Treat adhesion as a system: nozzle height, cleanliness, plate material, filament, and temperature interact. A surface can fail by releasing too early or by bonding strongly enough to damage the sheet.
Check the first layer
Prusa describes a correct first layer as evenly joined lines without gaps or raised ridges. Use your printer's calibration procedure rather than copying another machine's numeric Z value.
Match material to the surface
Use the plate maker's material table rather than a generic "best plate" ranking. In Prusa's sheet system, combinations are distinguished as directly compatible, requiring a separation layer, or unsuitable. That table does not automatically apply to glass, third-party PEI, or another maker's coating.
Prusa warns that PETG can bond too strongly to smooth PEI and may require another sheet or a thin PVA separation layer. Its flexible-material guide likewise notes that some TPU/TPE products can over-adhere. In both cases, glue is acting as a separator, not proof that the surface was too weak.
Troubleshooting order
- Confirm the correct plate/profile.
- Clean the plate as its maker specifies.
- Verify the first layer visually.
- Confirm temperatures for the exact filament.
- Use adhesive or separation layer only when instructions call for it.
Continue from the material directory when the failure is product-specific: PETG, TPU, ABS, or ASA. Use the settings directory to interpret first-layer and temperature controls.
The overlapping legacy route "/blog/build-plates-explained" remains consolidated here. Its retained draft's universal rankings and unsupported claims were not restored.
Sources
Material Records
Browse material-family identities, related records, and dated evidence where available.
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