solution. The bigger issue here is carrying expectations over from an Ender 3 to a Creality K2. Most of the workarounds that were necessary on an Ender 3 are simply not needed on the K2. The K2 is enclosed and has significantly better automatic bed leveling and thermal control.
It helps to understand where rafts came from and why they are no longer needed. They originated in the early RepRap era when bed leveling was inconsistent, build plates were often unheated, and first-layer reliability was poor. Rafts were a brute-force way to get prints to stick under unreliable conditions.
They still exist largely because modern slicers evolved from older open source projects. PrusaSlicer, and forks like Bambu Studio and OrcaSlicer, trace their roots back to Slic3r. Creality Print 6.x is a repackaged OrcaSlicer. The feature set persists even though the original problem it solved is mostly gone on modern hardware.
Think of rafts as a vestigial feature. They had a clear purpose in the past, but on a modern enclosed printer with good bed leveling, they are rarely the right tool and usually add more downsides than benefits.
