Dremel 3D Printing BT20-01 Build Sheets (Pack of 3)

Just like the factory

This is the worst product I think I've ever bought off Amazon.First of all, there are no instructions printed on the outside of the cardboard envelope it came with, but there was a mention on the sheet itself to peel backing off before applying. "I got this" I said to myself. So I did and I of course pushed it on to my immaculately alcohol cleaned glass.Unfortunately, I expected the prebuild levelling to take into account the new added thickness and to be on the safe side I first did an assisted nozzle height calibration only to have the nozzle get dragged across the sheet ruining it. The fact that it started bubbling raising a large bulge in the middle area didn't seem to matter at all as the sheet was already ruined. No point finishing the calibration before my printer was ruined, so i just guessed that + x means that the gap would be made bigger, something dremel doesn't really explain well and i did bump it up.I tried to salvage the sheet by scraping the material off but it just destroyed what was left. I then put another sheet on and this time ran my print. The auto leveling started and lo and behold, because I was off on centering the sheet left to right, the leveling center was landing off the sheet for 1/3 of the touch downs. Dremel decided they could make a few more cents by selling us sheets that are significantly smaller than the glass thereby,reducing our build area. Unreal !!Anyhow, I thought there must be something perhaps inside in the way of explanations. Sure enough, I pulled out a white piece of paper with almost no instructions, but rather hints at putting the mat down. Specifically starting from the center and working outwards. Second sheet still badly gouged, so I pull out last and final sheet and what falls out with it ? A tiny , i mean not much bigger than a match pack plastic sticker, like an afterthought, after a riot of returns and complaints, that finally explains how to relevel the nozzle by moving the unpeeled sheet underneath and slowly bringing up the two sides of the platform with the adjustment knobs until it starts to catch. How this sets the back end I don't know. Still not sure how to zero the printer at that point and Dremel again forgot to mention that. I might add that I do not know via what menu, I can bring the nozzle to the glass and stall it there. Lastly, what is clear to me is that at best, you will get one part per sheet, due to damage, which is a severe charge per part.I do know that this is the last time I will be buying a Dremel 3D Printer. It's just one darned thing after another and nobody at Dremel seems to be listening to their customer complaints.

Ok before I continue, please note my review is for PLA filament only, and this trick applies to all printers that can fit these sheets (i.e. Flashforge Dreamer, Qidi, etc.), not just the Dremel Idea Builder. Most of you are aware that PLA has a hard time sticking on bare 3D print beds; be it may aluminum, acrylic, glass, etc. What happens is that somewhere along the printing process, the objects either warp or slide off completely, causing a failed or ugly result. Many solutions surfaced over time to attempt at solving this, including using 3M painters tape / sheets, heated beds, slurries, glues, etc., and of course these Dremel Build Sheets.Now by themselves, these sheets are just OK. A brand new sheet sticks well like 3M painter's tape, but unlike the 3M tape, these sheets last for about 20 to 30 large prints instead of 1 or 2 prints with the 3M tape. After that, the prints start warping or sliding off, and it's time to change the sheet. Right now you might be wondering, "how on earth is this worth $30?" I'll get there, please read on...So the trick is that before each print, you must level your print bed, and then rub 2-3 thin coats of Elmer's School Glue Stick on the surface of the Dremel Build Sheet (until it's pale white). Now I don't know what the chemistry is behind this, but something amazing happens... Not only do the prints stick 100% to the surface with perfectly straight non-warped results, but you can do this again and again and again using the same sheet! I printed out big 5x5" objects with the Dremel Idea Builder printer OVER 200 TIMES using the SAME SHEET! All you have to do is wash off the glue after every print, and repeat the process. Not even my heated bed Robo3D printer gave me this kind of performance; not even close! Note, you'll need to use some kind of thin spatula, or whack your object on a hard surface, because these babies will stick like a weld if you use this trick!So TL;DR - The trick is before every print, level your bed and then apply 2-3 coats of Elmer's School Glue Stick on the Dremel Build Sheet; Wash off the glue after each print; repeat; Will last for 100s of prints.

Dremel is no longer supporting the 3D20. These sheets have gone up $10 in a single year. Dremel PLA has also gone up, over $10 per reel in a year. Non-Dremel PLA sticks to these sheets like they were epoxied on. It is a far better option to just use painters tape or similar to print onto since it is a nightmare trying to get your object off of the plate if it finished while you are away and it cools onto the surface. Tape is easy to get off.

If you have a Dremel 3D printer, you will appreciate having a spare build sheet or two. We use Scotch blue tape on top of the build plate for adhesion while printing, but even so, the build sheets take a beating. Here in Canada, parts and accessories can be rather hard to find. Amazon.ca offers a pack of 3 plates for our Dremel 3D 20 printer. The other nice thing is that they come with a bed levelling sheet as well.