Glass bed???

Hello recently I purchased this.

AMAZON page for reprap i3

Does anyone know where I can purchase a glass bed for it? Or what size? I measure the bed is like 8.5 by 8.5 but I can't seem to find anything on amazon with the correct sizing.

If you have bought glass for this what did you buy?

I really want to flip the bed so its not aluminum and you can see the hot surface warning. Plus glass will offer a smoother surface to print on.

Thanks

In some case you could just take the measurements of your bed and go to the normal hardware store and they cut for you few 3mm thick glass beds. If there is service. You can also cut your own. Use gloves and safety glasses. There are just few tricks how to cut glass properly.

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Prusa i3, Ramps 1.4. Catnozzle 0.4mm
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Plasteroid
In some case you could just take the measurements of your bed and go to the normal hardware store and they cut for you few 3mm thick glass beds. If there is service. You can also cut your own. Use gloves and safety glasses. There are just few tricks how to cut glass properly.

Yea that is a good idea. Sadly my hardware store doesn't sell 3mm glass cuts. I have cut glass before working in a hardware store not much fun there lol.

I am really looking to buy a pre made piece with rounded edges.

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OO DURKE OO
Yea that is a good idea. Sadly my hardware store doesn't sell 3mm glass cuts. I have cut glass before working in a hardware store not much fun there lol.

I am really looking to buy a pre made piece with rounded edges.

Any glass shop should be able to do that for you. I had a piece of 1/4" glass custom cut to an exact size with the corners clipped and edges rounded for 8 or 9 bucks by a local glass shop. The glass usually got used for desktops. Worked great until a print decided to take out a chunk in the middle by sticking a little too well.

There isn't anything magical about 3mm glass. You can use 1/8", 3/16", 1/4" or whatever the nearest metric equivalent is if you're not in the US. Borosilicate glass will be stronger than soda lime, but harder to find and more expensive.

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cdru

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OO DURKE OO
Yea that is a good idea. Sadly my hardware store doesn't sell 3mm glass cuts. I have cut glass before working in a hardware store not much fun there lol.

I am really looking to buy a pre made piece with rounded edges.

Any glass shop should be able to do that for you. I had a piece of 1/4" glass custom cut to an exact size with the corners clipped and edges rounded for 8 or 9 bucks by a local glass shop. The glass usually got used for desktops. Worked great until a print decided to take out a chunk in the middle by sticking a little too well.

There isn't anything magical about 3mm glass. You can use 1/8", 3/16", 1/4" or whatever the nearest metric equivalent is if you're not in the US. Borosilicate glass will be stronger than soda lime, but harder to find and more expensive.

Thanks. Just found one I needed an d 8 inch by 8 inch piece Solidoodle had one on their website so I bought it for 15 bucks. Not a bad price compared to others I had seen.

Ikea ( if you have one near you! ) do a perfect 20 x 20 mirror with rounded edges and round corners. Mirror glass is typically tempered so it is more hearproof and the metal film helps distribute heat, its a good cheap solution plus you get 4!

[www.ikea.com]

Otherwise check around other shops I guess you are US cos you used inches so Wall mart? target? Home Depot?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2015 12:05PM by clack.

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clack
Mirror glass is typically tempered so it is more hearproof

Maybe it's a regional thing, but I've broken many mirrors over the years and I've never seen a mirror that has been tempered. Tempered glass, when broke, usually will break into thousands of tiny cubes. All the mirrors I've broke have broke into a few large pieces, plus a few tiny shards you'll find later with bare feet or your fingers.

I'd be very surprised if those Ikea mirrors are tempered at that price.

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clack
Mirror glass is typically tempered

I have never seen a tempered mirror.

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tmorris9

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clack
Mirror glass is typically tempered

I have never seen a tempered mirror.

Same here. I've cracked a few mirrors on my printer and none were tempered. Mirrors are still a great idea though, they're cheap, soak up more heat than transparent glass with the dark matte coating on the back, and you get to see a cool reflection of the underside of your hot end as things print!

Ive been using the ikea mirror glass.
It does seem to be pretty strong and very flat.
I use kapton tape on top for abs heated to between 80 and 110degC depending on size of print.
20cm wide roll of kapton is ideal.
Pla and ninja flex just need the plane mirror cleaned with pure acetone and bed at 65deg C.

You can buy a bigger one and cut it with a diamant.

I've been using a glass cutting board (12 x 12" "Slice" craft board: [www.amazon.com] --- got it for $1 at a yard sale) on my repstrapoko --- has anyone run down a list of suitable mass-market products?

You can get a 6-pack of 12" x 12" mirror tiles from the Depot for $12 here in Canada, probably cheaper in the U.S.. 3mm thick and not tempered so you can cut it to size.

I purchased 8" mirrors at my local Walmart. They have nice smooth edges. They are sold as candle plates for less than $3 each. Working well on my I3.

I use glass from a flatbed scanner (and the stepper motor assembly for the extruder, it weighs nothing) and the glass can be scored and cut with a cheap scoring tool.

Hello I am using these ikea mirrors since about 2 years an never broke one. First i always coated them with 200mm kapton tape (about 95 degree celsius for ABS). That worked fine, but I often damaged the kapton when getting my workpiece off the bed. Actually i use hairspray (Schwarzkopf Haarlack strong) instead of kapton. The ABS sticks very good but needs a bit more heat (112 degrees).
When cooling down to about 60 degrees, the printed part releases without any force.
Every 10 prints I have to spray again. There is no need to touch the printing surface by hand and no need to clean with acetone. When sprayed several times, the surface can be scrubbed with a scraper and sprayed again.
Very cheap and easy. Works also an a stainless steel plate.

Best regards
martin