Hey! This thing is still a Work in Progress.
Files, instructions, and other stuff might change!
Interchangeagble magnetic build platform
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Published on April 15, 2012
Description
- youtu.be/2RIBSVsIbjE
- flickr.com/photos/geekubator/sets/72157629825289523/
Some of you may remember how practical the removable build platform of the Cupcake CNC was! The aim of the project is to make a build platform (here demonstrated on a MakerBot Thing-O-Matic) which is easy to remove from the 3D printer and facilitates the removal of the 3D printed part by the pealing principle.
The base of the platform is made out of a 3 mm thick aluminium plate. It has twelve 10 mm holes in which 2.5 mm thick high-strength neodymium magnets are placed. The plate is screwed onto the heated build platform of the 3D printer.
The removable part of the build platform is made out of 0.6 mm flexible steel sheet. It is strong enough to resist any warping from the stress of the 3D printed plastic model, but flexible enough to be held down firmly by the magnets and to bend and be peeled of from the printed plastic model.
Normally 3D printed models with large bottom surfaces are difficult to be removed from a stiff build plate, resulting in high stress on the 3D printers build plate structure when one tries to bend it off. In other cases one tends to use sharp blades wedged between the model and the build plate, which tends to damage the heat resistant Kapton tape.
The flexibility of this thin, removable build plate makes it much easier to remove the 3D printed plastic model without damaging the Kapton surface.
This prototype was developed and made with the good help of MakerBot operator thingiverse.com/barspin
- flickr.com/photos/geekubator/sets/72157629825289523/
Some of you may remember how practical the removable build platform of the Cupcake CNC was! The aim of the project is to make a build platform (here demonstrated on a MakerBot Thing-O-Matic) which is easy to remove from the 3D printer and facilitates the removal of the 3D printed part by the pealing principle.
The base of the platform is made out of a 3 mm thick aluminium plate. It has twelve 10 mm holes in which 2.5 mm thick high-strength neodymium magnets are placed. The plate is screwed onto the heated build platform of the 3D printer.
The removable part of the build platform is made out of 0.6 mm flexible steel sheet. It is strong enough to resist any warping from the stress of the 3D printed plastic model, but flexible enough to be held down firmly by the magnets and to bend and be peeled of from the printed plastic model.
Normally 3D printed models with large bottom surfaces are difficult to be removed from a stiff build plate, resulting in high stress on the 3D printers build plate structure when one tries to bend it off. In other cases one tends to use sharp blades wedged between the model and the build plate, which tends to damage the heat resistant Kapton tape.
The flexibility of this thin, removable build plate makes it much easier to remove the 3D printed plastic model without damaging the Kapton surface.
This prototype was developed and made with the good help of MakerBot operator thingiverse.com/barspin
Instructions
Cut a 3 mm aluminium plate to the size of your 3D printer's build platform
Drill some holes through it
Press/glue some high-strength neodymium magnets into the holes
Cut a thin magnetic steel sheet to the same size as the build plate
Cover it with Kapton tape
Mount the aluminium plate to your heated build platform
Place the steel sheet on the alu plate with magnets
3D print anything you want
Easily remove the thin plate and insert a new empty one into the 3D printer to print new stuff right away!
Wait some moments for the removed 3D print to cool down
Easily peel off the steel sheet from your plastic 3D print
Enjoy! :)
Check out video and images as follows:
- youtu.be/2RIBSVsIbjE
- flickr.com/photos/geekubator/sets/72157629825289523/
Drill some holes through it
Press/glue some high-strength neodymium magnets into the holes
Cut a thin magnetic steel sheet to the same size as the build plate
Cover it with Kapton tape
Mount the aluminium plate to your heated build platform
Place the steel sheet on the alu plate with magnets
3D print anything you want
Easily remove the thin plate and insert a new empty one into the 3D printer to print new stuff right away!
Wait some moments for the removed 3D print to cool down
Easily peel off the steel sheet from your plastic 3D print
Enjoy! :)
Check out video and images as follows:
- youtu.be/2RIBSVsIbjE
- flickr.com/photos/geekubator/sets/72157629825289523/
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in4mer
on
April 16, 2012
said:
Do you have any noticeable head/print instability while the head is anywhere near a magnet on the first few layers?
fillibar
on
April 16, 2012
said:
Any particular pattern of magnets that you recommend? I originally worried about the Curie Temperature (for those that do not know, the temperature at which a magnet loses its magnetism) but Neodymium's is over 300, so well below what anyone's build platform or even material should be at.
License
Interchangeagble magnetic build platform by PolygonPusher is licensed under the Attribution - Creative Commons license.
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What happens when magnets are placed near a ferrous compound is that the magnetic fields that are induced inside that compound have a high tendency to "gather" around the edges. So there is no or very little magnetic field coming out of the flat face of the plate, and if there is the entire side is one pole so there is no fluctuation of magnetic field across the build plate. Any force that the head would experience is not only tiny but uniform, and therefore would have no effect on the operation of the printer.