I find these very interesting arguments against doing a copper bed.
But considering I've already done this, and I'm probably the only one to have done so, I think I'm in a position to comment on the pros and cons of doing a copper bed:
On the plus side, because it conducts heat better than any other metal (except for silver), it heats up fairly fast, and heat dispersal is more even, much more so than Aluminum.
While it can be scratched, with a knife, it 's not nearly soft enough to bend or warp. In fact it would be impossible for me to bend that piece without some kind of tools. Since we're on the subject of hardness, Copper is harder than aluminum. Not by much, but on Mohs hardness scale, Aluminum rates somewhere between 2.5 and 3, while Copper is a 3.0.
I've had it for over a year, and it has yet to tarnish. It still looks just as pretty as the day I installed it.
On the cons side, there's the cost. At $50 for a 8" x 8" x 1/8", it's pretty expensive. The other problem is the weight. Unlike the aluminum bed which weighs about 9-10 oz, this beast weighs almost 3 pounds.
And then there's the fact that while it's still installed on my SD3, it's no longer being used in the heating solution. I'm currently using a PCB heater that sits on top of, and offset from the bed, so it's no longer a factor.
To print or, 3D print, that is the question...
SD3 printer w/too many mods, Printrbot Simple Maker Ed., FormLabs Form 1+
AnyCubic Photon, Shining 3D EinScan-S & Atlas 3D scanners...
...and too much time on my hands.
