“What’s with the hairspray?”
A question posed by everyone that comes by the lab to be introduced to 3D printing.
For those not in the know, in order for an object to be successfully 3d printed it needs to stick to the build surface. As this is plastic (in most cases) that is being extruded the build surface is often heated up (>60°C) in order for the first layers to adhere to the surface. Often however, bare glass is not enough and requires a “stickier” surface. The “go-to” surfacing is the heat resistant “space tape" Kapton. This stems from the printing of the Lego plastic ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene). The debate is ongoing as to what makes an ideal build surface, but the fact remains that an appropriate surface is required for a print to adhere to. The surface needs to provide sufficient adhesion but also allow for the print to be removed when completed & not to warp in the removal process. As we mostly print in the biodegradable PLA (polylactic acid) we’ve decided to ditch the Kapton and look at one of the more simple yet "elegant” build surface materials.
That brings us back to hairspray. The lab now smells like a hair salon on a Saturday morning. Following various online suggestions to use hairspray that carry the words “Ultrahold” and “Extreme Hold”, bare glass is coated with 2-3 layers of hairspray, heated to 60°C and we hit print. For the most parts a perfect print everytime. Once completed the print is easy to remove with only a little hairspray residue left on the surface of the print.
Why does this work? This may be due to the copolymers used in these types of hairspray, i.e. Vinyl Acetate/Crotonates/Vinyl Neodecanoate Copolymer. This sticky vinyl acetate forms a plastic film/layer on the surface of the heated glass bed (as it does on hair). This provides an adequate surface layer for adhesion of the print.
If you’re 3D printing, what build surface do you prefer?
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