Cheap Anycubic (or cloned) Ultrabase (or similar) off of Aliexpress

[bson]

So I bought one of these for my Creality3D CR-10S printer, received it on Friday and now have given it a good checkout.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/310x310x4mm-400Deg-Upgrade-Ultrabase-3D-Printer-Self-adhesive-Build-Surface-Glass-plate-for-Creality-CR-10/32921860665.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.599b4c4dDZqG9F

It also looks like the same product can be had from Banggood (CN warehouse), for about the same shipped:

https://www.banggood.com/Ultrabase-3103103mm-Glass-Plate-Platform-Heated-Bed-Build-Surface-for-3D-Printer-p-1355618.html?akmClientCountry=America&cur_warehouse=CN

This looks like exactly the same product.  Like most things I've received shipped from China it comes wrapped in plastic, in a box hermetically taped shut, with wrap, and tape tape tape.  There are no instructions.  There's not much to it, except it requires an elevated bed temperature to grip.  The hotter, the harder it grips.  As the bed cools the bed releases the print.

Short story: works great!

The bed on the photos has "Creality" branding; the one I received has no branding at all.  It's just a plain black pattern on a sheet of glass.  (Or maybe acrylic; it's hard to tell.)

I installed it with paper clips, but will probably glue it down.  I didn't know how durable it would be, or if anything would ever need scraping... It doesn't, which means it's not going to get scraped up as I'm sure the surface screen would seriously disagree with being scraped.

Updated the PLA bed temp to 65˚C.  FLIR gun says 63˚C, so as usual mine underheats by about 2˚.

Preheated it and leveled the four corners, then did a 25pt mesh leveling.  Only had to do this once.

Sliced and printed calibration cubes and few other quick simple items at 65˚ bed and 185˚ filament, using Hatchbox 1.75mm PLA.

All printed perfectly.  Adhesion is good, not as strong as hairspray on glass, but that's a good thing as some prints can be difficult to remove.  This has just the right amount of adhesion at 60-65˚.  At a little over 40˚ it releases and you can just pick it up (there's a very slight tack left sometimes).

It really works very nicely!  Nothing I've printed on it so far has failed to adhere.  On my CR-10S with the supply voltage turned up to 13V it heats the bed from overnight cold (about 18˚) to 65˚ in four minutes.  Going from a prior print at around 35˚ or so to 65˚ takes just under three minutes; many times longer than plain glass, but then for a 6-10 hours print, who cares.

It does generate quite a bit more heat and undoubtedly requires more power.

Running PLA overly hot might make it penetrate deeper and make removal harder.

[bson]

Okay, it's been two weeks now and maybe 15 prints.  The last few days I had to start raising bed temperatures to maintain adhesion, as it was starting to lose its grip.  So, I figured it's simply worn out and it's time to switch back to the glass bed.  I have a large model I'm trying to print (a hand tool bracket that will mount directly to my bench) and the Ultrabase-like surface just wasn't holding it.  I realized there's a crossover between temperature (propensity of PLA to curl if it cools too slowly, just like if it cools too fast, kind of annealing-like) and bed adhesion.  To increase grip with this bed its temp is raised, with causes PLA to warp.  The bigger the print, the more sensitive it is.  So, back to glass and hairspray - the latter truly grips like a gorilla (not just a little tacky-like) at 35-40˚C and is totally water soluble if a print is really stuck or gets a little on it.   That's of a good problem to have.

Unfortunately, after a week I had peeled the backing tape of the Ultrabase and stuck it to the bed, and this thing was just not coming off.  Got a little acetone in around the right edges, but it wouldn't get deeper than maybe 2".  The bed was too large to get a scraper in beneath it, and as I was starting to work the perimeter loose the glass broke.  Well, more like exploded, with most of it still glued on.

Instead of making more of a mess (especially leaving millions of microscopic glass slivers all over) I removed the entire bed and disposed of.  It's not worth the $55 of a replacement to risk a potential glass and glue mess (meaning it won't vacuum) since a replacement can be at my door in two days with Amazon Prime.

So, do I recommend a base that lasts maybe one or two dozen prints, costs $25, and takes two to three weeks to receive?  Maybe, as an experiment if you want.  Just don't stick it to the bed!  And be prepared it's just not going to last.  It grips well when new, but basically the surface wears out pretty fast.  It adds a ton of time when you do calibration or testing, or just want to redo something because you did realized there's an improvement you can make to your model right after the printer has laid down the initial layer.  (This is of course exactly when we realize it!)  I can't see buying another myself, if it had 10x the life expectancy perhaps, but this just wore down way too fast to be worth merely the legwork even if the money and time doesn't matter.