Heatbed's printing surface

Hello community!

This is a question/challage to all the experts who have experience printing and surely have dealt with these issues, so i look forward to "drink your knowledge" and read your opinions.

I've been struggling to understand wich is the best sollution for the actual surface where the print is made.

For what i see and realize, borosilicate glass is the "mainstream" option..but then again, i see people all the time struggling with adhesion problems, having to resort to tapes, glues etc..and even so not always with the desired result/adhesion. It just doesn't make sense to me to go for one surface, (ok, it's flat), and then cover it with another thing wich is still not "perfect".

Other different materials: (lets leave costs aside for the moment)

- Aluminium sheet/plate: i see in Merlin's website his bed is in aluminium (not polished though..i don't know the term for that finish in English) and i don't imagine he's putting some tape there all the time for what i deduce from the photos.

- Some polymer: i was just analysing closely a 3DS's Cube Touch earlier and discussing this matter with the owner..it has some black polymer bed and he has no troubles with adhesion (for PLA and ABS ate least)

- Carbon fiber weave & resin plate: a friend of mine has a Cfiber plate and he says adhesion is not even an issue. Furthermore, he says that after a short period of cooling down the printed piece "pops" loose off the plate. (how cool and convenient is that?!?)

Any thoughts?

Cheers o/

P.S. I am new here, i have looked and haven't found any post adressing this problematic directly and specifically; i'm feel sorry in advance if i have misposted this question and ask for your comprehension.

Just a follow up question, is tempered glass preferred? My window glass shattered today when abs part cooled. The force is amazing.

Normal glass + a bit of hairpray is fine. Aluminium warps to much. Everything is is expensive and or to heavy imho. I will try one of these new printing pads soon though. I also sanded my glass and givin the chance would try a sandblasted surface. but that costs 15€ in my city so I rather buy a pad.

Quote
sungod3k
Normal glass + a bit of hairpray is fine. Aluminium warps to much. Everything is is expensive and or to heavy imho. I will try one of these new printing pads soon though. I also sanded my glass and givin the chance would try a sandblasted surface. but that costs 15€ in my city so I rather buy a pad.

Wich pads are you talking about? Could you please provide some link?

Cheers o/

Cast aluminum tooling plate makes a great print bed because it spreads the heat out. You put a layer of kapton tape (I like 5 mil thick stuff because it is tough) on it and you'll have no trouble getting ABS to stick to it (you may have trouble getting it to let go!). The kapton tape will last a long time if you are careful not to gouge it while removing prints. A thin piece of metal might warp when heated, but I use 6.35mm thick (1/4") plate and I can print almost edge to edge on my 317 x 305mm bed, so it doesn't warp much at all. Cast plate is milled flat.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2015 12:46PM by the_digital_dentist.