Amazing Way to Remove PLA Prints from Build Platform

Ok, I own a Makerbot Replicator 2. It prints 3D objects in PLA plastic. Great! Cool! And so forth… One thing you notice if you own one of these machines is that the print sticks to the build plate with a kung fu grip. This is especially true of large prints. I can’t pry them off to save my life!

I’ve resorted to removing the build plate, then hitting the print with a rubber mallet. Sometimes I have to hit the print several times! Not good!

I read as much as I could find on the internet about this problem but the closest info I could find was for someone printing on a sheet of glass. They mentioned that if they let their printer cool down, the print would just pop off!

I tried that… even waiting over night! The print was still stuck really good… mallet time!

Then, yesterday evening I had an idea. Maybe cooling down to room temperature wouldn’t work for me… but what if I got the the print even cooler? Hmmm.

So, after my next big print, I removed the build plate with the print on it, tried to pull it off (stuck real good as ever) and tossed it in the freezer for a few seconds. I took it out of the freezer, gave it a twist with my bare hand and… Presto!  It popped right off! No struggling. No problem! For me this is huge!

Getting the print off usually would also pull on the surface I have on the build plate (right now a sheet of skinz).  This should remove or at least greatly reduce this problem.

I do not know yet if this works for ABS. I can’t do this with the Makerbot Replicator 2X since the build plate is not removable (I’m not going to stick the whole printer in the freezer)! Maybe if I clipped on a sheet of glass onto the build plate? 🙂

Anyways, I thought I would let you know.