I didn't even use abs slurry glue this time. It is a hello kitty head
printed with a flat back that stuck to the platform, printed with no raft.
Tried cooling it with ice, tried slipping a razor blade underneath (blade
BROKE!), tried using a letter opener to pry it loose.... What else should I
try?

Thanks in advance for your advice  :0)

Re-doing the kapton tape seems like a real pain the butt, so I hesitate
peeling off the kapton tape to free the model, but... that's the only idea
that I have left. I hope y'all have better ideas!

I tried to pry it loose with a knife and not joy. I also just tried to
twist it off with my hand. I gripped it so hard with my finger that a blood
vessel broke and now I have an enormous hemorrhage (a big black bulb) on my
finger. Ugh....

Elbot,

Have you tried bringing the build plate back up to heat (using the preheat
function) and see if it comes loose then?  I've had good luck with
that--but you have to be careful not to touch the plate!

Finally got it off with a swiss army knife, the smallest flat blade.
However, I scratched the build platform and ripped a big hole in the kaptan
tape! Ugh! I think next time this happens, I'll just peel off the kaptan
because any other method that will work here will also damage the kaptan
tape.

Will the scratched platform make my future prints peel off and curl off the
platform? Or will the kaptan tape prevent this? Will the scratch on the
platform show up on my prints or will the kaptan prevent this?

Ah, I see, basic physics. Plate and model are at different temperatures,
one expands while the other is stationary. Thanks! I'll try that next
time....

Here is something to try:

Let it cool to room temp. Reheat the platform, long enough to put some heat
into the base of the print. Turn off the platform, and blow a big fan
directly onto the HBP. Attempt removal as it cools, and ideally the parts
will become easier to remove.This has worked for me a few times. Once it
was a chess set that was stuck, and I did not want to risk breaking pieces.
I used this method and they popped off easily.

I've never tried the cooling techniques, other than letting the platform
cool to about 80 before trying to remove the part.

On 12-08-04 11:17 PM, Busybotz wrote:

I find that under the right conditions th abs slurry actually helps prints come off.

Ever do the experiment with the wooden ruler under a sheet of newspaper (what's that?) and you smack the ruler off the end of a table and it breaks? Seems to me related. Big surface area prints stick more. The solution is slow, gentle pressure.  First a corner, then an edge, etc.

The best tool I have is a pair of needlenosed pliers. Get a good grip and pill gently. But I have also had prints that forced me to replavr the tape. Good thing I have a huge roll of the stuff.

I'll reiterate here, I've had pretty good luck with (gasp) a hammer.  Not
really a hammer but something massive but padded. like the handle of a
large screwdriver.  I've done a lot of large, fairly solid objects and only
broken a couple.  Learning where to smack it is part of the trick.  I
believe that getting a clean quick break off the platform has less
potential for damage to the platform than the bending I see from trying to
pry it off.

Aside from that, I like the idea of the thermal approach too.  But, ice
sounds a little messy, and a fan wouldn't give the really sharp thermal
difference that I'd like.  Has anyone tried freeze spray?  I've got a can
here but alas it's about empty and all I can get from it is a cool breeze.
I've got a new can on order from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Z99ZCA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=...

Freez-It by Chemtronics is another brand.  If someone tries it before I do,
be sure to not use one of the penetrating oil types of freeze sprays (like
Locktite); the oil in those would make a mess.The electronics freeze sprays
are used for trouble-shooting thermal problems in electronics and leave no
residue.

Gary

----------------------------------------------
Gary A. Crowell Sr., P.E., CID+
Linkedin <http://www.linkedin.com/in/garyacrowellsr>
Elance<http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgaryacrowellsr%2Eel...>
  KE7FIZ <http://www.arrl.org>

I've had extremely good luck with my new Cricut spatula.  If it doesn't get
far under the print I have a thin butter knife that will get the rest of
the way under to pop prints off the platform.

I use a painter's spatula, and when the piece is delicate, I use it to raise a corner, then I take a piece of dental floss string and pass it through that space, pulling both ends until the piece is free.

El 05/08/2012, a las 12:44, MacGyver <bdwells2...@gmail.com> escribió:

For sticky prints I have had good luck using a freeze spray. Just a couple
of quick shots on the corners and they pop right off. No mess either.
http://www.amazon.com/Techspray-1672-10S-Freeze-Spray-10/dp/B0002BBX1...

A friend (Rik of The Learned Nerd local hackerspace) showed me a trick with
wire cutters. Basically you use them to lightly grip a corner of a piece
(not hard enough to cut into it), and then press down on the handle
slightly to lever up the front of the wire cutters, lifting that corner.
It's gentle so it's easy on the parts and the Kapton - I've had the same
piece of Kapton for a dozen or perhaps two dozen prints, when I was
replacing it fairly frequently before.

You'd think that wire cutters would cut up the plastic, but at least for me
I can't see any cutting, whereas pliers were visibly scratching the
plastic's surface. Counter-intuitive, but effective!

That sounds interesting... Would you be willing to post a pic to illustrate
the grip and the specific type of wire cutters?

Thanks!

Adan

Got my freeze spray today, and had a very large - hard to remove print on
the platform waiting when I got home from work.  Heated it up, blasted it
with about 2 seconds of freeze, and it came right off; easy-pleezy.  I'd
had a great deal of trouble removing that same print before.  Consider a
can of freeze spray as a "must have" tool.

Gary

On Sun, Aug 5, 2012 at 11:39 AM, Gary Crowell <garyacrowel...@gmail.com>wrote:

I have been using an "air duster" for years, I invert it, give the bottom
of the print a quick blast and it comes right off.

So you are spraying the bottom of the part where it touches the build
platform? Very cool.

Luis E. Rodriguez

On Aug 15, 2012, at 6:47 AM, abellasr <abell...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have been using an "air duster" for years, I invert it, give the bottom
of the print a quick blast and it comes right off.