For some reason, The images are posted in reverse order. They were in the correct order when I wrote this...strange
For some reason, The images are posted in reverse order. They were in the correct order when I wrote this...strange
Just found this,
"Kapton ® Tapes are made from Kapton ® polyimide film with silicone adhesive. They are compatible with a wide temperature range as low as -269°C (-452°F) and as high as 260°C (500°F)" http://www.kaptontape.com/
I don't know if it is considered safe to run Kapton as an insulator if you'll be printing 260 C all the time. You'll basically be running the tape at it's maximum thermal limit constantly. Will have to do some more research on that, but I thought I'd share.
Good point about the upper temperature limit. However, the temperature limit is not set by Kapton but by the adhesive. As it's written on that website:
"Kapton ® Tapes are made from Kapton ® HN film with Silicone adhesive"
Kapton itself can take temperatures higher than that: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapton - so if you don't rely on the adhesive too much, you should be OK.
When you order Kapton tape, it's not uncommon to receive some Chinese version with name Koptan or Kopton on it. You can test the tape quite easily with soldering iron (if it has a thermostat). If the material looks Kapton but isn't Kapton, it will melt at temperatures much below 300C.
That's exactly what I figured, that the adhesive is the weakest link in the temperature chain with Kapton tape. Also, I don't condone using paper either, as it's flash point is listed in several resources at 230 to 260 C, but Logic tells us that since the paper is in an oxygen poor environment (stuffed into the probe hole and blocked with the wire) that the flash point is increased. By how much I don't know. Ive been printing for several hours now at 260 C, and I haven't had any problems. In fact, the temperature readings from the panel seem to be more responsive. Like I said, I do have a fire extinguisher (or 3) on hand, and a replacement sensor on the way, courtesy of Ultimaker -free of charge.
I did look up some high temp epoxies, but was afraid that they seem to have slightly electrically conductive properties, which would be bad...not to mention I'd have to drill them out once the replacement parts came.
I would say this was a successful emergency repair that can be done in 2~3 hours, and should last long enough for a replacement for those who just cannot shut down for several days waiting on a temp sensor replacement.
Anyways, I'll keep you posted as to weather or not the house burns down
Hey Solid thanks for documenting this. I ended up pulling the sensor out with a screw so I picked up a dremel and removed the sensor like you showed. Soldiered the leads back on, wrapped the whole thing in a layer of kapton, then aluminum foil to make a good fit in the port, then another a last layer of kapton just in case. Hooked it all back up and its working great. Probably need to PID tune again cause it overshoots a bit but I should be back up and printing tonight.
Glad to hear it twistx. I used paper, and it held fine for 5 days while I waited for my replacement, BUT, when I went to change it out, the paper was carbon! HAHA.
You almost had me going for a minute with the "head homing-smashing stepper motor" bit. Too bad MY limit switches are set correctly to avoid that. You may want to check yours.
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gr5 2,224
I recommend kapton tape aka polyiminide tape instead of paper. But good job and nice writeup.
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