Printrbot Simple Metal Heatbed

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Printrbot Simple Metal Heatbed

Published at 2024-05-03
Free
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (5 comments)
120

in_the_garage

23 objects 27 Followers
Joined over 10 years ago

Description

**UPDATE** Printrbot has created a kit to add a heat bed to your Simple Metal Here: http://printrbot.com/shop/simple-metal-heated-bed/  you can also buy an aftermarked adhesive one at http://3dpaftermarket.bigcartel.com/product/printrbot-metal-bundleThe stock Printrbot Metal Simple is a fantastic little printer with an exceptional degree of accuracy for its price, I really wouldn't change a thing about it. Recently I had to print a few large flat designs and wanted to try attaching a heat bed to get them perfectly flat. The ideology of mounting the heat bed on a raised platform design posted here is that you are able to insulate the moving parts from heat, use less power and keep a more constant temp - I have no idea how this mod stacks up against other designs. Your Printrbot Simple Metal can print PLA super flat, and experiment other filaments like ABS and Nylon. If you plan to print with high temperature filaments, I recommend printing these parts in ABS for long term durability. Instructions:Print four of these brackets and attach the 6X6 aluminum print bed heatbed and thermistor from http://printrbot.com/ See BOM for details and instructions.Assemble as shown in photo, mounting holes in STL file are tight but allow for better self tapping into the plastic, you can also insert a nut into the captured space. Using the aluminum heat bed from printrbot you you won't need to make any changes to your z sensor (I would use caution the first time to make sure you didn't move anything while installing this mod - go through the M212 calibration process).  Once installed you can easily add or remove the bed without making calibration adjustments. Remember to do all of your z height calibration with the heat bed at temperature.I have included a PDF file that shows you where to plug in the heat bed, thermistor cable, and power supply.Finally, you will want to send the following code to your machine M211 X150 Y150 Z140 to compensate for the slight decrease in Z travel because of the heat bed thickness then M500 to save and M501 to check your work. - WARNING - You must replace the laptop style power source and add your own 12 volt power source with enough amps to run the heated print surface. An ATX power supply that you would find in an old PC tower is a really good option. BOM: -2 each of the provided stl files -4 small binder clips 20mm wide -4 3mm bolts ~10mm long and nuts -6X6 printrbot heat bed PCB from http://printrbot.com/shop/6-6-heated-bed/ or http://3dpaftermarket.bigcartel.com/product/printrbot-metal-bundle (this one includes thermistor) -printrbot aluminum print bed 6x6 from http://printrbot.com/shop/printrbot-aluminum-6x6-build-platform/ -thermistor with cable http://printrbot.com/shop/thermistor-with-cable/ -ATX power supply or other 12 volt source capable of running the higher draw of a heat bed. -"Y" adapter for the ATX power supply from printrbot http://printrbot.com/shop/y-power-adapter/ If you are handy you can make the Y adapter part with the existing connectors that comes with the ATX power supply and jump the green wire so the box will power up http://help.printrbot.com/Guide/Power+Supply+Cabling/16 This video shows you pretty clearly what the connection looks like and how to connect adapter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqF0m7xMMms -Optional: You may want a box for your ATX power supply, there are lots around. This one is a spool holder too http://printrbot.com/shop/power-tower-with-spool-rack/ -Some cable wrap to keep the heat bed and thermistor wires neat and tidy.-Finally you may want to insulate the bottom of the heat bed.  I used some metalized bubble wrap designed for insulating duct work, cork could be a good option too, it makes the heat bed much more efficient.Instructions: Assemble as shown in photo, mounting holes in STL file are tight but allow for better self tapping into the plastic, you can also put a nut in the captured nut space. Using the aluminum heat bed from printrbot you you won't need to make any changes to your z sensor (I would use caution the first time to make sure you didn't move anything while installing this mod - go through the M212 calibration process). Once installed you can easily add or remove the bed without making calibration adjustments. Remember to do all of your z height calibration with the heat bed at temperature. I have included a PDF file that shows you where to plug in the heat bed, thermistor cable, and power supply. I used a pencil to lightly mark all four corners of the mounting brackets so I can easily install and center my heat bed so the Z sensor reads the bed perfectly.  The last spot where it reads the bed is close to the edge and you don't want the sensor to read off the bed.Finally, you will want to send the following code to your machine M211 X150 Y150 Z140 to compensate for the slight decrease in Z travel because of the heat bed thickness then M500 to save and M501 to check your work.

Comments

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anderkh
anderkh
over 8 years
Do you have a recommendation for a new source of heated bed? The ones listed in the article are no longer available.
alexflage
alexflage
over 10 years
@in_the_garage, I finally figured out the issue I was having. The bot was shipped with a 25mm offset in the X direction to account for probe offset from the hot end. Long story short, I made the offset 0 because my prints weren't centering on the print bed. Now that I know a bit more about the offset, I'll be able to add some different starting code to center the bed. Should be good to go now! Thanks again for the nice and simple design.
alexflage
alexflage
over 10 years
@in_the_garage, thanks for the reply! I see what you mean about the loss of Z-axis travel. I also rarely print that high and will probably never need to. My question is about the X-axis travel, however. I find that I have to shift the new aluminum heated plate to the right about 15 mm or so to make the Z probe read the new heated bed during the auto-leveling phase. Doing this forces me to sacrifice about 10 mm of X travel. To remedy this, I'm considering disabling the G29 command before every print and I'll just manually level the bed instead with some spring washer. I will also look into changing the coordinates of G29 as well. I was just curious if you ran into a similar situation, or if you're still getting the full X-axis travel with your setup. Ideally, I'd like to still have the full 6x6 kapton taped base area to print on. Thanks for the help!
in_the_garage
in_the_garage
over 10 years
Great comment Alexflage. Yes you loose about 10mm of Z height travel. The smooth rods are long enough to travel this extra distance, its really the threaded rod where you run out of length. Either a longer threaded rod or a small extension/ modification to the coupler to elongate it would work. I rarely need the full 150mm of height unless I am making hollow things like vases in thoes cases the heat bed is removable and I can still use the full travel.
alexflage
alexflage
over 10 years
Great design and idea! I just got a metal simple last week and had one of these older aluminum beds and a power supply laying around so I thought I'd give it a try. Quick question for you or anyone here who may have an answer: when you clamp on the bed, do you end up sacrificing about 10 mm of x axis travel to make the z probe sense the new heated bed? I'm finding that this is the case and was wondering if someone has a way around this or if I'm goofing something up. Thanks!

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