Has anyone ever printed something so big when it finished printing on a XYZ printer that it was stuck? I am working on a BB8 droid and it’s split in half and and the base is stuck to the printing platform and will not come off. Anyone have any easy solutions or tricks out there?

You need to work a thin paint scraper or blade under it and lever it off. It’s a PITA when this happens, good luck.

I use a rubber mallet and a paint scraper (scrapper?)

I have had this problem with parts that have a lot of surface area. My printer has no heated bed to heat up and loosen the part, so I used a heat gun (a hair dryer would work also and would probably be much safer) to the bottom of the print bed (glass). Just enough to make the top of the glass almost uncomfortable to touch. Then I use a paint scraper as others have suggested. Be careful and try to keep the heating even on the glass since unevenly heated glass can crack.

When I tried a paint scraper and brute force, I have damaged the bottom edge of the part. Not to mention the force involved could alter the level on your print bed or damage other things.

Agreed, my mallet and paint scraper vs glass and plastic causes a lot of damage. I just replace glass and reprint parts when it happens. A good sized rubber mallet makes up for any parts loss in time savings for me though. Recently I’ve been removing the beds of parts to let them cool and swapping to another build plate so there is little interruption in print time.

Scrapper, but be very careful! I chipped my bed when a print too well.

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Most the time you have to let it cool down completely before you try to pull the print off. You should hear popping when the print is cool enough.

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If you can, get under one corner of the print (doesnt have to be much), then use floss to slide under that space. Run the floss through the entire print until it comes off. (Better when the bed is cold)

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That’s a good idea!

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Lol thanks, it works like a charm and your print gets a hint of minty goodness

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For ABS you normally hear a pop as the plate cools, so far I have not had any problem removing from a cool plate. I print on glass with glue and I have found if I use too much glue it sticks very hard. My favorite spatula for removing prints is: http://amzn.to/1WpHlwb

For PLA you don’t get the nice pop. Instead, I heat the bed to 80 degrees and this loosens the print enough to get the spatula under. Just be careful not to deform the print, the PLA will be soft.

I use a scraper with a single edged razor blade in it.Works best on a cold build plate. Start at a corner. I have wondered if using a can of air for dusting keyboards could be used to cool the bed below room temp to get a release. Never had to try it just a thought.

I use very thin feeler gauges to slide under the print. I then slide progressively larger ones under the same corner until the Gap is big enough to fit my plastic spatula and pray up on it.

I’m proud to be the only one who uses a hammer on prints :slight_smile:

Lol mallet or hammer?

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Depends on the print. Really it’s just Newtonian physics. Taking a print off the bed is like pulling a table cloth out from under a fully set table. With the right amount of force you can make that print move away from the bed without the bed absorbing much force. When the force is properly placed between the part and the bed you don’t damage either.

If you have a removable bed pla prints pop themselves off after 2 minutes in the freezer, I use a use a very particular hairspray for bed adhesion with PLA.

As for abs, kapton tape is the way to go, a careful knock with a rubber hammer or if you can ease a chisel infer a corner that works wonders too.

Some good ideas on here I will have to try feeler gauges and dental floss

Just use this, I was skeptic at first but it turns out to be an excellent tool because the edges have a varying thickness:

http://shop.turtlecreations.nl/3DPrinters/3DPrinterAccesoires/buildtak\_spatula

It didn’t end well.

Oooooh.

When I chipped my 2.0 I just bought Buildtak and have not had a problem. Its just a bandaid lol

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