(NOOB): Size of glass for 10" i3v?

[theAut0]

I have a 10" i3v on the way. Now, maybe I'm overthinking it, but I wanted to get the glass, and thought: "Maybe the bed is 10", meaning a 10" square of glass would contact the screws..."
Those of you who have one, what did you get? Also, thickness?

I know. First timer. Thanks, though!

[dacb]

Welcome to forums! Congratulations on your printer!

I used a piece of regular glass from the local hardware store and they cut it to 10"x10" for free. Then I used a glass cutter like the one below to score the glass on a diagonal at each corner to form an isosceles triangle with the two edges of the same length being about half an inch (IIRC). Then, I had my kid hold down the glass using a straightedge at the scoring line which was also aligned with the sharp edge of a table below. Then, I took a pair of vise-grips and snapped off the corner. Remember to wear safety glasses.

0663738-23.jpg

[gmay3]

Hi theAut0! Welcome to the Makerfarm Forum!

You definitely were not over thinking it because you're exactly right. The size of the glass does need to be a little smaller on two sides so it slips between the screws.

I have a 8" i3v and I believe the exact dimensions to get the glass cut to were in Makerfarm's build guide. Here is a link to the 10" build guide so it should be in there.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B80...it?usp=sharing

I have been having great luck with just normal cheap glass from the hardware store. I want to guess its about 3.5mm thick and costs about 2 dollars per bed size sheet.

One thing to mention is that Colin probably will give you the dimensions in mm and you definitely want to convert that to inches before you go into the hardware store (assuming you're in the USA). I brought in my dimensions in mm and got a nasty glare from the hardware store employee when I said it was in mm. His glass cutter guides only had inches for some reason. Point being, maybe have both written down before you go in :P

Also they will probably leave the edges sharp. You can use a handheld orbital sander or sandpaper over a block of wood to take the edge off the glass.

[theAut0]

Thanks guys. And yes, gmay3, it's in the build guide (guess I should have looked there first). Just says get a 10"x10" piece, and break the corners off, like dacb said. Not having really ever worked with glass, I'm not sure how breaking the corners off will go. Haha. We'll find out. Plexiglass is cheap, and I can cut it with a dremel. So that's my usual solution. Unfortunately, I don't think that would go over so well in this case.

[printbus]

Is an even 10-inches really the right size? I know that on the 8-inch bed, it takes 8-3/8 inches of glass to go from one edge of the heated bed to the other. I guess it sort of depends on what you want to do, but I find that works the best with binder clips and also to hold things in place working to get prints off the bed. Any less than that and I'd be throwing away some of the 8-inch printable space.

[theAut0]

That's what the build guide says under "Parts List" but idk. It'll be in front of me Wednesday, so we'll see.

[gmay3]

That's interesting that the build guide is recommending to break the corners off. I would say if you don't want to buy a glass cutting tool you could do it the the 8" versions are set up, see picture below.

bed.jpg

[jtice]

I had mine cut at Ace Hardware, I got 3, they were $1.90 each.
I had mine cut 10" x 9.5". They only do square/rectangle, so didnt bother cutting the corners off.

[printbus]

I had read how some people have used glass from 8x10 picture frames in their 8-inch printers, and you could possibly start with that on first prints until you figure out what size glass you really want to use. jtice got a bargain. My one piece of glass was $4.99 USD. Maybe it depends what size sheet they have to start with.

If you have a wet tile saw, that also works for cutting the corners. I figured it would be no different than cutting the glass in the mosaic tile I put into the kitchen remodel. I've never been able to snap straight with the roller-type glass cutter. I think I threw mine away the last time I tried to use it, figuring it must be dull or something.

[dacb]

I did use some sand paper to clean up the edges, forgot about that.