That is caused by humidity trapped in the pei before the material is stuck down to the glass. When the plate is heated, the moisture comes out of the PEI and eventually forms bubbles. It is an issue Lulzbot is aware of. They are now baking their PEI matierial before attaching it to the glass removing all moisture before assembling to the plate. I had my bed replaced under warranty (mini) and the new sheet it working perfectly.
Contact lulzbot and they should replace the bed for you no questions asked.
Lulz was great in admitting it was a new issue and did a great job fixing it!
Also, never remove a part from the bed until the bed moves forward and it is below 60c which allows the adhesive to “heal”. This is humidity related though and the new beds are perfect!
If you installed it yourself, it’s possible. The key is the PEI has to be completely void of moisture during install. One the PEI is affixed to the plate, humidity cannot penetrate it. It’s not permeable from the outside.
I installed my own before lulzbot sold them. I have had no issues. Now mind you I used my PEI sheet clamped down with clips for weeks before I used the double sided tape so it may have fully dried it out. But we have 50%-80% humidity all year long and it has not bubbled on me at all. I used the double sided tape on it around 5 months ago and print almost every day.
Started to experience the bubbles on my TAZ 5 as well It slowly started and they then accumulated into bigger bubbles. It has become so bad that the bubbles are now lifting off the print from the bed so I got in touch with support yesterday evening to check what they can recommend. I noticed from the beginning that there was a somewhat marbled layer on my print bed since I got the printer. Not sure if that was some trapped air/moisture or if that was within the specs. Will need to pause my printing until this is solved :-/
Contact support and they will replace it for you under warranty. I got my replacement in about 2 days. This replacement includes the glass plate, PEI surface and heating pad all as one assembly. Takes about 10 minutes to replace if it’s your first time.
Lol, first my pei sheet ripped a section off the bed, then next part cracked the glass getting it off. Dont. try to to twist a part off from the top!!! I refuse to turn in my mistake as a warranty item and 3m 459 to set up a new sheet. Is 12x12 big enough? I need glass too.
Mine looks similar to yours when cold, and you’re right it gets worse when hot. I’d been printing every day recently without blistering problems, then took a 2-week break to go attend to family matters. When I got back, I immediately started getting blistering with a similar pattern, primarily around the outside edges, and it got worse with every heating/cooling cycle. It may be that my daily use kept the problem at bay until the 2-week break, I don’t know.
I sent them an email with a picture today, and got a reply within about five minutes! I supplied them with the info they requested, and they will get a replacement on the way out to me quickly. SUPER customer support!
[edited:] Within 24 hours of my first email to them I had an RMA # and a FedEx tracking link showing FedEx already had the part and was processing it. Support doesn’t get better than that!
I received my replacement bed yesterday and upon opening the box discovered the bed was broken in half. It was very poorly wrapped in bubble wrap. Waiting to hear back from support.
Just got my replacement yesterday and it was well wrapped in bubble wrap, so it survived the journey. It might be a weird way to think about it, but I firmly believe that a box with a lot of red stickers that say “Handle with care! Fragile / Glass” just invites the mailman to kick it around a few extra times
Lulzbot’s support was fast and on point. Thanks a lot for dealing with this promptly! Hearing about their great support in this forum was one of the reasons why I chose the TAZ 5 as my first 3D printer in the first place and it already paid off.
Ditto here! I first contacted Support about my PEI plate blistering on Monday at about noon. Now it’s Friday and I’ve already got the replacement part in my hand. It arrived four days from my first contacting them.
It came via FedEx and arrived in good shape, and the box appeared undamaged. I just installed the plate and hooked it up and ran it up to my usual 110 C (for ABS) and it appears to work just fine.
As a precaution I did leave the clamps holding the new plate down only tightened pretty lightly for the first heat/cooldown cycle, to let it settle in to its new home before tightening them down to the final tightness.
Well the replacement bed they sent has begun to bubble worse than the first i had. I’ll have to get with support again next week and see what they say. The bubbles are so bad they are affecting the print quality of the first few layers.
It seems to be due to moisture from the air being absorbed into the PEI (or the adhesive under it) and then expanding when the build plate is heated.
The problem cropped up for me with my first build plate after I’d left the printer unused for about 10 days during a humid period.
My replacement build plate then started to show bubbling, after starting out fine but then being left alone for a week. So I went through a “dry-out” process of leaving it at 35 degrees for 4-5 hours, then upped it to 45 degrees for another 4-5 hours, etc., and slowly dried it out. The bubbling went away.
I’m still using the same build plate, but if I don’t use it for a week I make a point of heating it up to 50 or 60 degrees every 2-3 days and leaving it there for much of a day, to evaporate whatever moisture has crept in. Doing that, the problem’s never come back for me.
My third bed is starting to bubble also. I might try the drying method MikeO mentions. I’ve tried a dehumidifier in the room, sealed the edges with silicone… nothing has worked to keep the bubbling away.
As much as I like the PEI, it might be time to switch to a removable plate system after my warranty runs out.
It slowly started and they then accumulated into bigger bubbles. It has become so bad that the bubbles are now lifting off the print from the bed so I got in touch with support yesterday evening to check what they can recommend. I noticed from the beginning that there was a somewhat marbled layer on my print bed since I got the printer. Not sure if that was some trapped air/moisture or if that was within the specs. Will need to pause my printing until this is solved :-/
