Source for glass on bed

[simcop2387]

Does anyone know a good source for getting glass for the heated bed? Will just a standard piece from a hardware store work?

[Wildzbill]

Yeah. Just go to a hardware store and give them the dimensions that you want.

ABS does not stick to glass very well, and we put Kapton tape on top of it.

A question I asked Alex Dickman today was "Would the ABS stick to frosted glass?" He did not know. If we can keep the flat surface of glass and make the ABS stick to it, we would make our world much better. Kapton tape wears out quickly and has to be replaced fairly often. Maybe even just use some sandpaper on the glass to rough up the surface just a bit.

Oh, Alex is the other guy at the Printrbot Farm. He has been working with these things for quite a while, started in Brook's garage last November.

[orcinus]

The frosted/sanded glass idea isn't new.
It's been discussed a lot on the reprap forums.

The opinions and experiences seem to be pretty mixed, with some claiming it works great and some it doesn't fare much better than "regular" glass.

One thing everyone agrees on - get a glass plate made of borosilicate glass, not just any old regular glass pane.

[Mooselake]

What are the glass dimensions for both the PB and PB+? What's a good source for borosilicate glass if it can't be found locally?

Thanks
Kirk

[treads]

Seems like an alternative to glass which is used by plenty of rep-rappers is aluminium plate - pretty cheap and easy to source, there's lots on ebay. If it's reasonably thick it would be quite flat - cover in kapton tape and it should achieve the same ends as glass.

[simcop2387]

The aluminum plate idea certainly sounds interesting. It would seem like it would do better heat wise and be more tolerant of head crashes I would think.

[Amoril]

Here's a source for borosilicate glass, looks like a 6x6 piece is about $14 and 8x8 for $25:

[Luke C]

Aluminum isn't a bad path to try. A print bed can take a lot of abuse, especially if you're completely new to printing.

I've sourced all my printbeds for free by walking into any local metal shop and telling them what I need. It's so cheap and easy for them to do they've just given me the pieces and said to think of them when I have bigger jobs.

The one concern with an aluminum bed is getting one completely flat. How the shop cuts it can make a big difference, also there are grades of aluminum that are more brittle than bendy so asking about that doesn't hurt. After you have it, securing it with three screws as opposed to four will help keep it from deforming as you adjust it. If you're self sourcing, finding the PERFECT bed isn't critical as it can take some experience to find out what you really want or need.

[marmil]

[PxT]

I've seen both 3mm and 4mm recommended in other forums. 3mm would be very close to 1/8". 4mm would be a little under 3/16". I don't know if 1mm will make much of a difference, so maybe go with 4mm for strength?

[Mooselake]

Here's a source for 10"x10" 3/16 tempered glass that's about 1/10 of McMaster's borosilicate glass, plus it's got polished edges that'll help keep blood off your prints. Not my work; it's from Hoss's 3D printer thread on CNCZone.



However, nobody's verified the size required for a PB+ so it might not work. Tempered glass can't be cut so it has to be right the first time.

Kirk

edit: actually include the link.

[mdfast1]

[orcinus]

I'm not sure tempered is such a good idea...
Tempered shatters. And withstands temperature gradients and heating/cooling cycles even worse than "regular" glass.

The reason people suggest borosilicate is because it handles being heated up and cooled down rapidly without shattering.