Tip: Keep Your 3D Prints From Turning Into Bacon

Fr. Robert Ballecer has a tip for all of the makers. If you've dabbled in 3D printing, you probably are familiar with the "bacon" effect. This is the tendency for prints, especially larger ones, to curl off of the surface. This happens when there's not enough adhesion to the printing surface.

There are a couple of ways to combat this problem. The first is tape -- any kind of tape. Something that's clean, yet has enough adhesive force to keep the print from curling up. A lot of these printing units come with tape, but Fr. Robert isn't a big fan of it. It's wasteful and never worked too well for him.

What has worked, however, is a glue stick -- just like what you'd find in a grammar school classroom. Just smear a thin layer of the glue onto the glass surface, and your print will be more likely to stick. As an added bonus, when it comes time to remove your print from the printing surface, you can just soak it in water for a few minutes and the glue will soften.

If you want to get super professional with it, you can use hair spray. Fr. Robert likes to get Aqua Net Super Hold. Nothing with scent or extra junk that might jam up the printhead, however, but enough to give a nice clean coat onto the glass surface to prevent that 'bacon' effect.