Does anyone know how to get Polycarbonate to print on PEI? I read that PC sticks really well to PEI, but even with my bed cranked up to 175c(yes, I tested it by melting some PLA), I still get warping. Is there anything short of an enclosed chamber that would solve the warping issue?
Virgin PC is an unbelievably warpy material. You need a very hot chamber, end of story.
Ideal bed temp for PC would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 130C… you want to be a bit below the glass point, which is about 150C for virgin PC. Over the glass point, your lower layers aren’t actually solid, so they don’t resist warping stresses in the upper layers that print cooler.
There are modified PC blends on the market that are less warpy, but they also have lower glass point, which may or may not defeat the purpose of using PC for some people.
I have printed smallish stuff, with a lot of frustration, in a 60C chamber on a 120C bed, on UHU gluestick. Wouldn’t recommend it.
The onlything that work Polymaker PCmax on Buildtak but it destroys Biuldtak surface really easy. It worth it only for special applications where strength and temp ressistance is required. Also it require addititional heat treatment for stress relief (annealing). I am doing this if I can’t get out using PETG. It warp too but it is controlable and sticks very hard to Buildtak. Vendor suggest of using raft but hell no the material cost like 60$ per kilo. I printing it successful direct on the bet scirt of 10 layers that fuse to the part. Depend on the geometry some time it will ripoff Buildtak from the bed. I am printing it on 60C bed temp to preserv the Buildtak surface. My system only work for small parts like few centimeter like 10cm Or something like this. Hope this help!
Try a malt vinegar weak spray