Hello from Iowa

#1

I purchased a Wilson II but have not yet received it or started assembly. This will be my first 3d printer. I’m a long time maker, so looking forward of being able to create my own 3d creations!

#2

welcome Jesse.
Im in the same boat as you.

Have you gone through marties videos yet?
They are really well done and help paint the picture beautifully.

Have fun!

#3

My printer is built… trying to workout issues with getting first layer sticking, without heated bed… as I have a bad thermistor.

#4

Print PLA or ABS?

You should have good success with glue stick on glass for PLA.

If you don’t want the mess, try blue painter tape on glass.

Make sure the head is almost touching the bed when it print. The first layer should be “squished” a bit
Here’s an example I found online : http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2_nVKipBgJI/TwwqtiBaQcI/AAAAAAAAA3E/ZVVQOOJrvxA/s1600/very_slightly_over_stuck_down_print.jpg

#5

PLA. I’ll adjust further to see if I can get it. I was using a glue stick. It’s of course just a very little difference in height to be able to do that. As I’ve read, a heated bed + glass works pretty well. So, hopefully it will be better soon.

#6

Heated bed is definitely the way to go :smile:.

I had a pretty hard time when trying to print PLA at 220-210C, lowering it to 190C seem to be the best for my Wilson TS. You might want to look into that.

#7

I had similar problems with my heated glass bed on the Wilson II. I tried the glue-stick supplied by Marty but clean-up after a few prints was messy (the glue stick leaves a thick layer which must be scraped off).

I discovered a better approach. I thin elmer’s white glue and dab on the cooled glass surface with a wet paper towel. If the glue is very thin and the paper towel is wet, it will produce a thin watery pattern kinda like the sponge-paint textured walls people used to paint. If you heat the bed this will dry rapidly and leave behind a VERY thin film and I’ve found my PLA sticks to it extremeley well. if the film gets beat-up after a few prints, just let the glass cool, dab some wet paper towel on it and reset the film – the white glue is water soluable.

As AndreQ suggested, make sure your z-height offset is proper so the first layer is slightly squished onto the glass from the nozzle. That also helps a lot. Not enough squish and it won’t adhere as well. Too much squish and you’ll block the nozzle – you’ll know if that happens because you can hear the PLA slipping on the extruder gears because it’s getting blocked.