Printing A Lathe - Only 3 Plates To Go

So, I did finally have success with the blue PLA.  I ended up using PVA glue (Elmer's Glue-All) diluted 1:8 in water on a piece of glass over a heated bed (see the previous post).  When I got up this morning plate 2 of 5 had completed printing, and seeing finished parts out of the blue PLA was very satisfying.

Plate 2 of 5 in the Mini Lathe Build

Completed Print of Plate 2 of 5

The parts were difficult to remove from the glass covered in PVA glue.  I ended up using a metal wedge I had with a razor edge (an old piece of lab equipment, I think for slicing thin layers of tissue) and was able to pry them off without a huge amount of effort.  It was not ideal though, and I think I would have had more success heating the bed and glass back up to 85 C or so before trying to pry the parts loose.  I will try that with the next print.

Here is a pic from a better camera (the image above was from my Galaxy Note) showing the blue parts from last night's print.  The blue PLA does look very cool (blue is my favorite color, so that helps).  The gold is also nice, but after a couple of months I was starting to get tired of it.  I have a spool of green still in the box that I haven't even opened yet.

Plate 2 of 5 of Mini Lathe Print in Blue PLA

Plate 4 of 5 is now printing (saving 3 of 5 for last I guess), and it also appears to be adhering well.  Here are a couple of shots of the first layer perimeters going down.

Plate 4 of 5 of Mini Lathe Print, Bottom Layer

Plate 4 of 5 of Mini Lathe Print, Bottom Layer Image 2

As you can see, I'm really squishing the first layer of plastic onto the glass plate.  The small flange that this forms around the bottom of the part does not seem like a big issue for these parts, so I'll take that small imperfection in order to be sure that nothing is going to come loose during the print.

I'm going to let the plate 4 print run overnight, and I have another piece of glass waiting to place on the printer tomorrow morning to start plate 3 of 5--the last plate to print--before I head to work.  It is so satisfying to be back where I can start a print and let it run without worrying about parts coming loose again. Really makes all the difference in the world in terms of output, since I can only spend a couple of hours at a time actually monitoring the printer.

One other note about using the PVA mixture--it did leave a milky white film and some white material on the bottom of the parts.  I first tried a little rubbing alcohol to see if I could wipe it off, then decided to try a small torch for some heat.  That worked like a charm, and I plan to record and post a video showing the torch making the white film disappear the next time I use this method.

Overall, the PVA seems to be an acceptable solution for getting the parts to stick well going forward.  Removal of the parts from the glass after printing is the only thing I'm not happy about for now, but I will try to re-warm the plate and see what happens.

As I type the current print has finished several layers and all seems well.  Time for some sleep while my MendelMax works on through the night . . .

D