8x10 Plate Glass Clips

thingiverse

For printing, glass stands out as an ideal surface because it's extremely flat, and remains that way consistently. However, custom glass sizes come with a hefty price tag for special orders, while standard 8x10 plate glass is remarkably cheap and easy to obtain. My Replicator and FlashForge printers both have roughly 6x9 print beds, and interestingly, 8x10 plate glass fits perfectly without any issues. On the other hand, holding glass larger than the print bed in place proves tricky due to the need for large binder clips, which can cause problems with the extruder. The clips run into the edges of these binder clips when you try to attach them. Consequently, you're only able to clip down two sides because the other edges stick out. I've designed a solution by crafting specialized clips that extend beyond the corners of my printer's bed. This design works great for holding standard 8x10 plate glass securely in place. You can use small binder clips since these new corners are thin. This was actually inspired by a few similar designs I found on Thingiverse, which ultimately prompted me to create my own unique version. My clips stand out from others on that site mainly due to their customizability. The edges of the clips also happen to be quite slim. Glass can break easily! One critical caveat - plate glass at $1.99 is only 3/32" thick, so it's not nearly as durable as thicker, pricier glass alternatives. Yet in my experience, so long as it stays flat on a surface or bed of sorts, it'll be just fine and safe from breakage. But beware - pulling prints off this glass when you hold the sheet itself is guaranteed to result in breakage. So do avoid doing that. On top of using plate glass for printing purposes, there are many other types like 8x10 sheets of plexiglass or even wood available. Just make sure you know exactly what you're working with. It's generally a good idea to set your Z-stop according to specifics unique to your printer, using something like thing:43783 from the Internet for that particular printer. In this situation I've got an MBI Replicator and a FlashForge Pro. Since both of those work fine on these designs here are the attached STL files for your reference. Print out two of each - 'Left' & 'Right'. Most importantly if using slicers which offer support during printing, feel free to use NoSupport STL files provided below in instructions - you can design in these into it or print right. These models also feature standard sizes on the glass sheet which we talked about above. You've got quite a bit of versatility as you may place in different values that your printer takes when you print similar designs. So be sure and play around to see exactly how well they all work. One other great advantage of this product, the parts I was going for have "Right" and "Left" options printed up on them. The long clips run outwards toward front, or maybe backward in order not just stick in there with those plastic thingys. Short ends come up along side where you'll be adding another clip onto there before putting any pressure into place at all. Take an 8x10 glass plate & add a small clamp or even paint that tape, I'm talking like some sort of Souave Extreme Hold. This was the only type that would stick really well so if any part fell down or what not I can get it off pretty quickly which was kind cool but don't expect anything fancy. Use regular Allen wrench since they come in box originally so now you know that too, place a nut at one of bottom clips & grab on tight with one hand & the rest goes as usual.