Heated bed recommendation in UK please

dc42

I suggest an AC mains voltage silicone bed heater slightly smaller than the aluminium bed plate. Manufacturers include Keenovo and Shenzhen Ali Brother Technology. Search on Ali Express.

gloomyandy

If you are looking to buy an Aluminium plate, I got a 6mm 310x310 (they cut to size) toolplate from https://www.aluminiumwarehouse.co.uk/ I use it with a main pad (with SCR and thermal fuse) as mentioned above.

GTech

My suggestion would be the same as all the others.
Make sure the aluminium plate has been cast, not rolled. Cast plates have less internal stresses and will warp less when heated, you should also make sure that plate has been face milled so it is level and flat.
This type of plates is a commodity if you can tolerate to use a default size, they are of the shelf parts you can can get on eBay.
You can drill the mouting holes with a drillpress or even a cordless if need be, just start with a small size drill and low rpm.

Since we are talking 400x400 and up, your only practical option is mains powered silicone heater in the 1kW range. Keenovo is a commonly used brand, they publish the specs for the integrated thermistors, there are even a few config samples here in the forum you can copy paste.
You can get those of Ali but there are also a bunch of retailers in europe. ... please do not forget, to run a ground wire to the bed as the silicone heaters only have a 2 wire connection

Insulation, my prefered choice is mealamin foam, often sold under brand the name Basotect. It can be used up to 240C and is flame retartend. It is commonly used as sound and heat insulation in cars, offices, public buildings. You can get 20mm sheets on Amazon or eBay. Use some 3M-468MP, high temperature resistant double sided sticky tape, and put the foam under your bed.

Print surface, get a magnetic sheet with a spring steel sheet, you can get those as kits on eBay and Amazon. It is just so much more convinient ... seperating a large PETG print from a ridgit plate without damaging the build surface or the print can quickly become a challenge.
Build surface it selfe, personal choice, my favourite is FR-2.

jay_s_uk

I bought my silicone heater from these guys
https://www.elmatic.co.uk/
They had one in stock and it was cheaper than buying from keenovo

hackinistrator

cartesian 400x400 ?
don't do it .

at those sizes you better keep the bed stationary - corexy and others .

also note that at this size , if you go for very thick aluminium plate , your heating and cooling time will be very long (in comparison to normal printers) .
too thin and you'll have warping of the bed from the heat .

razrudy

@hackinistrator I already have an Anycubic Chiron...or at least the frame from it and the bed...everything else has been changed.
The bed is really bad (24V heated bed with glass on top) and I want to change it.
If I started this road I will rather go and redesign to a coreXY because I don't like that huge bed moving.
By the time I get all the parts I want to start looking for a bed first and model around this.
Now I am trying to find the best option to transform the cartesian bed to coreXY......not sure what adaptors I will need so there is a lot of research I need to do
I like the idea on using a silicone heated bed at 220V with SSR and thermo fuse and maybe magnetic changeable bed sheets...something like Buildtak system with a 1000W 400x400 silicone heater. At least this is what I found on reprap website and looks like a good option

@razrudy

it is only (currently) max 300x300 but sure it has raw power:
https://e3d-online.com/collections/printer-parts-electrical/products/high-temperature-heated-beds

or you buy 4* of the 200x200

Veti

@razrudy said in Heated bed recommendation in UK please:

400x400 silicone heater.

thats to big, you need space on the sides for the screws.

@Veti said in Heated bed recommendation in UK please:

@razrudy said in Heated bed recommendation in UK please:

400x400 silicone heater.

thats to big, you need space on the sides for the screws.

With such a big heatplate I would rather go with 3 independent z-axis spindles with the newer independent z-levelling algorithm. Therfor you rest the bed on 3 magnetic balls (just like those delta-printers did with their toolboards) because then the heatplate can freely be levelled

-> Just my suggestion... It is sunday so maybe too much time to dream around

Veti

you misunderstood me, you need to attach the bed somehow to a carriage or the frame.
when all is taken up by the heater, you can not attach it

hackinistrator

@LB said in Heated bed recommendation in UK please:

@razrudy

it is only (currently) max 300x300 but sure it has raw power:
https://e3d-online.com/collections/printer-parts-electrical/products/high-temperature-heated-beds

or you buy 4* of the 200x200

i'm using e3d high temp bed . its great , but as you said max size is 300x300 .
i also think its a bit overkill , unless you need to print with the bed at 200c .

did anyone consider sticking silicone heater directly to borosilicate glass ? if you're printing just pla , i think it can be the cheapest option .

@Veti

of course, just wanted to spin it further

razrudy

@Veti
The heater is 400x400 and the build plate 406x406....this will work or I will need more clearance?
This is what I have in my mind at this point and 99.99% I will go coreXY just need to decide if I will have the bed moving down or the Z moving up......I saw at one of the users here ( can't remember his username)
Silicone heater
Flexplate
Standard Surface
PETG Surface

Veti

thats 3mm per side. so no it will not work..

as i written above the right size would be 350x350 for the heater.

razrudy

@LB definitely minimum 3 axis if I will move the bed up and down

By any chance can you please post a link with that magnetic balls?

razrudy

@GTech What thickness on the aluminium plate please?
I can find minimum 5mm only for cast type. Then 6 , 8 and 10mm.

GTech

@razrudy I normally use 8mm at the size we are talking it is already quite a chunck of metal. You might be able to get away with 6mm anything below that makes no sense in my mind.
10mm will work as well, its just heavier and has more thermal mass aka. needs longer to heat and cool. Depends on what you can get you hands on.

As others mentioned mounting that thing is the challange, at 400x400 you will need to somehow compensate for thermal expansion or it will warp no matter how thick the plate is.

Take a look at the HeVORT printer, the guy is on the forum here as well, I think he has a nice way of mounting the bed ... it is just bit overkill . Also take a look at the Jubilee nice bed mounting as well.

On eBay and some stores you can also find silicone blocks and spacers intended for moutng printer beds. They are flexible enough to allow the bed to expand and act as a heat break between the bed and the frame at the same time ... not my first choice but apparently people use them succesfully.

Couple of related notes; You can get silicone heaters with holes in them so you can do the mounting directly under the bed and maximize the print area.

Forget about the Cartisan, 8mm 400x400 should weight something in the 3-4kg range(?) accelerating and decelerating that quickly without loosing steps is a whole different discussion. If you want to go Cartisian your only option is a PCB heater ... Chinese clone of the Prusa Mk42 most likely?

FYI I am just dialing in my new build, bit smaller then yours (300x300 build plate on a 8mm cast aluminium tool plate ~380x350) and with propper mounting there is next to no warping.
I disabled mesh bed compensation, active leveling with three Z screws is enough and I can print right up to the edge with a nice and even first layer.

I would also recommend filafarm

As for the Hevort it has already been concluded that, that is an abortion of a design that merely looks pretty, one that relies far too heavily on the wasteful use of supports and the fact that on the "wobble wings" the only thing retaining the bed structure to the ball screw is magnets, as an abortive attempt to overcome ball screws which are not straight, when the correct engineering solution would be it either straighten the ball screws or buy ones from a reputable source...

razrudy

@CaLviNx
Still waiting for the UK and Europe to clear "the after Brexit custom things". Most of my orders from Europe it says that can't be delivered yet because of the new custom rules between UK and Europe. I will check from tomorrow onwards when most shops will open again after holidays to check what are the updates about.

@razrudy said in Heated bed recommendation in UK please:

@CaLviNx
Still waiting for the UK and Europe to clear "the after Brexit custom things". Most of my orders from Europe it says that can't be delivered yet because of the new custom rules between UK and Europe. I will check from tomorrow onwards when most shops will open again after holidays to check what are the updates about.

That's because most resellers do not wish to endure the headache of filling out the extra customs paperwork, as the UK is now considered a "third" country in the eyes of the EU.

So In effect the British government has gotten its wish, and made Britain into "little Britain" and pushed the UK back around 50 years a very very sad state of affairs