ABP to HBP in a few steps
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Published on March 20, 2011
Description
Now new and improved! (Details at the end.)
I gave up on my Automatic Build Platform! (ABP)
I must admit that at the beginning we had some swell moments. Those graceful wipes at the start and the rolling off the belt at the end were memorable. But there was always something getting between us. Projects that would not stick or that would get knocked down mid-build half hour into the build. And in the rare moments when a raft-less object would finally finish it would have a wavy base. We tried making new belts, we tried kapon therapy and even going to different temperatures but nothing seemed to work. I could go on but it would seem petty on my part after our time together.
I know it seems cruel but I took it apart and built an HBP with some of its parts.
It was simple really. I took the heater board with the thermistor and connections from the ABP. I also removed the wooden base where the heater board sits because it has that nice round cutout that allow space for the connectors and the round hole in the center for the thermistor.
The three other pieces I used were:
1. the wooden base with the magnets of one of the two acrylic bases that came with my Ultimate Cupcake
2. a 100mm square sheet of zinc that I cut out of a piece that I had laying around in my garage. I used this since I did not want to put Kapon tape directly on the heater board in case I decide to reconcile with my ABP.
3. I needed slightly longer bolts so I used four M3 x 16mm bolts that I had left over from my original parts kit.
Now that it's put together I use the HBP profile for my g-code and my first build was beautiful. On the second or third build, the first layer was not sticking very well - making a bit of a mess of some of the detail. So I upped the base temperature to 135 and now it is doing a great job.
Projects stick nicely and don't curl on the base, and with the low and compact profile I no longer have the wobble I was getting on the ABP on tall builds.
Hopefully we can live happily ever after.
Well, we were not so happy. It turns out that my sheet of zink was not flat so there was as much as 1.5 mm difference from one place to another. So I went out and bough myself a piece of 2mm aluminum and had it cut to size. And I love it! It is perfectly flat and transfers heat beautifully. My next step is to inset the bolts so that the top is all flat.
I gave up on my Automatic Build Platform! (ABP)
I must admit that at the beginning we had some swell moments. Those graceful wipes at the start and the rolling off the belt at the end were memorable. But there was always something getting between us. Projects that would not stick or that would get knocked down mid-build half hour into the build. And in the rare moments when a raft-less object would finally finish it would have a wavy base. We tried making new belts, we tried kapon therapy and even going to different temperatures but nothing seemed to work. I could go on but it would seem petty on my part after our time together.
I know it seems cruel but I took it apart and built an HBP with some of its parts.
It was simple really. I took the heater board with the thermistor and connections from the ABP. I also removed the wooden base where the heater board sits because it has that nice round cutout that allow space for the connectors and the round hole in the center for the thermistor.
The three other pieces I used were:
1. the wooden base with the magnets of one of the two acrylic bases that came with my Ultimate Cupcake
2. a 100mm square sheet of zinc that I cut out of a piece that I had laying around in my garage. I used this since I did not want to put Kapon tape directly on the heater board in case I decide to reconcile with my ABP.
3. I needed slightly longer bolts so I used four M3 x 16mm bolts that I had left over from my original parts kit.
Now that it's put together I use the HBP profile for my g-code and my first build was beautiful. On the second or third build, the first layer was not sticking very well - making a bit of a mess of some of the detail. So I upped the base temperature to 135 and now it is doing a great job.
Projects stick nicely and don't curl on the base, and with the low and compact profile I no longer have the wobble I was getting on the ABP on tall builds.
Hopefully we can live happily ever after.
Well, we were not so happy. It turns out that my sheet of zink was not flat so there was as much as 1.5 mm difference from one place to another. So I went out and bough myself a piece of 2mm aluminum and had it cut to size. And I love it! It is perfectly flat and transfers heat beautifully. My next step is to inset the bolts so that the top is all flat.
Instructions
Disassemble the ABP and take out the heater board and the wood part on which it sits.
Disassemble one of the square acrylic bases to get the wood piece with the magnets.
Cut out a square piece of zinc (It’s what I had around, I guess an aluminum square would be best)
*** In fact 2mm aluminum works great!
Drill the four holes for the bolts on the corners of the zinc piece using the acrylic base as a guide.
*** Even better, taper the holes so that you can use flat head stove bolts for a flat surface.
Cover the metal (*** aluminum) piece with kapon tape. I used two layers of ¾ inch kapon tape. I put the first layer one going up and down and the second from side to side. If you do this very carefully and don’t overlap each row you can get a very flat surface without ridges between each line of tape.
Stack all the pieces and pay attention to how the base sits on the Y axis so that your wires end up on the side of all the electronics.
Use the M3 x 16mm bolts and M3 nuts to bolt all the pieces together.
*** better with 16mm or 20mm flat head stove bolts
And that should do it. No pretty lights like the HBP, but it works well.
Disassemble one of the square acrylic bases to get the wood piece with the magnets.
Cut out a square piece of zinc (It’s what I had around, I guess an aluminum square would be best)
*** In fact 2mm aluminum works great!
Drill the four holes for the bolts on the corners of the zinc piece using the acrylic base as a guide.
*** Even better, taper the holes so that you can use flat head stove bolts for a flat surface.
Cover the metal (*** aluminum) piece with kapon tape. I used two layers of ¾ inch kapon tape. I put the first layer one going up and down and the second from side to side. If you do this very carefully and don’t overlap each row you can get a very flat surface without ridges between each line of tape.
Stack all the pieces and pay attention to how the base sits on the Y axis so that your wires end up on the side of all the electronics.
Use the M3 x 16mm bolts and M3 nuts to bolt all the pieces together.
*** better with 16mm or 20mm flat head stove bolts
And that should do it. No pretty lights like the HBP, but it works well.
License
ABP to HBP in a few steps by eM5 is licensed under the Attribution - Share Alike - Creative Commons license.
More from eM5
ABP sucks, i've been there. Once you quit you never go back :)