Idiots Guide to building a HOT BED !

[ian 32]

Idiots Guide to building a HOT BED !

Hi guys.

I have just finished two big projects today using our two ultimakers for presentation and building test models.

I got some great feedback but one big piece of negative feedback.

all the people complained that the corners of the models are bending up, which is correct.

so i started to look at the official wiki for building a hot bed for the ultimaker... im not an engineer and after reading all the text for 20 minutes, I was so confused. I have really no idea...

I have one little question, why has ultimaker not sold an official hot bed ?

They have done a beautiful job with the ulticontroller ( that should be standard in every ultimaker and not as add on ! )

So I am asking all the members here that have built working hot beds. can you please photograph what you have done and put some information here on the process.

(1) What do i need to buy and where

(2) what do i have to cut, drill and glue

(3) how is it all connected

(4) an how is it controlled.

can some one please help me ?

Many thanks.

Ian

[greengecko 8]

Hi Ian,

I am in thesame situation. There has been a post in the google forum from Erik that they will have some announcements at an ultimaker event next moday. He also mentioned that they have three things in their pipeline ( in that order)

Hotend

Extruder

Heated bed

So there will be a heated bed at some stage but i am not sure about the time line.

Recently there has also been a post how to build a heated bed. But there seem to be some disagreement if you need a relay or not. I started looking for some borosilcate glass in my area but was no successfull. All otherparts are either amazon or rep rap parts.

Here is the link to the forum.

https://groups.google.com/forum/m/?from ... uuPDlsAzmU

My approach is to wait until Monday and hopefully they give some idea when these things will be available.

[IRobertI 520]

Se he posts about it in the google groups but not on their official forum? Brilliant...

[ian 32]

Se he posts about it in the google groups but not on their official forum? Brilliant...

cool idea, the guys who are supporting and building the official ultimaker forum and.... last minute. what ? where ? who ?

thanks for the news.

Would also be interesting, what is the meeting on Monday ?

is that a private company thing or a big open event that most of us dont have a clue about ??

Ian

[ian 32]

talking about hot bed, seems like makerbot has theres all together with a good wiki !

http://wiki.makerbot.com/thingomatic-do ... m-assembly

we need this for ultimaker!

[ian 32]

ok looking in the events section of this forum and found only a thing about a berlin tech week ?

is that what they mean ????

[ian 32]

this is the first real instruction guide i have found.

http://flashgamer.com/arduino/comments/ ... -ultimaker

Ian

[alaris2 1]

grumble grumble, split community across multiple forums again grumble.

[fritz99 0]

Hello !

Can anybody explain in detail how to connect the bed and the Thermistor to the ultimaker controller and control it with the netfabb software ?

Fritz

[billdempsey 0]

From what I've gathered in my reading, the Ultimaker power supply isn't big enough to power a heated build platform (HBP.) To me, that's one of the biggest pains about adding a HBP. You also have to add a power supply for the HBP. If the bed could just be connected to the main board and work, it would be an amazingly easy upgrade. As it is, you have to shop around for different parts from different places and then take a chance with an eBay power supply. I bought my PCB from Ultimachine. It's the Prusa v. 1. Still figuring out where to get the rest of the pieces.

[smorloc 0]

Hi Ian,

He also mentioned that they have three things in their pipeline ( in that order)

Hotend

Extruder

Heated bed

 

I am surprised by the priorities. They have a working Hotend & Extruder. I would have thought that filling in gaps in the product would make more sense...

[codemaven 0]

Hi Smorloc,

At the time that original comment was written they did not have a working hot-end or extruder... There were serious design flaws in the original releases that were causing failed prints for lots of people and many were not able to print at all... Not everyone needs or wants a heated build platform, but everyone does want a reliable hot-end and extruder.. They have since released a v2 hot-end and extruder upgrade that solves the prior issues.

I imagine that UM is now working on a HBP, but whether or not we will ever see a retrofit kit for one is unsure. Personally I think that the changes required for an official HPB are too great, so my opinion is that we're more likely to see a whole new Ultimaker-2 printer with a HBP option than an official upgrade kit for the current model.

Cheers,

Troy

[billdempsey 0]

Wishes for Ultimaker 2 (in order of preference):

1. U.S. distribution/manufacturing center

2. Heated Build Platform

3. Dual extruder with PVA support capability

4. Aluminum or steel enclosure

5. Even larger build volume

6. Easier/quicker filament changing (not critical)

With updates like these, I would even consider buying from the Netherlands again.