glass bed

Hi guys,
so I have some borosilicate glass, the makersome shim and kapton tape...
The problem is the glass I have is over sized,what are some of the ways I could clamp it?

Could I use some form of double sided tape to adhere it? if not what is a good tape to adhere these substrates? VHB Tape? Carpet Tape? Selllo Tape?
could I use the sellotape between the buildtak and the glass or should I take the buildtak off?, if i did this, how much temp would I lose do you think?
how about kapton on top of the buildtak or straight onto the aluminum get damaged right?, sorry dumb questions but interesting? :)
also any good tutorials on applying kapton tape?
or make a new special clamp to hold it? I cannot tell from the vids how the wingnut works on the makersome upgrade, is there a screw it goes into?

Cheers again
Anthony

You know glass can be cut, right? Why not do that instead of finding a remedy for a problem that can be easily fixed...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sebastian Finke

You know glass can be cut, right? Why not do that instead of finding a remedy for a problem that can be easily fixed...

---

good point Sebastian, I have never cut glass before, I need to chop off about 30mm, I am more of a cautious tinkerer when it comes to some things! such as glass

Then go to your local glazier. While there get yourself a second sheet. Makes swapping out a quick affair.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by anthony27

good point Sebastian, I have never cut glass before, I need to chop off about 30mm, I am more of a cautious tinkerer when it comes to some things! such as glass

---

I had same problem a while ago, never cut the glass so... what I did....
I purchased couple of cheapest picture frames from the local euro saver shop (couple of two packs for 1.49 each) plus cutting tool also for 1.49 , started cutting without any preparation/theory broke two of them, no luck! two days deep breathing...! Youtube ... "how to cut the glass" OK! feel ready now! let's start again, end of the tool to the oil (kitchen vegetable oil) make it wet and shiny .... and the pressure (pressure it the main point here if you push too strong on glass it will break but not the way you asking for) excellent! oil and the right pressure of my hand did the job just excellent ! Every time from now on! tried just for fun!

Experienced glass cutter :P

Keep in mind that if you use regular glass, instead of thermal glass, on a heated bed it will likely end up breaking on you do to thermal expansion.

0.5mm silicon thermal pad material (the kind they use on computer heatsinks) is an excellent way to keep a glass secure to your build plate. Just cut it into 5 1.5" squares (one for each corner and the one for the middle). It will keep the plate secure but it's easy to remove, and since there's no real adhesive it can be reused indefinitely.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by obecny

I had same problem a while ago, never cut the glass so... what I did....
I purchased couple of cheapest picture frames from the local euro saver shop (couple of two packs for 1.49 each) plus cutting tool also for 1.49 , started cutting without any preparation/theory broke two of them, no luck! two days deep breathing...! Youtube ... "how to cut the glass" OK! feel ready now! let's start again, end of the tool to the oil (kitchen vegetable oil) make it wet and shiny .... and the pressure (pressure it the main point here if you push too strong on glass it will break but not the way you asking for) excellent! oil and the right pressure of my hand did the job just excellent ! Every time from now on! tried just for fun!

Experienced glass cutter :P

---

sounds like you have mastered the art of the glass cut! thanks for the tips, I might try the thermal pad idea first and see how I go with that, then try this if that doesnt work,
many thanks
Anthony

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by djprinter

Keep in mind that if you use regular glass, instead of thermal glass, on a heated bed it will likely end up breaking on you do to thermal expansion.

0.5mm silicon thermal pad material (the kind they use on computer heatsinks) is an excellent way to keep a glass secure to your build plate. Just cut it into 5 1.5" squares (one for each corner and the one for the middle). It will keep the plate secure but it's easy to remove, and since there's no real adhesive it can be reused indefinitely.

---

Thanks for the tips I am going to get some on my lunch break and try it out tonight.
http://www.jaycar.com.au/Service-Aid...-Pk-2/p/NM2790
this is the one I am planning on getting, would this work?

no mind, i went out and got it, I will let you know how it goes. :)

Quote:

---

Keep in mind that if you use regular glass, instead of thermal glass, on a heated bed it will likely end up breaking on you do to thermal expansion.

---

Highly unlikely. This might occur only if you could secure the glass completely along all four edge with zero possible movement.
As most glass plates are secured at corners or with a weak adhesive or tape on the corners - and as glass has a really low expansion coefficient anyway - it's pretty much never goiung to be an issue.

I used cheap poundshop picture frame glass with no problems for a while.
I much prefer my current aluminium bed. But as I pretty much just print on gluestick now - as long as the bed is flat the actual bed material is largely irrelevant.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by curious aardvark

Highly unlikely. This might occur only if you could secure the glass completely along all four edge with zero possible movement.
As most glass plates are secured at corners or with a weak adhesive or tape on the corners - and as glass has a really low expansion coefficient anyway - it's pretty much never goiung to be an issue.

I used cheap poundshop picture frame glass with no problems for a while.
I much prefer my current aluminium bed. But as I pretty much just print on gluestick now - as long as the bed is flat the actual bed material is largely irrelevant.

---

Repeated heat cycles will destroy regular glass regardless of how it's attached to the bed.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by anthony27

no mind, i went out and got it, I will let you know how it goes. :)

---

That should work great.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by djprinter

That should work great.

---

Worked perfectly , thankyou for the advice,
I am thinking ahead here, but how do you clean the glass after printing? to remove slurry, harspray PVA glue etc?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by djprinter

Repeated heat cycles will destroy regular glass regardless of how it's attached to the bed.

---

no it didn't :-)
let's face it as far as the glass is concernd it's barely getting warm.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by anthony27

Worked perfectly , thankyou for the advice,
I am thinking ahead here, but how do you clean the glass after printing? to remove slurry, harspray PVA glue etc?

---

I always clean with acetone between prints. For printing ABS I use kapton tape on the glass with a little bit of ABS slurry. If I'm not using tape I use hairspray, I haven't had any luck with ABS slurry on plain glass.

Hairspray works great, sometimes too great--I've had it rip chunks of glass off the bed when removing a part, which is why I went back to using kapton tape on glass.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by curious aardvark

no it didn't :-)
let's face it as far as the glass is concernd it's barely getting warm.

---

Temperature doesn't matter, it's temperature differential--if one side of the glass is hotter than the other. It doesn't take more than 30-50C difference to cause glass to crack.

Not saying it will happen, but it might and it will ruin a print. Not worth the risk IMO.

There's also the transfer of heat from the bed to the top of the glass plate which is MUCH better and more even with thermal glass. Regular glass is a poor conductor of heat, which is why it cracks more easily (creates a greater differential).