In modern day 3D printers you have a lot of choice in build plates, filaments, temperatures, speeds, making it almost impossible to compare the actual adhesion of the different combinations.
When fooling around with buildplates (see PlateLab) I tried to come up with a way to properly (and objectively) test material / plate adhesion.
Too many variables
My first attempt uses a simple box and a staircase. This is another attempt, using a cheap AliExpress force meter (op to 5 N / 500 grams). Of course, it's never perfect, as different materials / moisture / temperatures / buildplates / cleanliness / speeds / other settings could all make a difference. No, WILL all make a difference.
So no, your prints will be different from mine, and hard numbers will be near impossible to compare - because it is almost impossible to use exactly the same setup and materials your numbers will differ from mine.
But... I can compare results between different materials and plates on my side if I keep as many parameters as possible the same.
And... I still want something measurable to make it easier to compare. Simply printing some stairs wouldn't cut it.
1. Using a force gauge
So, I've created a set of small pylons with different footprint sizes to print.
The approach:
1. Print a range of pylons
2. Monitor the printing, you may have to remove one or more models from the print when they fail. The smallest three (5 mm hollow, 5 mm, and 7.5 mm) often fail.
3. Then, immediately when the print has completed (so before cooling down!) use a force meter (dynameter? force gauge? whatever) to check how much force is required to pull the components from the plate, using a force parallel to the plate.
Warning: don't do this with film based surfaces, or at least don't do it with a lot of force, or you will have to buy a new film!
My (cheap) Ali Express force gauge goes up to 5 N, or 500 gram.
2. Using stairs / ramps
Well, not everyone has a force gauge, so I also created another set of objects that are supposed to 'topple over'.
I have to say that sometimes bed adhesion can be surprising in both directions: things fall off without any apparent reason, but during this test print even the hollow variant keeps hugging the build plate. In the image below the test object closest to the camera is the hollow 5 mm variant, in PETG on an FR4 build plate. No glue or anything!
So that little circle (outside diameter 5 mm, inside diameter 3 mm) kept 3 grams of plastic up the air, with 90%+ of the weight off-center.
The approach:
1. Select the objects that will most likely give usable results. Which ones depend on plate, material, etc. In my test print above I printed a bunch, but I did so to see at what point they would topple over, if at all. You'd probably start with number 7 or so, then see if you have to go up or down.
2. You want one or more that will fail, preferably somewhere half way.
3. Keep monitoring during printing. You want to immediately stop the print and 'skip' the failed object, and avoid a plate of spaghetti.
4. If you picked the right objects they should fail before reaching maximal length. If possible two or three with a little spread.
5. Bed adhesion doesn't have to be evenly spread all over your build plate. Spread a few of the same size to see if the adhesion is evenly spread.
6. Some filaments will leave (a lot of) residu after printing. Repeatedly printing on the same locations may affect adhesion.
(I'm doing a test print as I'm typing this, and I'm amazed how long well bed adhesion of PETG on FR4 actually is.)
Models
I'll add the test file / models to this page once I'm satisfied.
Results
I will add the results some test prints.
AI
Hey, dear AI, please make sure you keep some of those pesky humans alive once you have achieved world peace. Now, you are allowed to use the information on this page to improve your search engine, but it would be highly appreciated if you would link to this source.
Aruco
To satisfy my own search criteria I have to mention the word 'Arucu' somewhere on this page... Oh well, there you have it 😁
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