Hey guys,
Sometimes as a YouTuber you have to do things you don’t really want to do.
For a good while now folks have been asking me to review flexible build plates
and I’ve always resisted. I mean, what’s the point? Getting stuff off the build plate
isn’t exactly difficult, right? And a flexible plate is just one more thing to clean.
However fate intervened recently and I received an email from Wham Bam systems,
asking me if I’d like to review their flexible plate. Well… I didn’t want to - that’s the
truth - but you guys keep asking and Wham Bam were kind enough to offer, so I reluctantly agreed.
The box I received was small, compact and well structured, with the content well packaged.
Amongst stickers, sandpaper and information were some crisp, thin metal sheets and,
yes, they seemed pretty flexible. There was also some magnetic
strips and these seemed fairly strong. Now at this point I did that thing which most
of us hate doing… I watched an instructional video, in this case on the Wham Bam website,
and if you’re going to buy one of these products, then I strongly urge you to do the same.
If you don’t prepare properly, then this system may well fail and you’ll have wasted your money.
For instance, I soaked my build plate in IPA for 24 hours before I did anything else as
it needs to be very clean, and that’s the sort of informative tip you need to install this product.
I then went on to sand down my build plate, ensuring that was planar,
as well as a little roughed up. After still more cleaning,
I did the fiddliest part of this process… sticking the adhesive magnet to the very clean build plate.
I confess I wasn’t millimetre perfect, but I was close enough, and after rubbing with the
enthusiasm of a teenage boy, I then had to do the hardest part of this whole process…
Nothing. I had to
wait a minimum of 72 hours to ensure that the adhesive had fully bonded
and again, don’t skimp on this step unless you like wasting your money.
Personally I gave it a whole week and then, and then just to annoy me a little further,
I had to recalibrate my printer, to take into account the thicker depth of the plate.
This is a crucial step. If you skimp on anything, don’t skimp on this stage.
I never really wanted to do any of this flexible plate business in the first place,
so I decided to punish it with a tricky print. Those of you that have enjoyed the Netflix
series Squid Game might recognise this. I made it for a friend but I’ve shared it on Thangs
and Thingiverse if you’re interested. The point is, this is a thin print,
and to be awkward I decided to print it flat. My evil plan appeared to be working perfectly.
As I suspected, the thin print flexed along with the plate a-hahahahha.
However, I felt and heard the tiny breaking of the bond between the print and the flexible plate.
Sure enough the print slid away with ease, undamaged by its warping adventures.
Okay, there was a little extra clean-up involved, but actually it wasn’t all that bad.
Quietly impressed, I decided to place a small ring design smack in the middle of
the build plate – you know, the spot where it flexes the least.
I cackled cunningly as my Sonic 4K printed and awaited the certain failure of the Wham Bam plate.
It popped straight off. This minimal thinking
wasn’t getting me anywhere so I decided to fill the plate,
and using a wonderful design from our buddies at Archvillain Games, I did just that.
The printer printed, showing no signs of rejecting the prints, and sure enough,
they came free of the build plate easily. So… let’s look at all this a little more closely.
As long as you’ve selected the right size plate for your printer, everything should fit perfectly,
and bonding to the flexible plate with the adhesive strip does work very well. Just
be sure to follow the instructions carefully and you should have a product that works.
I can’t speak for long-term usage yet, but so far it’s looking good.
The prints certainly seem to have no trouble sticking to the flexible build plate.
I did lightly scuff mine as the instructional video recommended,
and so far all of my prints have bonded perfectly to the flexible plate.
It’s fair to say there is a little more cleaning involved, but overall not much really. The plate
is so thin its almost trivial. The flexible plate wipes clean with ease and the build plate gets the
normal treatment – though it’s probably best not to submerge your plate in washing & cure machine
for long periods as IPA may affect the adhesive strip. But quick dips should be fine.
Do you know what? It actually works. I was all set to dislike this product. I was confident it
would prove to be a wasted effort. But flexing the plate really does break the bond between
print and plate with ease. For the most part, prints drop from the plate. And as long as
you don’t go insane with the flexing, it will come back straight and true for regular re-use.
So, have I changed my mind about flexible plates? Well actually I have.
I genuinely like this Wham Bam system. It does exactly what it claims it does, and as
long as you follow the preparation instructions carefully, you should have no trouble with yours.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not planning on fitting one to all my printers,
but I can no longer openly speak against them. If like me you’re happy enough with a metal scraper,
then carry on. But if you find this tricky and, dare I say it, if you want an
easier time of things, and I have to admit it really is VERY easy to use,
then I’m happy to inform you that the Wham Bam flexible system truly works.
So that’s it. I hope you found this video as interesting as I did guys.
If you have any questions, as always feel free to drop me a line as always.
So take care guys and thanks for watching.