1. Got a question or need help troubleshooting? Post to the troubleshooting forum or Search the forums!

Borosilicate Glass Bed Mod (sort of for now)

Discussion in 'Mods and Upgrades' started by jwmueller, Jun 11, 2017.

  1. jwmueller

    jwmueller Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2017
    Messages:
    169
    Likes Received:
    51
    Not being a huge fan (yet) of PEI print surfaces, I grabbed a Prusa Borosilicate bed that I had lying around collecting dust. Checked the size and it fits rather well over the current PEI surface and is heating up nicely.

    I will need to check the temps, but by hand it feels the same as the surface below it.

    Here are a few pictures of my awesome mod for now... Tape!

    Robo R2 Borosilicate Test.jpg

    Robo R2 Borosilicate Test_2.jpg

    RoboRobo your boat.jpg

    The bed was not perfectly clean, I was mainly just wanting to see what the auto-leveling would do with it. After this print I will properly clean, go through all the wizards again and print something else correctly.

    NOTE: My print quality is suffering from bent rods, so my pictures do not represent what the R2 print quality is fully capable of. You will see vertical ringing and shifting layers in my machine due to the UPS soccer match on my box...

    My reason for testing this was how thin and scratchy the stock Robo R2 print surface is, plus the maintenance nightmare of trying to replace it. I fully think it will be possible to print PETG glass holders that stay out of the way of the extruder and other internal objects. I plan to fully explore this option and design something to share with everyone. The bed I am using is 3mm thick. Any questions please let me know.
     
    Redriche likes this.
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2013
    Messages:
    23,912
    Likes Received:
    7,338
    Worst case it will take slightly longer to heat up.
    Given that most filaments out there are very forgiving on bed heat (not ABS, but everything else) then this is a fine approach.
     
    Geof likes this.
  3. Ed Ferguson

    Ed Ferguson Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 21, 2016
    Messages:
    272
    Likes Received:
    220
    jw - Sounds like a plan :) If it works well please post the part number / url to order that size Prusa Borosilicate bed. Looks like a good fit dimension wise.
     
  4. jwmueller

    jwmueller Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2017
    Messages:
    169
    Likes Received:
    51
    Using some standard Prusa glue stick now with the Robo PLA and another stock test print is working fine, nothing is pulling up.

    I need to find that other Benchy file that was posted the other day without the raft to play test it (think it was the S3D post).
     
  5. jwmueller

    jwmueller Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2017
    Messages:
    169
    Likes Received:
    51
    Here is a new Benchy test on the glass bed.

    Benchy on Glass.jpg Benchy on Glass2.jpg Benchy on Glass3.jpg

    Thanks to Ed for the print settings in S3D.
     
    Pilsnerboy likes this.
  6. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    Messages:
    5,905
    Likes Received:
    3,593
    @jwmueller That one looks better that the one you printed earlier with a raft.
    Please be careful using borosilicate glass with PETG, if it sticks too well PETG can pull chips out of the glass surface.
     
    Geof and mark tomlinson like this.
  7. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2013
    Messages:
    23,912
    Likes Received:
    7,338
    Believe it or not the simplest approach is a thin sheet of regular plate glass :)
    Cheap, effective and disposable.
     
    Geof likes this.
  8. jwmueller

    jwmueller Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2017
    Messages:
    169
    Likes Received:
    51
    I have had chips with regular glass, but since running borosilicate on all my FF machines and AquaNet it has never been an issue even on 210mm x 180mm flat surface prints with no rafts. One trick for "sticky" prints is to let the hairspray or glue soak with some windex around the edges after the plate has fully cooled off, then pop the bed temp up to 45C for a few minutes. Once you see some capillary action taking place with the windex turn off the heat and after 30-seconds the part will come off without much issue. Works well on the PEI as well when using blue or hairsprays.
     
  9. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2015
    Messages:
    6,757
    Likes Received:
    2,339
    you have time to let your bed cool down between prints?!?! :D;) :eek::p
     
  10. jwmueller

    jwmueller Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2017
    Messages:
    169
    Likes Received:
    51
    I normally run 5 machines 24/7, unless I am waiting on filament to arrive. o_O The Form 2 stays idle as I only use it for special items, and I don't have my 3D hubs account fully setup yet.. LOL The Robo R2 I bought to see if I could replace some older machines, but the smaller than advertised print area sadly is not going to allow me to do that. I tried to redesign my parts to fit, but I just can't squeeze enough out of the design, looking at the limit switches and the extruder fans, there is not room to gain on the R2 (not unless I go full mod on it and create a new case. Muahahaha

    I can't wait to get my bent rods fixed so I can really see what this machine can do down at the 50-micron range, I do print a bunch of parts in that range for a few items.
     
    Geof likes this.
  11. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2015
    Messages:
    6,757
    Likes Received:
    2,339
    Smaller than advertised build space? Elaborate for me?
     
  12. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    Messages:
    5,905
    Likes Received:
    3,593
    @jwmueller, I would love to have a Form 2 but the cost, and I do not use my printers for direct income production, unlike @Geof. I did cheap out and get an LCD SLA printer from China. Haven't printed anything yet still waiting on resin. Plus I was busy working out issues with firmware and converting to Marlin.

    I use my printers only to test whether or not designs are viable.
     
  13. jwmueller

    jwmueller Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2017
    Messages:
    169
    Likes Received:
    51
    From the Kickstarter and the Robo page -
    • Print size (inches)
    • 8” x 8” x 10”
    • Print size (mm)
    • 203.2 x 203.2 x 254 mm
    Max I can get is 196mm x 196mm x 250mm (I am guessing this is due to where the end stops are placed and the need to account for two print heads in the future)
     
  14. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2015
    Messages:
    6,757
    Likes Received:
    2,339
    I'm opting for the T1000 vs the Form 2...only due to build plate size. It may be a bad decision but a larger build area is key to my buisness :D.

    I'm extremely excited to see what that print looks like @WheresWaldo

    I got to use a formlab2 many times and have seen multiple across the different shows I go to and they are a nice machine, just on the small side of my part orders :D
     
  15. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2015
    Messages:
    6,757
    Likes Received:
    2,339
    That is very interesting! your the first I've heard with that! @Ed Ferguson can you check yours for me? Super curious now
     
  16. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    Messages:
    5,905
    Likes Received:
    3,593
    This is typical and likely marketing driven, it certainly is easier for us Americans who refuse to officially drop imperial measurements. Our need for whole numbers make it easier to say 8" x 8" x 10" rather than 7-23/32" x 7-23/32" x 9-27/32".
     
    Geof likes this.
  17. jwmueller

    jwmueller Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2017
    Messages:
    169
    Likes Received:
    51
    Ahh so you think they rounded up the MM to match marketing numbers. Interesting way to look at things. In this particular case, I don't like your reality, I want mine back!
     
    Geof likes this.
  18. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    Messages:
    5,905
    Likes Received:
    3,593
    I bet you this decision was made by a male marketing team, always bragging that it is bigger than it really is.
     
    Geof and jwmueller like this.
  19. Ed Ferguson

    Ed Ferguson Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 21, 2016
    Messages:
    272
    Likes Received:
    220
    In the Robo R2 OctoPrint Profile, they used 196 x 196 x 250. That's what I used in my Simplify3D profile.

    I'll check and see what the printer can actually do.
     
    Geof likes this.
  20. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2015
    Messages:
    6,757
    Likes Received:
    2,339
    That would be great, thank you. (Just curious if it is switch placement per machine -doubt it?- or more like the R1 series size issue :D )
     

Share This Page