Glass build platform is the way to go!

[3DPBuser]

Do any of the new FF already come with removeable glass?

[curious aardvark]

Actually I've just added a 3mm aluminium plate (scrap from clients who are aluminium fabricators) instead of the 1.25 mm glass I was using.

The glass was bending, the aluminium does not :-)

Much much better - I've now got perfectly flat printbed.
Guess I could have bought expensive thicker flat glass. But I'm happier with something that won't break if dropped :-) (already killed 2 glass beds)

[roykirk]

It's always interesting to see how different all our experiences are. I'll never be able to go away from a glass bed after using one. FF sells glass platforms on their US store for under $20 and those buggers are 12 mm thick. There's no bending or warping something like that. I think you say you haven't been able to get away from rafts? I've never really had to use them, but then again I can't print on metal or Kapton tape either, no matter what I try. Nor can I print directly on glass, regardless of temperature, first layer, or leveling tweaks. Blue tape and glass with a heated bed at 50c (which everyone says shouldn't be necessary) is the only thing I can get to work time after time.

[Geoff]

It seems everyone machines behave very differently considering the hardware is the same.. you have to wonder how much is geologically based or user lol..

[curious aardvark]

well my issues were definitely: 'not-level' bed based.

Printed out 4 things without raft yesterday, at reasonable speed too !
Might not sound much to you lot, but it's pretty amazing to me :-)

It didn't like the the vacuum cleaner adaptor - but I could see that was purely down to the way makerware slices cylinders. Ie: It doesn't go round in a full circle, but goes round to one point, then reverses direction to the same point then reverses again. It's why you get a seam. But because of this the first layer didn't go down properly, it pulled the edges of the first circle up on the reverse and just left a permament gap.

But the electric carpet sweeper handle worked perfectly ! (even the sample prints).

So I suspect it doesn't actually matter what material your bed is made of - as long as it's 100% flat and level.
And as far as I can see - no flashforge comes with a perfectly level bed. (or indeed any other make - not level beds seem to be at the crux of a lot of people's problems with 3d printers)

The thick glass bed sounds good. But I can get aluminium beds for free - no contest. Plus just an extra 3mm means I don't have to piss about with shims for the zaxis.

I'm tempted to put a layer of kapton on the reverse side of the plate. To give me bluetape one side and kapton the other so i can just flip the plate to change :-)
The blue tape sticks really well now I can calibrate the machine properly.
So tempted to give geoffs favourite kaptoon a go. I've got a huge bloody roll of the stuff - so might as well try it out :-)

[Procheck]

I've finally had to make the first change to my FF. The stock aluminum build platform was horribly warped (quite disappointed about that after only a few months ownership) and I was starting to have trouble getting things to print correctly. I decided to buy the glass build platform that FF sells on their U.S. website. I couldn't be happier. Dead level from corner to corner and things are printing beautifully again. See photo below. The one thing to note is that I saw a photo somewhere else of someone using this glass plate clamped directly on top of the stock aluminum build plate. I have no idea how they managed that because I tried it and it was impossible because the platform became so thick that I couldn't screw down the leveling nuts far enough to clear the nozzle. Only after I removed the metal plate could I get the platform to clear the nozzle. While I've heard it can be done, I'm not printing directly on the glass, instead continuing to use blue painters tape. My main reason being that sometimes my models really stick hard to the platform and I have to use a putty knife to "pop" them off. I didn't want to scratch the bejeesus out of the glass plate right off the bat. Perhaps I'll give it a try without tape at some point.


Attachment 1745

You can print a spacer that sits at the rear of the build plate support that stops the z axis to enable you to use the glass bed on top of the stock bed. There are a few on Thingiverse to choose from. Just search flashforge glass bed shim and you should find one that you like. Note:I had to adjust the height of the shim to just higher (6.65mm) than my glass bed that came in at 6.55mm thick that gave me some fail safe room that i could then use the adjustment screws to level out. I happened to find some transfer tape that was the right thickness in my junk bin lol it had a added benefit of holding the shim in place as well. but you could design your own if needed. Good reason to never discard scraps for other products they might just come in handy I hope this helps

[memi205]

This is my glass bed installation for my flashforge dreamer.
I needed :
- 1/4" thermal Glass from Flashforge 6"x9"x1/4"
- Some kapton tape 5mil self-adhesive (cut 4 pieces 1/2" x 6")
- Some blue paint tape
- 6.5mm flashforge shim for Z axis (Search thingverse site... thing:427689 )

See my pictures for the installation.

Everything must be very clean before installing the glass bed... use a little bit of aceton to clean.

It prints great with UHU glue stick. Easy to apply, easy to wash.

No binder clips needed... No danger for extruders or the 3D printer.
Hope this helps.
Michel
IMG_2057.jpgIMG_2058.jpgIMG_2055.jpgIMG_2053.jpgIMG_2056.jpg

[3DPBuser]

This would not come off, so as to be able to put in freezer, correct?

[memi205]

Exact.
It's an aluminium plate + kapton replacement...
I do not want my extruders hits a binder clip. And I wanted something well done and clean.
With UHU glue stick, everything I print pops up easily.

[curious aardvark]

very clever !

Never occured to me to just tape the bugger on !