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Thermal imaging scans of the stock R1 plus heat bed.

Discussion in 'Show and Tell' started by BrooklynBay, Apr 12, 2018.

  1. BrooklynBay

    BrooklynBay Active Member

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    The stock bed seems to have hot & cold spots in various places. Here are several shots taken with a handheld thermal imaging camera at different temperatures to show where those temperature variations are located.
     

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  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Yes, there are a number of (older, much older) threads that discuss this.
    It is not what I would call a really great bed heater.
     
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  3. BrooklynBay

    BrooklynBay Active Member

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    The thick glass of the bed should be capable of evenly dispersing the heat but for some reason it only transfers the heat directly from the areas where there's a heating element. Would an aluminum bed disperse the heat better or does it depend on the surface area of the embedded heating element?
     
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    The ONLY reason Borosilicate glass (AKA Pyrex) was used is because it can stand thermal shock and higher differential temperatures without breaking/cracking/etc. However nice that sounds, the temperatures involved in 3D printer beds are not enough to make this matter :)

    It has some negative aspects like the tendency to chip/flake as well.

    Aluminum has none of that. With a good bed heater it takes only slightly longer to get it to a stable temperature.
     
  5. shmoe01

    shmoe01 New Member

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    yeah i wish they had aluminum bed or an upgrade for it
     
  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Couple of threads here on that :)
    They don't sell a kit.
     
  7. BrooklynBay

    BrooklynBay Active Member

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    I took some before & after thermal scans of the heat bed when I added a modified metal cookie tray. This simple modification eliminates uneven cold patches on the stock glass bed, is easy to clean, and enables the prints to come off easily.
     

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  8. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    I am glad you posted these. All long time users knew what those pictures prove, the heater is shitty. There are multiple threads her on replacement heating elements and bed replacements too. Borosilicate glass was wholly unnecessary for the R1. An aluminum bed with plain old float glass on top would have been better.
     
  9. BrooklynBay

    BrooklynBay Active Member

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    Why does an aluminum bed need glass on top of it? If you take a look at the above thermal scans, you will see that the metal plate has a thermal loss of only a few degrees but disperses the heat in an even pattern. The center is the hottest while the outer area is the coolest. I don't own a C2 or an R2, but I assume that they use borosilicate just like the R1. I wonder if Robo will eventually make an aluminum bed with a similar finish like the one I used.
     
  10. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    C2 is a plastic bed- no heater- with buildtak. R2 is an aluminum plate (kind of) with buildtak or PEI on it- Still not a great heater. this has been covered in each section (R1 probably hundreds of times :D). The bed heaters are weak and inefficient. As far as why remove the glass- because its an insulator and can break/cant be removed. If you replace with aluminum and use a piece of glass clipped to it 1. you get the best possible heat without and insulator keeping heat away. 2. you can unclip the glass, get the print off and reclip to print again vs destructively ripping the print off. (or get multiple sheets and have a quick change set up going).
     
  11. BrooklynBay

    BrooklynBay Active Member

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    I remember seeing some high tech set up (possibly on Thingiverse or another website) about somebody making an automatic conveyor belt similar to what you see in the supermarket at the register to make a print, then when it's finished the belt moves forward, then a new print starts.
     
  12. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    I'm not following what your getting at?
     
  13. BrooklynBay

    BrooklynBay Active Member

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    I was just mentioning something that I once saw a while ago. A regular bed is manual (meaning that the printer prints on it, then you have to remove the print manually). This set up had a conveyor belt where an ordinary bed would be. When the print was done, the conveyor belt would move forward just enough to have enough space to start another print. You still have to remove the print but it saves time since the printer could start another print before you remove your old print.
     
  14. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    google conveyor belt 3D Printers. You'll see new ones that are angled - the angle is due to the makerbot patenet on the thingomatics (non functioning in real life) design for a belt as the y. Neat reads.
     
  15. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    Just to add, the glass is simply a better build surface than bare aluminum, and it is much harder to scratch or gouge when removing prints. You could, like some manufacturers do, just put a PEI, BuildTak or some other sheet directly on top of the aluminum bed. Aluminum is a good heat spreader, float glass is cheap and makes a good bed surface, easily cleaned off andf no need to replace like build surfaces when you scratch or gouge them. Just how cheap, I bought a piece from Lowes, cut to size (my local Home Depots wont cut the glass) for under $5.00 including tax, can't find a single piece of BuildTak that cheap.
     
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  16. BrooklynBay

    BrooklynBay Active Member

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    #17 BrooklynBay, Jul 23, 2018
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2018
  17. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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