Melamine frames.

I asked on reddit and the answer was a typical trollish response so I will ask here and that is are Melamine I3 frames a good frame? I have a problem here with 9 months of the year being 70-90% RH and 3 months of the year 10-30% RH (due to gas heat) and will something like this handle it? [www.ebay.com]

I wanted a p3 steel for the longest time and be done with it but that thing is just not made in the USA and to have it laser cut locally is around 1k dollars (my aluminum i3 frame was about the same cost due to labor being so expensive here) which is just damn stupid as I would never spend that sort of cash for just some metal to be laser cut.

Really odd the p3 steel never landed on our shores when it is sturdy enough to even CNC with (saw a video of someone do it).

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I await Skynet and my last vision will be of a RepRap self replicating the robots that is destroying the human race.

Hi,

Melamine is a strong material that stands heat much better than acrylic.
It do not reacts to moisture as well. If the frame is stiff enough, it should be suitable.
Otherhand, Melamine is a very toxic material with a lot of emission of formaldehyds,
especialy when heated or near a heating source. Personaly I would not buy it.

You should be able to find an aluminium frame from USA : [www.ebay.com]

++JM

Quote
J-Max
Hi,

Melamine is a strong material that stands heat much better than acrylic.
It do not reacts to moisture as well. If the frame is stiff enough, it should be suitable.
Otherhand, Melamine is a very toxic material with a lot of emission of formaldehyds,
especialy when heated or near a heating source. Personaly I would not buy it.

You should be able to find an aluminium frame from USA : [www.ebay.com]

++JM

I already have an aluminum frame but it came bent and the seller died on me irl. Anyway long story short I guess I need to find a new printer then because I don't want to deal with such an expense again (cost me 130 dollars last year) and knowing it will come bent. Besides the single frame is junk it needs wings for support. *shrug*

Thanks for the help.

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I await Skynet and my last vision will be of a RepRap self replicating the robots that is destroying the human race.

I have a melamine frame from eBay on my i3 and it works fine. I live in Florida about 20 miles from the coast where humidity is high most of the time and haven't noticed any warping. The frame is very easy to modify to mount things to. I have my ramps, Lcd, and powers up ply mounted on mine. I got mine from bluskreen or something like that.

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Prusa i3 Rework - Ramps 1.4 - E3d Lite6 - Full Graphic LCD Controller

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gmckee
I have a melamine frame from eBay on my i3 and it works fine. I live in Florida about 20 miles from the coast where humidity is high most of the time and haven't noticed any warping. The frame is very easy to modify to mount things to. I have my ramps, Lcd, and powers up ply mounted on mine. I got mine from bluskreen or something like that.

I called a few shops locally and most hate aluminum and one would do it but to bend it back straight it would cost as much, if not more, than a brand new one. 70-150 dollars to do it here (telling ya this city is stupidly high for anything that requires tools). I have a quote being ran on what a p3 steel would cost to cut here (only place in town with laser cutters, water jets, cnc machines, etc... and all shops sent me to them) and I expect to be floored.

edit: I asked another seller what theirs was and it was Aluminum + ABS plastic + Aluminum so I wounder how that would work? Interesting mixture for sure. I asked the seller how thick the aluminum was and this is the response I received - This material is used for outdoor advertising. thickness of the aluminum layer is small, but as it is durable ot hardened material. Oppression with difficulty. better than plywood definitely."

How did you manage to seal the mdf that is inside the two layers of melamine? When I gave my RH percents that is what it is inside my house not just outside so MDF explodes and falls apart in wet like that.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2015 02:42PM by Dark Alchemist.

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I await Skynet and my last vision will be of a RepRap self replicating the robots that is destroying the human race.

The Alu+ABS+Alu sounds similar to the "DuPont" stuff I have for my Prusas Y-table.
Very light and stable.
-Olaf

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2015 02:39AM by o_lampe.

Quote
o_lampe
The Alu+ABS+Alu sounds similar to the "DuPont" stuff I have for my Prusas Y-table.
Very light and stable.
-Olaf

He said the material is used in signs.

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I await Skynet and my last vision will be of a RepRap self replicating the robots that is destroying the human race.

aluminium composite such as dibond, yes its is used in signs

You can get thicker alu though, such as the ones Rifraf uses (irc handle)
Eg [www.ebay.com]

It's quite strong while lite weight.

He still recommends that Y axis be in alu though, eg [www.ebay.com] since any plastics can deform/melt. Ie under a heated bed.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2015 04:18AM by Dust.

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Dust
aluminium composite such as dibond, yes its is used in signs

You can get thicker alu though, such as the ones Rifraf uses (irc handle)
Eg [www.ebay.com]

It's quite strong while lite weight.

He still recommends that Y axis be in alu though, eg [www.ebay.com] since any plastics can deform/melt. Ie under a heated bed.

I agree and my base I purchased separately to allow me to 3 point level instead of the 4 point leveling nightmare of the frog plate.

Oh, and that 3mm thick plate is not the aluminum that is the entire thickness which is 90% ABS plastic and 10% Aluminum (2 very very thin aluminum plates).

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I await Skynet and my last vision will be of a RepRap self replicating the robots that is destroying the human race.

"Y Carriage Plate for RepRap Printer. CNC cut from 3mm Solid Aluminium Plate"
It is solid aluminium, threw and threw, it is only 3mm (I have 3 of these!)

The rest of it is a DiBond like products as it says, which is 4.3 mm, 3mm of filler and .65 alu plates either side. (these are just my measurements)
So percentage wise that 71% filler 29% alu

The filler does not seem to be abs, I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t feel,look, behave like abs. Internet seem to think its polyethylene

Quote
Dust
"Y Carriage Plate for RepRap Printer. CNC cut from 3mm Solid Aluminium Plate"
It is solid aluminium, threw and threw, it is only 3mm (I have 3 of these!)

The rest of it is a DiBond like products as it says, which is 4.3 mm, 3mm of filler and .65 alu plates either side. (these are just my measurements)
So percentage wise that 71% filler 29% alu

The filler does not seem to be abs, I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t feel,look, behave like abs. Internet seem to think its polyethylene

Yeah, I already have a Y plate but a back up is always nice but I wonder what that 3mm of filler really is?

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I await Skynet and my last vision will be of a RepRap self replicating the robots that is destroying the human race.

Hi guys,

The filler on Dibond sheets is PE (polyethylene #2).
Some copies from other manufacturers can be made with various fillers,
like expansed PVC. The strongest sheets uses PE.
There's another product called the Hylite which uses PP (polypropene #5) as filler.


++JM

Quote
J-Max
Hi guys,

The filler on Dibond sheets is PE (polyethylene #2).
Some copies from other manufacturers can be made with various fillers,
like expansed PVC. The strongest sheets uses PE.
There's another product called the Hylite which uses PP (polypropene #5) as filler.


++JM

No way of knowing unless you know the maker of the sheet and the seller probably uses the cheapest he/she can find and wouldn't be straight with you if asked, or may simply not know themselves.

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I await Skynet and my last vision will be of a RepRap self replicating the robots that is destroying the human race.

My Melamine frame arrived today and now I am waiting for another M10 Threaded rod for it. It smells like a BBQ pit after the coals die down, lol.

I was reading around the net and some off site thing that was not related to any of this mentioned that MDF becomes resistant to humidity if Laser cut the way a human would lose an arm and bleed to death if cut but if laser cut it not only cuts it off but cauterizes it.

MDF is made of, basically, sawdust and glue so the laser just shears it and melts the adhesive to itself where as cutting it with a saw leaves it wide open for the moisture. No idea about any of that but it does seem plausible to me so we will see how it goes when it gets really wet but for now I am in the dry time with static everywhere due to it being so dry.

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I await Skynet and my last vision will be of a RepRap self replicating the robots that is destroying the human race.