Best Build Plate for PETG: Textured PEI, and Why Smooth PEI Needs a Release Layer
Short answer Print PETG on a textured PEI spring-steel plate: it grips at 70 to 85 °C and lets go when cool,…
Category: Parts & fit
Nozzles, build plates, hotends and extruders — with fitment tables that say “not verified” when we have not checked, because a wrong answer here costs you a hotend.
PEI Build Plate: Smooth or Textured, Which Size Fits, and When to Replace It
Short answer Buy a textured PEI spring-steel plate as your everyday surface: PLA and PETG stick hot and pop off cold, and…
Hardened Steel Nozzle: When Brass Is Not Enough, and How to Pick One That Fits
Short answer Fit a hardened steel nozzle before the first spool of any abrasive filament: carbon fibre, glass fibre, glow-in-the-dark, wood, metal-filled…
Silicone Mat for 3D Printing: What It Is For, and Why It Is Not a Print Surface
Short answer A silicone mat is a work surface, not a build surface: it goes under the resin printer or wash station…
3D Printer Tool Kit: The Eight Tools You Actually Use, and What the 70-Piece Kits Get Wrong
Short answer You need about eight tools for a filament printer: flush cutters, a thin scraper, a deburring tool, 0.35 mm nozzle…
Best Desiccant for Filament Storage: Silica Gel, Molecular Sieve, and How Much You Need
Short answer Use colour-indicating silica gel beads: about 50 g per spool in a sealed box, recharged in an oven at 120…
3D Printer Glass Bed vs PEI: What Glass Still Does Better, and What It Costs You
Short answer Keep a glass bed for two things: a perfectly flat reference when your PEI plate or aluminium bed is warped,…
Direct Drive vs Bowden Extruder: What Changes, and Which Kit to Buy for an Ender-Class Printer
Short answer Convert to direct drive if you want to print TPU, if PETG stringing will not tune out, or if you…
Klipper vs Marlin: What You Gain, What It Costs, and Which Board to Buy
Short answer Switch a Marlin bed-slinger to Klipper if you want input shaping and pressure advance, which together let an old printer…
Wash and Cure Station: What It Does, What to Look For, and Whether You Need One
Short answer A wash and cure station is worth it the moment you print resin more than once a week: it replaces…