Carbon Fiber Printer Bed

thingiverse

Once upon a time, I embarked on a quest to find a printing platform suitable for my upgraded Printrbot Simple after increasing its print area. This pursuit led me down the rabbit hole in search of a flat and available surface to print on. I experimented with various materials: 1. Tempered glass from old computer scanners - unfortunately, they shattered under heat shocks. 2. Home Depot Glass Pains - I found that cutting them would cause cracking upon thermal shock exposure. 3. Aluminum Sheets - this is a popular choice but often fails to produce a flat surface; I tried it without milling the aluminum and ended up with thin sheets prone to bending. Metals tend to be too ductile, making them unsuitable for printing platforms. 4. Mirrors - while two glass mirrors from reprap.me provided great results (flat and no cracking), their thickness can make shipping costs unfeasible, and sizes often do not align with my requirements. 5. Currently, I utilize a 200x300mm by 2mm thick carbon fiber board, carefully sourced from China due to its affordable price. Upon inspection, this board boasted impressive flatness, paired with a sleek surface reminiscent of glass. Its resilience allowed it to withstand bending without compromising the printing surface. Regarding the use of carbon fiber: * Thickness: I strongly advise against going thinner than 2mm for optimal rigidity and performance; consider 3mm thick sheets for improved stability. * Layout: Some boards may exhibit defects in their layout, but this does not affect the smoothness or usability of the print surface. Given my one-week experience with the carbon fiber bed, I will provide updates as necessary. My observations to date are overwhelmingly positive: * I utilize glue sticks for optimal adhesion and have experienced a marked reduction in curling problems compared to previous glass beds. * So far, my carbon fiber board has performed flawlessly under PLA prints, reaching impressive dimensions (250mm long). * As a general guideline: find an appropriate carbon fiber sheet on eBay, secure it firmly to your heated bed, apply a generous coating of glue stick for superior adhesion. The carbon fiber's surface emulates glass, making it suitable for ABS applications with a well-formulated slurry coating.