Planning on getting a heated bed for your 3D printer? Awesome! These are the things you should know about them.
Also, i need to print on of these dragons. They are awesome!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eure74A9HNc
You actually don’t need a heated bed. Just a piece of paper and a glue stick. I teach this technique K-12.
Excellent survey of the issues Tom!
Awesome video Thomas, thanks very much for taking time share. All the very best for 2015 especially with your new job.
@Thomas_Sanladerer I’ve been advised against using aluminium for my beds as people say it bends with temperature changes. Experienced any of that ?
@Arthur_Wolf I have found if the let the bed reach equilibrium it is rarely an issue. The problem hitting print with the bed cold. If the bed has only just reached temp as the print starts there is likely latent thermal stress that is still equalizing.
It is true that the edges are always cooler than the center due to added surface area at the edges and the thermal gradient. But letting the bed equalize minimizes the effects.
Regular glass is still a little risky but I’m curious how etched glass would do giving a little tooth to the surface. Borosilicate glass is still the best choice to go glass. And frankly it still seems a heated chamber helps with all of this, since commercial printers don’t even use a heated bed just textured plastic then you just twist and pop the part off. The main build I’m going for will be enclosed and warmed, but probably also a 24V heat pad.
How do I go about ensuring that my controllers can handle the power draw from my bed? In the past, I’ve had the mosfet fry when using cheaper chinese electronics. I’ve looked up the datasheet for the mosfet used on the board, but I’m not sure which spec I should be looking at.
@Thomas_Sanladerer any thoughts on Garolite? I’m playing with a heated 1/8 in thick piece on my printer now.
I’m going to try laser etching some beds with different patterns for warp trials soon. I’m looking forward to it. Have a pile of mirrors waiting.
@Mark_Rehorst great explanation! Though the easiest way would be to have a look at the spec sheet of your board or ask the manufacturer.
Hey Tom thank you for the video. Have you made a video covering bed leveling and which system(mechanical, optical, inductive, etc) is better/more reliable?
@nick_durrett i made this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcGFLwj0pnA and i’ve been really happy with the inductive sensor (same one Printrbot uses) ever since. I wouldn’t recommend anything that involves additional moving parts, but i will look into the other sensor options some time in the future.
Thanks alot @Thomas_Sanladerer !!! I have watched alot of your videos but i must have missed that one. Thanks again!