DIY bed heater idea, need some feedback

[soofle616]

I'm sure this has been done before but after a bit of searching I've found very little info or examples. I got the idea stuck in my head to build a delta style printer but for what I want to do, there is no readily available bed heater that I can buy. My options are to either have a custom heater made (possible but probably very expensive) or make my own. I'm thinking about having a custom PCB printed (relatively inexpensive) that is nothing more than thick copper traces with two solder pads. Basically the same idea as any other resistive wire based heater only mounted to PCB FR-4 material. Has anyone done this before and/or is there any precedent for it? In theory it should work just fine and I already have the software and suppliers to get it done, just checking to see if there are any known roadblocks that I may not be aware of.

Edit: just thought of one of the questions I have with this. Having never taken my one and only printer apart, where and how is the thermister typically located on the bed?

[3dkarma]

The thermistor is generally located dead-center on the bed. There's normally a hole through the bed so the thermistor can make contact with the surface you're printing on (if, for example, you've got a borosilicate glass sheet clamped to the heated bed).

[soofle616]

The thermistor is generally located dead-center on the bed. There's normally a hole through the bed so the thermistor can make contact with the surface you're printing on (if, for example, you've got a borosilicate glass sheet clamped to the heated bed).

Perfect, thanks.

[Mjolinor]

You described perfectly how heated beds are made so the question about if it has been done before is "yes".