Topic: polyester tape vs kapton
i saw a site recently that said polyester tape was superior to kapton for the heated bed. anyone tried this yet?
2 2012-11-15 19:46:51 (edited by jefferysanders 2012-11-15 20:01:23)
Re: polyester tape vs kapton
Save yourself (not from burns, use caution) and your printer (messes with the z-axis if you get a very sticky print and have to use great force to remove it) with a pack of binder clips and a several sheets (I got 8 for 15$) of glass cut to 150 (159) x 150 and a can of your grandma's favorite strong hold hair spray (I am working on a great solution refillable setup for this also).
If you need to extend your z-endstop screw you can take a mechanical pencil and heat up the plastic so it will easily thread onto the current M3 screw you can then cut the straw off so that it will match any additional height you added to the bed. Kapton in between helps (and adds height) but the heat transfer is slightly better so don't remove that if yours still looks good, it is not essential though.
Just use a heat proof glove to remove the clips if you don't have chef hands (my hand won't even burn touching the extruder for a couple seconds from handling hot pans) pull the glass off and sit it to the side to cool; the parts should almost fall off when it is fully cooled.
Re: polyester tape vs kapton
jefferysanders wrote:
Save yourself (not from burns, use caution) and your printer (messes with the z-axis if you get a very sticky print and have to use great force to remove it) with a pack of binder clips and a several sheets (I got 8 for 15$) of glass cut to 150 (159) x 150 and a can of your grandma's favorite strong hold hair spray (I am working on a great solution refillable setup for this also).
If you need to extend your z-endstop screw you can take a mechanical pencil and heat up the plastic so it will easily thread onto the current M3 screw you can then cut the straw off so that it will match any additional height you added to the bed. Kapton in between helps (and adds height) but the heat transfer is slightly better so don't remove that if yours still looks good, it is not essential though.
Just use a heat proof glove to remove the clips if you don't have chef hands (my hand won't even burn touching the extruder for a couple seconds from handling hot pans) pull the glass off and sit it to the side to cool; the parts should almost fall off when it is fully cooled.
The Glass solution is quite nice, but isn't 100% necessary. It certainly beats painter's tape, but Kapton works great for us in the shop.
Former Solidoodle employee, no longer associated with the company.
Re: polyester tape vs kapton
The Kapton is only half of it. The best part is never turning the bed temp down between prints. In production, you would be ready hit print again in about 10 seconds.
Re: polyester tape vs kapton
I also had one print that really would not let go of the kapton. I had to take the printer outside into the [literally] freezing cold to get the part to let go. If I had printed on glass, I could have just put the part in the freezer!
Re: polyester tape vs kapton
I agree that the glass is not essential but seems to be a handy modification. I'm still on my original sheet of Kapton and somehow haven't ripped it yet.
I'm upgrading the bed to include the silicone heated from the other thread. It has arrived but the upgraded power supply will be out of stock until mid December. I will definitely use removable glass beds, but with some sort of quick release system to avoid clips interfering with the printing area.
Re: polyester tape vs kapton
I am working on a vice like clamp system already 80); I hate losing that space from the binder clamps. I print whole bed plates frequently and this will also give me somewhere to attach a nozzle scrubber. I plan on sending the extruder through at the light stiffness metal brush before every print it would remove any strings and generally clean the nozzle (I really want to keep my hands out and increase speeds.
Re: polyester tape vs kapton
I use the green powder coating tape with great success. It is heat resistant like the Kapton and removes as easily as Kapton. It is also much cheaper than Kapton. I have no issues with sticking or removing prints.
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