Has anyone tried using FR-4 perfboard as a bed?

[choco 0]

Hi,

I was reviewing the Make: Ultimate Guide to 3D Printers and noted something novel in the Afinia H-Series. I'll quote

 

Also provided are a set of FR-4 perf boards for the print surface that offered surprisingly successful printing adhesion, and could be cleaned easily using the included tools to push plastic up through the holes

 

I was wondering if anyone has tried this with their Ultimaker? I'm constantly dealing with failed prints due to either poor adhesion (because I start the hotend too high) or ripped blue tape and hours of scraping PLA off the bed (because I start it too low) ... hence my interest in this option.

Choco.

 

[owen 19]

Hi Choco

I don't think it would be flat enough.

If you slice your part with an outline you can manually adjust your platform by twisting the coupling at the bottom of the leadscrew while it is printing the outline so the nozzle is just off the platform.

 

[calinb 11]

FR-4 and its predecessor, G10, can be very flat. They are used in printed circuit boards (PCBs) and, yes, there are many heated beds that use a PCB with copper traces as the heating elements.

Personally, I'd prefer not to have the hole pattern on the bottom skin of all my prints and would opt for a solid board. At one point, I considered using a thick piece of G10 instead of the MIC-6 tooling aluminum I'm now using. Aluminum conducts heat better (faster warm-up from my underlying silicone mat heater).