metal heated bed

[labory 0]

is there someone who can mill for me the a metal bed for ulitmaker from steel?

I'm willing to pay reasonable amount

A

 

[gr5 1,072]

Aluminum is better as it spreads heat better. If you get aluminum make sure it is MIC6 which is cheap, common, but most importantly - flat. Very flat. And it won't warp:

http://www.alcoa.com/industrial/en/products/product.asp?market_cat_id=534&prod_id=619

I got my aluminum plate custom cut for my ultimaker at metalsupermarkets.com. Amazingly flat.

If I were to start over making a heated bed I would probably order this which comes with the aluminum plate and the heater all in one kit. This same store also sells thermistors;

http://reprap.me/Alu-Heatbed-MK3

 

[labory 0]

thanks for all the information,

It's really usefull, what are your thoughts about Ultimaker will release an official heated bed, will that happen you think ?

A

 

[thingster 0]

I don't think that Ultimaking ever release an official heated bed upgrade. Maybe we see a heated bed in an "Ultimaker 2". :cool:

 

[armstrom 0]

I've considered picking up a piece of 1/8" or 1/4" aluminum plate from metal supermarkets and attaching one of these: http://www.ultibots.com/24v-kapton-heater-200mm-x-250mm/ Does anyone have any experience working with these kapton heaters? I like that this one seems to have a 100K thermistor built right in.

Another approach I've considered is just getting a high wattage 120V AC silicone pad heater from mcmaster and driving it with a solid state relay. I would also incorporate a thermal safety fuse attached to the bed and in series with the wiring of the heater in case something were to go wrong with either the ultimaker electronics or the solid state relay. That's the only way I would feel comfortable with leaving such a heater unattended for any length of time.

Also, that aluminum core bed looks interesting though it adds an additional challenge of coming up with an alternative method of mounting it to the Z axis. Also, the text of that product listing indicates you can print directly on the bed without glass. I'm assuming one would lay down some kapton tape or something rather than printing directly on the solder mask. It's also not clear to me if both sides of the PCB are heated or if only one side is heated and the aluminum is bare on the other side. More pictures of that product would be helpful.

The thing I like about buying a plain aluminum plate cut to size is that I can easily match-drill the holes from my acrylic plate and use the existing leveling/mounting setup (although I think I will go for slightly stiffer springs and longer screws.

-Matt

 

[gr5 1,072]

it adds an additional challenge of coming up with an alternative method of mounting it to the Z axis

 

I did a very very simple mount. I blind drilled into the bottom of the aluminum plate the location of the 4 UM screws (blind meaning the holes don't go all the way through). Then I put the screws in upside down so they support the bed from below. The down side of this is that you can't print sideways or upside down because the plate will fall off. This is a minor detraction as I've found tilting the UM doesn't help overhangs at all.

I'm thinking of moving one of the screws to the center of that edge (probably the back edge) so I have a 3 screw mount but have been too lazy. Also I want to make the screws turnable with fingers at some point so I want to add a wing nut like thing to the screw heads.

 

 

More pictures of that product would be helpful.

 

 

My thought also!!! Maybe you can email them? I think there are reviews somewhere but haven't found pictures of the aluminum portion - I googled mk3 heatbed and mk3 heated bed with no pictures of the aluminum portion.

 

[calinb 11]

Agreed! I have a heated 5/16" Mic6 tooling plate for a bed and I often use a bubble wrap tent to create a heated build chamber. The Mic6 is also very stable with temperature changes. I'd like to build the entire Z-stage from it someday (bearing mounts, arms, and table).

 

Aluminum is better as it spreads heat better. If you get aluminum make sure it is MIC6 which is cheap, common, but most importantly - flat. Very flat. And it won't warp:

http://www.alcoa.com/industrial/en/products/product.asp?market_cat_id=534&prod_id=619