Just like Goldilocks found some porridge too hot and some too cold, 3D printers often have beds that don’t stick well enough or stick too well. A few weeks ago I switched two of my three printers to use magnetic beds and thought I’d share with you how that worked out. Spoiler alert: like most things it has its plusses and minuses.

It isn’t a secret that 3D printing is not a plug-and-play operation, especially at the price most of us are willing to pay for printers. There are lots of variables to get right: temperature, speeds, bed leveling, and a bunch of other things. However, one of the things that vexes many people is the relationship between getting that first layer to stick and being able to get the print off the bed when you are done. It is hard to find a happy medium. If the first layer won’t stick, you print is doomed. If the first layer sticks too well, you are likely to damage the part or your fingers getting it removed. I switched to BuildTak surfaces long ago, and many people like PEI. But it is sometimes hard to get a big part removed. A few weeks ago, I took the plunge and bought some magnetic build surfaces for two of my printers. These were “no name” inexpensive affairs from Ali Express.

The idea is simple. There are two sheets that look like a rubberized plastic and have magnetic properties. One piece has some 3M adhesive on the back. The other has one surface that resembles BuildTak. Once you glue down the one sheet you leave it alone. Then you put the other sheet on top and print on it. When you are done, you can pull the sheet out and flex it to pop the print off. That’s the theory, anyway.

Installation

Installation is really easy. If you bought the right size, just stick it down on your existing bed. If you bought a bigger size — and you might want to if you have a small print bed, as you’ll see — you can cut the material with reasonably good scissors. If you are cutting a rectangle, though, be careful: the two pieces of material lock together in a certain way. If you turn the top piece at a right angle to the “correct way” the top layer won’t stick very well. In the right orientation, you can feel a satisfying “snap” when the top layer locks to the bottom layer.

If you have a smaller bed, you might want to buy a bigger piece and cut it. Here’s why. The top layer is pretty fragile. You might want to use smaller pieces for smaller prints to avoid wearing out a larger piece just from printing small keychains. The bottom layer doesn’t seem to wear much, so you can cover the whole surface on the bottom and then use smaller top panels that don’t cover the entire print area.

In Use

Printing is about like you’d expect. The …read more

Source:: Hackaday