Originally Posted by
sygyzy
After a weekend of emailing Emily from QIDI Tech, I went ahead and pulled the trigger. i will say that for anyone new reading this thread, do not rely on older pricing information. I see that some people have gotten this for low $600's but when I randomly made an offer for $660 they claimed that shipping prices had gone up so $660 is the lowest they'd take. If you can do better, good for you but $660 for a price I was ok with. Before the machine arrives, I have some questions and they're all related to the print bed/build surface.
1. How many "pieces" is the build platform? I assume it's just one aluminum (?) surface that has the heating element built in right? Does the blue surface that Qidi include come permanently adhered to the platform? Or is it some sort of sticker with adhesive? Or does it just stick on using surface tension (ie like a parking sticker on a windshield)?
2. Assuming the blue surface is removable, and I get a glass bed, should I place it on top of the base (aluminum) build surface? Or over the blue surface? In other words base + glass. Or base + blue surface + glass? Do the shims and spacers on Thingiverse assume you are placing the glass plate on top of the naked platform or on top of the platform with the blue surface? (I realize that we're probably talking mm's here but I am still curious).
3. If I get a glass surface, do I still need to use things like blue painter's tape (can blue tape even stand the heat from a heated platform?), kapton, hairspray, glue stick etc?
4. How does the Maghold product work? Do you permanently replace your build plate with theirs and then there's some sort of flexible metal surface that attaches on top? Does heat conduct properly this way? Does the top removable surface have the blue surface permanently bonded to it or can you choose what surface you mount? For example, is it possible to use Maghold with a removable top glass plate?
Thanks!