1 Topic by cephdon (edited by cephdon 2012-11-17 06:59:26)

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Topic: Printing on copper PC board

I didn't want to use glass, so I searched for an alternative.  I remember someone in a different forum long ago reporting some limited success with copper clad board, but we didn't know about the hairspray trick at that time.

So, I purchased 2 6" x 6" double sided copper clad boards from parts express through amazon.com

A little hairspray later and my first print was finished.  It was just a simple calibration object that I found on this forum.

Worked like a champ.  Thought I would share incase anyone has a desire for something other than glass as a printing surface.


--Tim.

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2 Reply by jooshs

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Re: Printing on copper PC board

I like the look... What thickness copper did you get and did it have any effect on the heat up time or were you able to switch plates between prints quickly?

3 Reply by cmetzel

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Re: Printing on copper PC board

I wonder how consistent is the thickness of the boards?   How did that calibration print turn out, I never printed it out after I drew it up.

4 Reply by cephdon

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Re: Printing on copper PC board

@jooshs:

The copper is 0.0014" (1oz) based on the package.  I printed at 100 for the first layer and 90 for all others.
Since this was my first print, I don't know if it had any effect.  However, I will say that it took a seemingly long time to get to 100. Overall, I would estimate 1 degree of heat increase about every 10 seconds.  Sometimes it seemed to do about 0.01 / second and then sometimes it would jump by 0.4 or 0.6.  Could also be just the way the temperature sensor was reading out.

The plate got hot to the touch (as you can imagine) so I let it cool down a bit before I pulled it out.  Never switched plates, I need to find a good way to clip and unclip the print surface.  The ones I have on there are sticking up more than I like and are a bit inconvenient to put on and take off when I have a cover on the printer.

@cmetzel:

Ahh, you are the one who made that. The copper boards are 0.0058" thick on all sides.  My calipers cant reach the center, but since I printed on the center, it seems that everything was fairly consistent.  Took me the most time to level the bed (wasn't level when I got it), adjusting for the height of the additional copper board was nothing.

The print stuck fast to the board too. Even when cold, I had a bit of a hard time getting it off.  I might have my hight a little too low.  Based on the dimensions you provided with the stl, I am off by a little in every direction. And, not consistently.  For instance, the width is 1.778" where you state it should be 1.700".  My depth is 1.793" rather than 1.700". The height is 0.147" rather than 0.125".

So, now I just need to adjust my flow rates and switch to an older version of slic3r to get rid of that stippling on the surface.

Just so you know, that stl has some holes in the surface. I had it repaired, but it wouldn't print without doing so.
Seems to be pretty useful as a calibration piece. I printed at 0.25mm layer height and it took something like 15 minutes to print or something (not counting heat up time).


--Tim

5 Reply by cmetzel

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Re: Printing on copper PC board

Glad it worked out for you.  I design in Solidworks and for some reason the STL translation doesn't always work well.  If I notice an issue trying to slice I just run it through cloud.netfabb.com or meshlab first. 

The dimensions were 1.750 not 1.700 so double check before you adjust anything.  Fix the flow rate first then address the backlash. 

Thanks for experimenting with the copper plates.

6 Reply by cephdon

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Re: Printing on copper PC board

doh!... ok.. so not as far off as I feared.

I tried meshlab, but it crashed when I tried to fix the holes.  I could get most of them, but 3 it would not handle.
So, I ended up using cloud.netfabb.com also.

How do I adjust the backlash and what does it affect?  How would I see it in the print?

--Tim.

7 Reply by cmetzel

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Re: Printing on copper PC board

I'm far from an expert, just aware of it from the discussions on here.  My stuff isn't that critial so I haven't done it.

http://www.soliforum.com/post/4852/#p4852

search under backlash and read the stuff that says hysteresis from users like lawsy and ian.

8 Reply by cephdon

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Re: Printing on copper PC board

Just wanted to confirm that hairspray is necessary if you want to print on copper.  Without it, the plastic just wont stick.
Also, don't flip the board over after it has been sprayed. The hot hairspray will stick to the taped heated bed and make removing the copper board more difficult.

On the plus side, I only sprayed it once and so far the board doesn't seem to have lost any of the stickiness.

--Tim

9 Reply by Tomek

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Re: Printing on copper PC board

The nice thing about copper clad board as opposed to glass is that it opens the possibility of drilling a hole in the aluminum bed at two points, and making a quick detachable connection to the copper clad board that doesn't require binder clips.

10 Reply by cephdon

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Re: Printing on copper PC board

Thats a good idea.  I was thinking of constructing some kind of spring loaded flat nested L shaped clip to hold it in place.
Even so, I think I have the positions of the clips and everything figured out so that they don't get in the way all that much.

11 Reply by dubbsd

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Re: Printing on copper PC board

I have been talking to Ian and here is what he came up with for bed clips
I was thinking of using .025in. X .5in. flat spring stock.  to make them

Here are Ians Instructions

Attachment to the bottom of the bed is the hard part. How about the clip itself gets a hole for mounting on the bed leveling screw under the bed?  So it would go: Bed->Clip->Jam Nut (thinner than normal nuts)->Leveling Spring->Z platform.


For the two front clips, they can mount on the front leveling screws, oriented to the sides of the bed, overlapping the bed as little as possible on top while still holding the glass on.  The distance from the screws to the sides is greater than to the front, so if you turn the clips toward the front, they will swing clear of the glass, releasing it.


To put the glass on, you would slide it under the clip in the back, then spin the front clips around to the sides.

bed clip 3 is my idea

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Ultimaker S3.

12 Reply by danny (edited by danny 2012-11-19 15:36:56)

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Re: Printing on copper PC board

I stole hair grips from my girlfriend to hold things to the bed smile

much easier/cheaper than printing parts to do this job

(as in the little hair grip/ hair pin things that cartoon villains use to crack safes.)

13 Reply by jon_bondy

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Re: Printing on copper PC board

I wonder if one could just take four regular spiral springs and trap the original bed and the glass in the gap between two adjacent pieces of the spring metal.  If the spring were of the right dimensions, this could be easy on and easy off.

14 Reply by cephdon

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Re: Printing on copper PC board

I have found that the printed objects release themselves from the copper surface once the plate cools enough.  I am not sure yet at what temperature that happens, but when I left the print to cool completely and came back it was already released.