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Magnetic print bed attempt

Discussion in 'Mods and Upgrades' started by OutsourcedGuru, Jan 13, 2018.

  1. OutsourcedGuru

    OutsourcedGuru Active Member

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    I saw something over on the BuildTak website that I thought was cool and wanted to eventually give that a try. In their version they include a thin/bendable steel sheet and the BuildTak goes on that; all that is then magnetically-attached to the print bed.

    I bought one of these magnetic project mats from iFixit, a variety of magnets, a second C2 bed and a spare BuildTak sheet. I then designed/printed some fins and here's what I have so far.

    DSC_1464.png DSC_1465.png

    I've used a clear version of a water-soluable Elmer's glue to fill in the bottom of the print bed to hold in all the magnets. Some of those are the rare-Earth types and some are just the cheap ones.

    The detailing at the back of the mat is to surround the plastic bar near the Z-rods and yet not collide with either X/Y stepper. I've repurposed some of the trimmed-off mat material (which includes a thick foam layer) in order to grab the bed from both sides with those bolt-mounted fins I printed this morning. The BuildTak sheet then goes on top.

    The magnets hold it firmly. The side fins prevent side-to-side movement since they're trapped with that foam layer. The back detail locks it in place so that it doesn't move back. The only freedom of movement would be to slide forward, which is the intent at the moment. And yet, the collection of magnets seems to be sufficient.

    The thought would be that even stubborn thin parts like coins could be removed just by bending the magnetic mat + BuildTak combo. The foam in the magnetic pad is rather firm, moreso than the average mousepad's. It's stiff enough to provide a flat surface, especially since it's magnetically held to the print bed now.

    Just waiting for the glue to dry to test this out.
     
    WheresWaldo and mark tomlinson like this.
  2. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    You make things complicated. I did this for a few machines back when the flex plate system released. Magnetic sheets with adhesive back from McMasterCarr. Spring steel from McMaster Carr. Done and easily reversible if wanted. If heatbed be sure to get the high temp version.
     
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  3. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Geof likes this.
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    That said, yep ... too complex.
     
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  5. OutsourcedGuru

    OutsourcedGuru Active Member

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    Looks like it's working great. I'll keep this in my arsenal for any thin parts, especially the carbon fiber ones. It works as expected, allowing parts to come right off with slight bending of the pad.

    I like the z-offset aspect of this since the pad gives a small amount. So I can dial up the bed higher than would normally be allowed (and would otherwise have clogged the nozzle). The surface squashes in situations like this and it puts down a good first layer, compensating for leveling differences. It pairs well with the cantilever stability upgrade. It provides no benefit for taller parts, however.

    This approach seems to maintain its first-layer adhesion in situations where it otherwise would have peeled off. I like it a lot but this ultimately won't be my final bed, since I'll be working up a heated bed and a conductive bed option with controllable charge (eventually). For this one, I will consider now tweaking the X/Y end-stop switches to push the printing boundary; I've already adjusted Cura to push this envelope as much as I can.

    DSC_1483.png
    DSC_1484.png DSC_1485.png
     
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  6. OutsourcedGuru

    OutsourcedGuru Active Member

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    Correct. I make things complicated compared to how you would do it.

    Me: "Alexa, please flush".
    Alexa: "Got it. Flushing the toilet...."

    But everyday of my life, I have more fun than you do. :laugh:

    I try to source things locally if I can. All the parts were bought on the same day for this. I didn't have to wait for McMasterCarr to deliver anything. In fact, the Amazon-purchased 24V adapter just got canceled this morning because the vendor didn't want to ship to a P.O. box. This really doesn't happen with brick-and-mortar stores—I don't wait a week to find out that I can't get my part *that* way.
     
  7. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    whatever is clever :p
     

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