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Aluminum Heated Bed

Discussion in 'Mods and Upgrades' started by Trucker, Jan 24, 2016.

  1. jim3Dbot

    jim3Dbot Active Member

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    Yep, Tweaking up the supplies is the way to do it....the 5volt regulator does not have a problem reg'ing 13v, if supply is adjustable, go 4 it. The ramps incorporates a PTC automatic resetting 11 amp 'fuse' in the bed current drive, personally, I'm in favor of the straight out fuse myself...just better & faster over-current trip. Never had a problem yet, but really just a rookie.......A fuse & fuseholder in the back panel would be my personal choice.........later..........
     
  2. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    The bed is still controlled by the RAMPS board, just through a SSR.
     
  3. Trucker

    Trucker New Member

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    I never had a need for an SSR until now. Pretty cool stuff thanks for turning me on to it. Simulating some circuits now in LT Spice just to see what happens under the scenes before dropping cash.

    Again great advice thanks!
     
  4. Trucker

    Trucker New Member

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    Yep, the vinyl spacers came with the board and they suck, avoid them if you can. I was thinking something along the lines of insulation that can be removed and reused. When I took apart the original heater and glass the cork fell apart in my hands and I'm trying to come up with a better solution.
     
  5. Steven Stowell

    Steven Stowell New Member

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    What about using a high power MOSFET in pace if the SSR ? The MOSFET would be less expensive and less power loss than the SSR.
     
  6. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    Properly ventilated and cooled, it should work. Thomas Sanladerer (YouTube) just did a video on using MOSFETS instead of an SSR.
     
  7. Trucker

    Trucker New Member

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    I think I'm just going to go with the SSR. I thought that was the best idea.

    If anyone is curious here is a pic of Repeater. I think I'm about as far as I can push that little ramps board with this bed at 80C but it doesn't look like its hurting anything, bed output is not 100% as you can see but at 89C its 100% all the way across the chart. I've had 4 11 hour prints and a couple of 2 hours since I installed the bed. Really just an FYI for people who may read this and may be considering upgrading their bed. If I blow the board up I'll be sure to post that I did so nobody makes the same mistake.

    So far though I got to say its a worth while upgrade if you want the entire bed heated not just the middle of it. Warping has been non existent since the upgrade.
    Repeater_Robo.jpg
     
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  8. Robert Foreman

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    How is the current glass bed attached the heated bed? I am looking into getting a 1/4" aluminum plate and want to reattach the heated bed that is on the printer now. is there a high temp adhesive you would recommend?
    This is where I am thinking about ordering the plate from. They do custom cuts.
    http://www.cut2sizemetals.com/aluminum/plate/apl/

    Thanks
     
  9. Nathanfish

    Nathanfish Active Member

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    Double sided tape. I got some 3m high temp on Amazon. Best place I found was Midwest steel for the 1/4" plate I used. It was $18 plus shipping.

    Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk
     
  10. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    I can't help with the adhesive, most use some sort of 3M double sided sheet, but I will make a suggestion about the heater and the plate.

    The current heater only covers about 67% of the actual usable build area, it might be better to just replace the heater altogether with something that fits better (covers more area). Second, 6061 aluminum comes in rolls and the roll is flattened into sheets. It may not be as flat as you would like for a bed material, although a lot of people use it. A cast aluminum plate, under various trade names, such as Mic6, Alca Plus, and K100, although more expensive is much flatter overall and most upgrades will use that type instead.

    @Nathanfish already mentioned the place to get said plate.
     
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  11. Nathanfish

    Nathanfish Active Member

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    3m 468mp is what I used. 6 sheets for $18 on Amazon.

    I ordered a 200 watt silicon heater but only installed it on one of my printers. The stock heater heats the plate up faster for some reason. Not sure what I did wrong there. The aluminum disperses it enough that I would recommend just keeping it.

    Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk
     
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  12. Nathanfish

    Nathanfish Active Member

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    Also do PEI on top while you're at it!

    Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk
     
  13. Robert Foreman

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    Thanks every I will look into Midwest steel for the plate and look at Amazon the the 3M double sided sheet.

    Thanks again. :)
     

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