Carbon Fiber plate

[reprapsource.com]


Any feedback about Carbon Fiber Plate ?
Is it worth compared a glass or borosilicate glass ?

That looks cool, I wonder how well it performs?
I might get a quote on a piece of CSC (carbon silica composite) its normally less expensive than carbon fibre because it's cf on the outside and glass fibre in the middle and looks exactly the same once you run a black marker around the edges.

There is a good company called hansell composites (fibrelite) in the UK that do custom jobs, I designed some stuff and they cut it out and sent it back to me very quickly and at a goods price. I'd recommend these guys if your in the UK.

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A wise man once told me "Never trust a man who doesn't own a shed!"
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Gen 6 daughter board
[forums.reprap.org]
Mendel PCB heatbed
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If you try CSC, give us feebdack .

OK, will do. just about to email them and find out the max operating temperature as it might be good thermal insulation for the nozzle I'm working on too. ( to protect bits of PEEK and PTFE)

The company I mentioned is actually called fibre-lyte.
[www.fibre-lyte.co.uk]

There is also a price list for sheet materials
[www.fibre-lyte.co.uk]

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A wise man once told me "Never trust a man who doesn't own a shed!"
=======================================================
Gen 6 daughter board
[forums.reprap.org]
Mendel PCB heatbed
[forums.reprap.org]
=======================================================

A feedback from Thomas Sanladerer on G+ :

Quote
Thomas Sanladerer
I've done some extensive research around the whole carbon fiber topic, however I couldn't find any material that would stand our temperatures. Even the special high temp non-woven carbon plates warped and decolored over time.
The reason for me wanting to try carbon fiber was that it should have a thermal performance superior to glass, but its shortcoming (and high price) made me switch back to window glass. 

It sounds such plate is not a good option .

Ummm....

Maybe it will perform ok at pla temps, who knows?
It would be nice to get some feedback off anyone who has purchased the one at the top of the page from reprapsource.
I'm hoping that my "heatbed sandwich" if constructed to be sturdy enough might retard any warping, or if the trick is to only anchor it down at one side to allow for expansion. (holes one side, slots on the other)..

If anyone's tried Carbon Fiber please shout up for the good of the comunity.

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A wise man once told me "Never trust a man who doesn't own a shed!"
=======================================================
Gen 6 daughter board
[forums.reprap.org]
Mendel PCB heatbed
[forums.reprap.org]
=======================================================

I just got one of those sheets from reprapsource. With a clean surface first layer adhesion is good with a good quality PLA but poor with a cheaper one. ABS doesn't stick well for me. I only have a limited range of filament. Clear PET also adheres well. All filament is from [www.formfutura.com]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/04/2013 07:23PM by Ralph Hilton.

Wow great, thanks for this feedback Ralph.

Saying you just got one I understand you don't have it since a long time, so no warping of this plate itself ?

Which thickness for the plate you choosed ?

It is the 1mm plate as pictured. It doesn't warp at all.

@Ralph, Thats nice to know, what's the max temp you've taken it to??

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=======================================================
A wise man once told me "Never trust a man who doesn't own a shed!"
=======================================================
Gen 6 daughter board
[forums.reprap.org]
Mendel PCB heatbed
[forums.reprap.org]
=======================================================

130C

So, It looks like this stuff aint to bad after all.

Might have to invest in a sheet after payday.

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=======================================================
A wise man once told me "Never trust a man who doesn't own a shed!"
=======================================================
Gen 6 daughter board
[forums.reprap.org]
Mendel PCB heatbed
[forums.reprap.org]
=======================================================

I have one of each to play with. So far I have only printed ABS on the 1mm sheet on an aluminium plate and resistor bed. I just printed a Wade's extruder body, which is moderately difficult and that stuck perfectly. It did warp a little though. I assume it bent the plate as it is only held down at the edges. I presume that is why they sell the 3mm one.

It does leave a slightly textured pattern on the print whereas glass is perfectly smooth or course.

Next I will try a Mendel90 x-motor bracket, which is the the part I have most difficulty getting to stick.

The thing I have found with other epoxy based beds is that they eventually stop sticking. They typically only last a few weeks for me. This would be way too expensive if it doesn't last for ever.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

They only had the 1mm sheet when I ordered. The size is only just big enough for 200x200 which is awkward so I'm looking at [www.easycomposites.co.uk] .

200mm mirror tiles work OK on the Prusa PCB bed, so 200mm is actually just big enough. The bed only heats within the 200mm area anyway.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Its just big enough but fiddly to get right if one's print is 200 wide.

I printed a Mendel90 X motor bracket on the 1mm sheet and it stuck well but was slightly warped. I then printed the same thing on the 3mm sheet and it lifted. I didn't expect that. Not sure why it would stick less well to the thicker sheet.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

maybe there was more flex to the 1mm sheet so it could deform and seem to stick better.

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[mike-mack.blogspot.com]

I spoke to the guys at Fibre-lyte and this is the responce:-

====================================================================================

Hi Mike,

sheet prices as follows:


233 x 233 x 3mm csc - GBP29.45
233 x 233 x 3mm carbon - GBP47.96

Shipping within the UK (first class signed for mail) - GBP6.00

The maximum working temperature for our standard resin is 90 degrees Centigrade, although ideally it shouldn't be taken over around 80 degrees. There are higher temperature resins that we use, some of which operate up to 190 degrees Centigrade, but they are slightly more expensive and usually aren't required so we only use them when requested to do so.

====================================================================================

I might ask for a price on the 190c spec sheet if the wife will give me some pocket money!!

Also, I'm wondering if having an even number of alternate layers will make this less likely to deform once heated.

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=======================================================
A wise man once told me "Never trust a man who doesn't own a shed!"
=======================================================
Gen 6 daughter board
[forums.reprap.org]
Mendel PCB heatbed
[forums.reprap.org]
=======================================================

nophead Wrote:
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> I printed a Mendel90 X motor bracket on the 1mm
> sheet and it stuck well but was slightly warped. I
> then printed the same thing on the 3mm sheet and
> it lifted. I didn't expect that. Not sure why it
> would stick less well to the thicker sheet.

Can you measure the temperature at the top of the carbon sheet for each? Perhaps its a thermal conductivity issue.

deleted

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2013 03:37PM by Ralph Hilton.

With peltier modules ?

Some thermal conductivity figures (W·m-1·K-1) :
- copper 390
- aluminium 237
- carbon 129
- carbon fiber, I would say average from 2 to 30 depending on composite materiel and direction (http://www.cs.odu.edu/~mln/ltrs-pdfs/NASA-97-tm4787.pdf)
- glass 1.2

There is a better thermic conduction than glass but it remains relatively "low".

For my 300 x 300 mm hetabed I'm thinking about a combination : wood support / peltier modules / aluminium plate / carbon fiber plate. I'm still hestitating...

deleted

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2013 03:38PM by Ralph Hilton.

You'll Fry the peltiers without a massive heatsink. They don't like acting as heaters, they are heat pumps.

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=======================================================
A wise man once told me "Never trust a man who doesn't own a shed!"
=======================================================
Gen 6 daughter board
[forums.reprap.org]
Mendel PCB heatbed
[forums.reprap.org]
=======================================================

The bed is the heatsink. As long as the top surface temperature is sensed and the power is controlled they shouldn't fry.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

nophead Wrote:
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> The bed is the heatsink. As long as the top
> surface temperature is sensed and the power is
> controlled they shouldn't fry.


Yeah, I suppose your right. I forgot for a moment about the temp controller / pid. Lol. Still an expensive way to do it imo.
Unless your gonna flip the polarity and print something in chocolate. That might be fun.

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=======================================================
A wise man once told me "Never trust a man who doesn't own a shed!"
=======================================================
Gen 6 daughter board
[forums.reprap.org]
Mendel PCB heatbed
[forums.reprap.org]
=======================================================

The potential advantage is that you can flip the polarity at the end to make the objects fall off.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Yeah, that would be nice.

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=======================================================
A wise man once told me "Never trust a man who doesn't own a shed!"
=======================================================
Gen 6 daughter board
[forums.reprap.org]
Mendel PCB heatbed
[forums.reprap.org]
=======================================================

OK, I had a response from Fibre-lyte and they said this -

If we manufacture a sheet with the higher temperature resin we would have to manufacture a full sheet which would be 480 x 680mm and would be around GBP183.50+vat per sheet. You'd more or less get 6 sheets at the size you mention from that so around GBP30+vat per sheet.

Delivery cost will depend on where you live and would be calculated on an individual basis.

So the only way to do it is to buy 6 pieces.
If 5 other people are interested in paying up front then I could place the order.
Quoted size is 233mm x 233mm x 2.4mm 6 layers high temp CF.

[PM] me if your interested, if not I'm gonna get some glass cut instead!

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=======================================================
A wise man once told me "Never trust a man who doesn't own a shed!"
=======================================================
Gen 6 daughter board
[forums.reprap.org]
Mendel PCB heatbed
[forums.reprap.org]
=======================================================