Printing Tips for Glass Beds

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I've Had Some Pretty Good Results Printing On A Glass Bed With No Adhesives And Thought I'd Share What Works For Me. Setup Print Surface: Printing On The Smooth Glass Side Of One Of These. Other Mods In The Interest Of Full Disclosure All Other Mods Are Listed Here. These Mods Have Not Improved Print Quality As The Same Results Were Achieved With The Stock Hot End. Hot End: Micro Swiss Firmware: Marlin 1.1.19 Stepper Isolators: Isolators Installed For X And Y Steppers Only. Preflight Checks Clean Clean The Print Surface Thoroughly A Glass Bed Will Give Your First Layer A Mirror-Like Finish. The Bad News Is That All Dirt And Defects Will Be Visible. I've Had Prints Pick Up A Fingerprint From The Glass Bed, The Stuff Is Basically Silly Putty. Once The Bed Has Been Properly Cleaned A Quick Wipe Down With Some Alcohol And A Paper Towel Is Usually All That's Required. However, If You've Been Printing With An Adhesive A Good Scrubbing With Water And Dish Soap Will Remove Everything. Be Sure To Dry Well And Wipe With Alcohol To Remove Any Soap Residue. Preheat Warm Up The Bed Allowing Enough Time For Both The Glass And Any Surrounding Metal To Reach Temperature. If You Are Unsure How Long This Takes On Your Printer, Repeatedly Level The Bed During Warm-Up Until It Stops "Changing". Preheat The Nozzle To 80% Of Print Temp. Home And Level Give Your Bed A Quick Check Before Every Print Using A Series Of 9 Points. This Will Help You Visualize The Surface Of Your Bed. Remember A Bed Is A Flat Sheet Of Metal Secured At Four Points And Will Therefore Behave A Bit Like A Lever. When One Corner Is Pulled Down, Two Other Point(s) Will Act As A Pivot And The Fourth Point Will Want To Go Up Slightly. Executing Proper Alignment Requires Patience And Persistence. It's Best To Start With A Fresh Print Bed That Hasn't Been Used Before. To Align Your Print Bed, Follow These Steps: Example 1 (Center High): My Print Bed Has A Slight "Upside Down U" Shape. The Center Rail Is The High Point So I Adjust In The Order Shown Below. Adjust For Point 1 By Turning All Four Knobs Equally Adjust For Points 2 By Turning Both Front Or Both Rear Knobs Equally Recheck Point 1; Split The Difference Between Point 1 And Points 2 Adjust For Points 3 By Turning Both Left Or Both Right Knobs Equally Recheck Point 1 And Points 2; Split The Difference Between Points 1,2,&3 Adjust Corners By Turning Knobs Individually Recheck All Points; Split The Difference Between All Points Repeat As Needed. Example 2 (Center Low): My Friend's Printer Is The Opposite, A Regular U Shape Where The Center Rail Is The Lowest. Adjust For Points 1 By Turning Both Left Or Both Right Knobs Equally Adjust For Point 2 By Turning All Four Knobs Equally Recheck Points 1 And Point 2; Split The Difference Between Point 1 And Points 2 Adjust For Points 3 By Turning Both Front Or Both Rear Knobs Equally Recheck Points 1,point 2, And Points 3; Split The Difference Between Points 1,2,&3 Adjust Corners By Turning Knobs Individually Recheck All Points; Split The Difference Between All Points Repeat As Needed. Profile Tweaks Here Are Some Settings I Have Altered On My Profile. Calibrate: (Watch This Video) Www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yIebnVjadm Profiles: all have been set to "magic number" heights (watch this video) www.youtube.com/watch?v=WikT8asT90A Speed Print Speed Is 45mm/s Retraction: 4.2mm @ 17mm/s Z-hop: Set To Initial Layer Height Z-hop Height: height is set to initial layer height Shell: typically 3 walls and at least .8 mm top and bottom. Cheats Hair Spray Tease Occasionally All Of This Trickery Still Isn't Enough. When That Happens It's Aquanet To The Rescue. Use The Stuff In The Purple Can And Spray A Small Amount On A Paper Towel. Allow To Mostly Dry And Rub Down The Bed. You Probably Won't See Much Difference But You'll Feel It. If That Doesn't Work You Can Always Fog The Glass. (Don't Do This While It's On The Printer Unless You Like Everything Sticky.)