AC bed heaters finally on the way for the Ender 3/3 Pro/5!
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Hello everyone.
I have worked with Keenovo for a few months to try and have Silicone AC Bed Heaters produced for our hot beds. They have shipped me the first test unit which will arrive tomorrow for me to try on my Creality Ender 5. I will video record the units (2nd is for the Tevo Tarantula, the other unit I attempted to aid in the production of) and capture all results. If the sample units are exactly shaped and spaced expect production to begin extremely soon for as much. The result will be far faster heat up times, more uniform heating and far higher temperatures for our heat beds (finally! No more waiting 22 minutes for a mere 110°C that isn't uniform across the bed). The Keenovo Silicone AC bed heaters produce uniform heat across their entire surface, reach extremely high temperatures (the unit on my CR-10S can reach 381°C and do so in only 4.5 minutes versus our Ender DC beds which are not uniform, won't go over 110°C and take 30 minutes to get there).
I will video record the heater and it's fitment, function and any and all possible problems the unit may have. If you'd like to see that video please reply with YES as your first line with all other responses and questions below that line.
This will also benefit us as the Solid State Relay doesn't draw anywhere near the current the DC bed does so that the current saved can be used by our motors and nozzle heater. Finally the Creality Ender 3, Ender 3 Pro and Ender 5 will be able to print in Polycarbonate, Nylon and other very high temperature filaments as the bed will be able to reach and hold temperatures required for as much, plus the additional available current will enable our nozzle heaters to reach the much higher required temperatures!
Great news for we Ender 3/3 Pro/5 owners.
The AC heater arrived and it is a perfect fit.
Once this product is released Creality Ender 3, Ender 3 Pro and Ender 5 owners will be able to print in Nylon, Polycarbonate or any other filament we choose!
In photo the pad is not attached, but rather just sitting on top of the bed (that's why the screw holes appear a little off, but they are not at all).
Where can i get one of these
It is unclear why Keenovo has taken this long to make this product publicly available, but the most likely cause is the absolute lack of response to my presenting it here (until you did). With millions of the Creality Ender 3, 3 Pro, 5 and 5 Pro printers in the world it seemed certain that this product would draw immediate market dominance, but as you and I are the only people to display any interest whatsoever, they likely abandoned the possible production of as much. I informed them that watching this post would show the likelyhood of desire for the product, but this post has remained absolutely, 100% empty until you replied.
Due to the almost total lack of interest in the product excluding you and I, it feels to be a safe assumption that they completely abandoned it. It's a surprise how little interst this has drawn. A product which can reduce AC electrical use (as it's not converted to DC for powering the factory bed), DC current (as the AC isn't converted to DC to heat the factory bed), substantially increase the maximum hotbed temperature (the factory DC bed takes an extremely long time to even hit 100°C and has extreme trouble holding it there) by enabling the bed to reach well above 240°C using only AC power.
Every single part of it's use is an enormous benefit to we Creality Ender 3/5 users as it allows us to print in ABS and PETG which was very difficult and often impossible with the factory DC bed. Everything about it is an enormous benefit to we Ender owners yet it drew zero attention until you showed such a desire. If you want to buy one I would recommend emailing Keenovo and informing them that you would like to buy one. They either have some to sell you or can easily make 1 from the mould/pattern they created for the initial unit they sent to me. Convincing as many other Ender 3/5 owners to post an interest here as you had would help ensure it becomes publicly available to us all.
Did you just stick it on top of the old heat element. Did you disconnect/desolder the connection to the old heat element
I placed it on top of the DC heater so that if I for any reason needed to go back to the DC, I very easily could.
There was no need to desolder anything. I had XT60's at my disposal so removal would only have lead to elimination of the DC hotbed functionality. My efforts were to use the AC hotbed while not removing the DC hotbed functionality in case I ever needed to go back or wanted to sell it without the AC heater.
Multiple short, minimal steps:
1) I removed the foam and foil insulation from the bottom of the hotbed.
2) I removed the Kapton tape, foam and thermistor from the bottom.
3) I added 2 additional thermistors and 1 Thermocouple to the bottom, placed a small patch of cotton insulation on top of them and placed new Kapton over the multiple layers of cotton (leaving the cotton loose to provide insulation by the many, many air gaps between each and the thermistors), making the whole smaller than the original area the factory cotton and Kapton tape had previously covered (it was 25-42% of the entire bed underside the original had covered). I added 2 more Thermistors and a single K-Type Thermocouple because if the original thermistor ever failed I would otherwise be buried below it all.
4) I reconnected the (original) thermistor to the machine only. I then used my Fluke 88AV multimeter by connecting it to the unconnected power lines on the 1/2 XT60 connector for the hotbed DC power with the XT60 connector to establish which line was positive and which negative and marked the XT60 connector with a Red Sharpie dot on the positive side and a black mark with another Sharpie on the negative side. I then plugged the correct half of one of the XT60 connectors I purchased for the job and gave it the same Black & Red markings. I then removed it and soldered a brand new 14AWG Black and a brand new Red 14 gauge wire to the new XT60 half connector where the colors matched.
5) I connected the other ends of the 2 new wires to the DC side of a brand new Solid State relay I had purchased for the job to the correct 2 DC screws on that relay.
6) I removed the Hotbed Mosfet from the machine (it was no longer necessary and just wasted extra 24V DC power, so with the AC heater it was no longer necessary at all.
7) I connected the White ("Return", "Neutral") wire from the new AC heater to the same on the new 12AWG power cord I had on hand to the wire with the large bladed pin on the plug end and Black (positive) to the smaller pin cable end. My Solid State Relay included a ground plug so I connected the Green wire to it (Black = Positive, White = Return, Green = Ground in North American wiring).. I then moved the shrink tube I had placed before connecting the output wires from the Solid State Relay to the new wall power cables over each, soldered each and used my hot air rework station (it was right beside me, otherwise I would have use my heat gun for it) to shrink each to prevent any contact between each. Then I moved the much larger heat shrink tubing over the 3 new wires, 3 soldered and shrink wrapped wires and the new power cable and shrunk it with my hot air rework station as well. I plugged it all in (new power plug into AC wall outlet, XT60 to my Creality Ender 5's XT60 and powered my Ender 5 up. It showed temperature matching my hot end (so it was functioning correctly), I set the hot bed temp to 120°C (my usual 1st layer ABS hotbed temperature) and timed it while checking it from the top with my Fluke multimeter's Thermocouple sensor and it hit 120°C in 9 seconds both by it's saying so and my Fluke Thermocouple agreeing, so I upped it to 240°C (where Creality's original firmware had the maximum) and 29 seconds later it was there (but it didn't hold it well as I hadn't yet put the insulation back on). I then placed a cork insulator over the bottom and a Silicone cover over both. After that it both hit temperature more quickly and held it far better.
Forgive me if I was overly verbose above. I do so to try and keep questions from being necessary.
These AC hotbed heaters are now available for purchase for the Ender 3, Ender 3 Pro, Ender 5 and Ender 5 Pro.
Here is where to purchase them:
https://keenovo.store/products/keenovo-silicone-heater-235mm-x-235mm-for-ender-3-3d-printer-build-plate-heatbed-heating-upgrade
Don't forget, you also need to purchase a Solid State Relay to convert the 24 Volt DC power (acting as a signal there forward) to your country's AC power (120 Volt, 60 Hertz North America; 240-280 Volts 50 Hertz elsewhere [100 Volts in Japan]). Here is an example of 1 available from Amazon: BEM-14840DA 3-32V DC to 24-480V AC 40A Output Single Phase SSR Solid State Relay https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E1LC1VK/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_vcvTEbB8DJQ81
Without this good luck having your hotbed cross above 100°C. With this it can reach well over 200°C while also using substantially less electricity, making your Creality Ender more power efficient in addition to more effective in printing in any material you would like, instead of only PLA and lower temperature ABS.
I have been following this with interest; however I still have a couple of minor questions in spite of your efforts! First the cork--1/8 or 1/4 inch, which is better? Must it be 'cork' instead of cork/rubber combination? Next, what is the form of the Silicon covering? Would https://www.ebay.com/itm/3-Set-Liner-Sheet-Silicone-Baking-Mat-Non-Stick-Heat-Resistant-Oven-Mats-Toaster/202596271161? be sufficient? Thank you for your help and especially for all your efforts to get this idea to the market.
PS--Is a heat sink required for the SSR in this situation?