PLA not sticking to the bed? What to check first

If the nozzle is dragging loose strands around the plate, stop the print. Letting it continue is unlikely to rescue the base, and it makes the eventual clean-up harder.

On this page

Start with what you can see
Clean the surface you actually have
Check the plate and profile together
Look closely at the first lines
Use the correct temperature range, not simply more heat
When the part starts well but lifts later
Use a brim where it solves the right problem
When to investigate the filament

Before changing the filament or turning up the temperature, look at when the trouble starts. A line that never sticks and a corner that lifts twenty minutes later are different symptoms. That distinction gives you a better starting point than trying several fixes at once.

Start with what you can see

Start with the symptom closest to your print. Several faults can look similar, so check one thing at a time.

What happens	First checks
The line stays rounded and pulls away	Nozzle-to-bed distance, surface cleanliness and the selected plate profile.
The line is very thin, rough or ridged	Whether the nozzle is too close, and whether extrusion is obstructed.
One patch repeatedly fails	Local contamination, plate seating or a levelling problem.
The first layer looks sound, then a corner rises	Cooling, temperature changes, part shape and warping.
Little or no filament comes out	Filament loading and extrusion; the bed may not be the problem.

Clean the surface you actually have

A wipe with whatever bottle happens to be beside the printer is not a reliable cleaning method. The coating’s instructions matter.

For Bambu’s Textured PEI plate, Bambu recommends detergent and water to remove dust and grease. Remove the cool plate, clean the printing surface, rinse away the detergent and dry it before reinstalling. Handle it by the edges afterwards. Bambu specifically warns against acetone on this coating.^[4]

Other manufacturers may specify a different routine. Prusa recommends approximately 90% isopropyl alcohol for its own steel sheets and describes a warm-water/dish-soap wash as an occasional option when adhesion deteriorates. That is not a reason to treat every textured sheet identically.^[1]

Do not start by sanding a plate or trying a stronger solvent. First establish that ordinary cleaning, suitable for that exact surface, has failed. A damaged coating is a much more expensive problem than a fingerprint.

Check the plate and profile together

Once the plate is cool, check that it is seated properly and that there is no stray plastic beneath it. A piece of filament trapped underneath can spoil the position of a removable sheet.^[1]

Then check the slicer against the machine: the printer model, installed nozzle, material and physical build plate should agree with the selected settings. For a printer with an automatic feeder, also check that the job is mapped to the intended material slot.

Save a copy of the project before changing it. A useful note is specific: “Textured plate selected; plate washed; other settings unchanged.” “Tried a few things” will not help much when you return to the problem tomorrow.

Look closely at the first lines

A good first layer needs neighbouring lines to meet. On a printer that uses manual first-layer calibration, a nozzle set too high can leave separated, rounded strands. Too low can produce a thin, rough layer with material pushed up between the passes.^[2]

That visual clue does not mean every printer should be adjusted in the same way. Use the calibration procedure for the model you have. Prusa’s i3 Live-Z instructions are not instructions for a Bambu P1S. Do not copy a numerical Z-offset from another machine or edit start G-code to force the nozzle towards the plate.

If the nozzle is scraping or the machine behaves abnormally, stop and inspect it using the manufacturer’s procedure. Bed adhesion is not improved by pressing harder until something sticks.

Use the correct temperature range, not simply more heat

Check the bed recommendation for both the plate and the filament. Bambu lists 45–60°C for PLA on its Textured PEI plate; that range is a reference for that surface, not a universal setting for every plate sold for a Bambu printer.^[4]

Check the nozzle temperature separately. Prusament’s PLA recommendation is 210°C ±10°C, for example, but another PLA formulation may have different instructions.^[5]

Start with the appropriate supplied profile. If you make an adjustment, stay within the relevant guidance and make a small, recorded change. Do not add ten degrees to the bed, reduce the fan and alter the flow in the same attempt: even a successful print will not tell you which change helped.

When the part starts well but lifts later

A flat first layer followed by rising corners points towards warping rather than a simple failure to lay down the first line. As the part cools, contraction can pull it away from the surface. Shape and uneven cooling both matter.^[3]

Check for a fan or open window blowing directly at the printer. Avoid changing the enclosure arrangement on instinct: follow the machine’s PLA instructions so that solving a draught problem does not create an overheating problem.

Look at the model as well. A tall part on a narrow foot has a different holding problem from a low, broad box. Changing the orientation may give it a better base. That is a design decision, not evidence that the filament is defective.

Use a brim where it solves the right problem

A brim adds first-layer material around the object and increases its contact area with the plate. Prusa recommends considering one for tall objects with small bases and for groups of small objects.^[6]

It costs a little material and needs removing, but it can be a more sensible adjustment than replacing a serviceable plate. Inspect the brim in the sliced preview: it needs to be close enough to do its job, rather than becoming another disconnected outline.

A brim does not excuse a dirty surface, an incorrect profile or a scraping nozzle. Fix those first. Similarly, glue is not automatically required for PLA: Bambu’s Textured PEI guidance lists it as unnecessary for PLA under its recommended conditions. Other plate/material combinations can require an adhesive or release layer.^[4]

When to investigate the filament

If the machine extrudes unevenly, makes popping noises or shows other material-handling problems, investigate the spool and filament path. Do not assume that every adhesion failure means the filament needs drying.

Where drying is justified, follow the material and spool instructions. Excessive heat can deform filament or damage a reel. Use a suitable controlled device rather than improvising a high-temperature treatment.^[7]

A small first-layer check is enough to assess whether cleaning or a profile correction helped. There is no need to restart a large model every time.

Once the short check works, return to the actual part with the corrected settings saved. If the same failure returns, record where and when it happens. A clear photograph of the first layer, the plate type and the profile details are much more useful for the next diagnosis than a pile of failed prints.