@Ryan_Carlyle When you say “- Bolt the aluminum sheet to a leveling sub-frame (cartesian)” I understand that the bolts will be the 3-point leveling bolts so there will be some distance between the sub-frame and the ~2mm alu heat spreader. My question is: will ~2mm ALU be enough to keep flat without caving due to thermal expansion/etc thus losing optimal contact with glass above?
With a silicone/kapton heater and “soft” glass plate mount, thermal expansion warping of the aluminum is only an issue if you start printing while preheating or your heater is WAY overpowered. The conductivity is so insanely high relative to the thickness that you basically get a constant temperature profile top-to-bottom through the sheet.
Plus, because the glass sheet floats on the aluminum via slightly elastic pads, you don’t really care if the aluminum changes shape a little bit. Just let it preheat long enough to be adequately heat-soaked so there’s no FURTHER movement during the print.
k, got it… will work towards incorporating the things I’ve learned here into my design. Will open another topic for further questions. Thanks all.