PLA - Printing on 1/8" cork
Okay, this might seem completely bizzaro…
Does anyone think that they would be interested in testing out 1/8" cork as a print surface for PLA? It could be a horrible idea, as I’m not sure how cork would react to hot plastic, but I think that if it held up, that it would be excellent print-bed material because it is relatively porous, flexible, and resilient. The idea is that you could clip it to your print-bed, print on it, and then basically pop/peel your print off of it. (and re-use it)
I have an Afinia H-series, and at this point only print ABS. I haven’t tried it with ABS because I think that the cork will insulate too well, and I’m not sure how it will react to 100 degrees Celsius.
What I’m looking for is a couple of volunteers who are very experienced with printing in PLA who wouldn’t mind sending me their print bed measurements / address. I would send a small batch of cork sheets cut to size for experimentation.
Anyway, above all I’m interested in any insight / opinion about using cork as a PLA print surface. Am I crazy?
Backstory
I have a small on-line business that cuts cork shelf / drawer liners to size. It was a proof of concept in it’s 4th year of business.
So, part of the benefits of ordering shelf liners cut to size is that there is no waste for the customer; I order large rolls of cork, and do my utmost to limit waste. As a result, I have a decent stack of sheets of cork at smaller (less in-demand) sizes. I’m always thinking of things I can do with these smaller sheets of cork, and so I’ve been mulling over the printer-bed question for a while.
If it turned out to be a viable / desirable print surface, I would create a new product category on my site and sell bundles cut to size.