Well so far no luck on the reprap forums so lets try here. I need ideas for making a large y stage.
The guide rods and such are already chosen and all that so basically I need to replace the frog plate with some thing I make.
I’m thinking of making a frame out of 1/4 x 1 1/2" wood that I could fix a thin sheet of lexan or plywood to.
Thoughts and ideas are needed.
http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?151,269809,270132#msg-270132
I can’t understand your weird imperial units. Are you planning on building a giant or tiny printer?
I have a feeling that wood at that size would be quite challenging to keep flat - unless you’re not planning to heat your bed at all.
Thin sheets are probably a bad idea as well - have you looked into using Dibond (or multiple layers of it) as a thicker, stiff and light platform?
Staying flat is one problem, heat/humidity will cause thickness to vary … altering Z height with the weather ! Dibond with aluminium angle or tube under would be both stiff and stable while not heavy.
Mike use dibond it is as rigid as aluminium but a tenth of the weight, I use it for everything now, plus it helps my friend has a signshop and he gives me his scraps. I made the bed on my mendelmax 1.5 with this and it solved my printer skipping at high speeds and it is a great heat shield also. I printed a PLA Y carriage and it doesn’t even get hot even when my heatbed is set at 115°.
Dibond sounds like what I need now to find a three foot x three foot section if it. @Nuker_Bot_NukerBot_3 care to check with your friend to see if he has a piece or what I can expect to pay for some thing like that?
They do use it for advertising signs, so you should be able to get a large piece. I have an A4 sized piece to cut down when I rebuild the bed on my Prusa.
@Mike_Ashcraft they have precut pieces on Ebay also.
I checked there nothing square so ill have to see exactly what I need
I’m also thinking about maybe taking the ridged pink foam you can get at lowes and gluing a sheet of aluminum to the top.