Tile isn't very flat :-).

**Claghorn** · 2013-11-10 23:36:55

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Topic: Tile isn't very flat :-).

Tile may be attractive as a bed for many reasons, but I've been working on grinding some tiles against one another to try and make them really flat, and my results so far show just how very far from flat the cheap 6x6 tiles I got at home depot are. My best tile still looks like this after several 20 to 40 minute sessions of 220 grit and grinding 3 tiles against one another:

It was a lot less flat than that to start with. Full story at: http://home.comcast.net/~tomhorsley/har … ramic.html

I probably could go ahead and use that one now, I doubt I need to print into the corners very often, but the original tiles were really not very flat at all.

**IanJohnson** · 2013-11-11 00:17:26

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Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

Give granite a try. Lowes cut a 12"x12" piece down for me, so the edges aren't beveled. I haven't really tested for flatness, but it seems like it should be better.

**Claghorn** · 2013-11-13 01:06:57

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Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

And the 220 grit ground surface is apparently not very good at sticking to ABS. I've just been fooling with tests on the tile pictured above, and I can't get through printing skirts or brims. Either the ABS just peels right up and follows the nozzle around, or if I adjust the Z-stop enough to really squish the 1st layer, then it squishes so much that the next pass around the brim or skirt digs into the previous material and knocks it off the bed, or if it doesn't knock it off the bed, it just dig into it and rocks the whole bed. Even with secret sauce on the bed the same thing happens.

Whatever the thermal benefits of tile, I'm liking glass more and more (most glass is manufactured with the "float" process so it all tends to be quite flat right off the shelf). So far, all my success has been with glass.

**Hazer** · 2013-11-13 02:44:17

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Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

If you still have a stock heater, you will probably never get the surface of that tile hot enough.

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**elmoret** · 2013-11-13 03:30:18

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Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

Hazer wrote:

If you still have a stock heater, you will probably never get the surface of that tile hot enough.

Bingo. Way too thick, and you're sensing the heater temperature, not the surface temp of the tile.

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**techbuilder2175** · 2013-11-13 03:46:05

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Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

I currently use granite and it's a lot better then glass as far as adhesion.

Down side is it takes 30 mins to get to temp with my mk2 bed and it's not perfectly flat.

However I just ordered some basalt from qu-bd to see if it's more flat. If it's not I'll end up using a favor from a friend with a blanchard

Powder coated steel enclosure, 1/4" Surface grounded hardened aluminum plate, MK2A Heat bed, .200 Polished fused quartz plate, Machined quick change hot bed mount, E3D hot end, Ramps 1.4, DRV8825 stepper motor drivers

**Stevos758** · 2013-11-13 03:56:08

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Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

Please let us know how that Basalt works! http://store.qu-bd.com/product.php?id_product=50

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**techbuilder2175** · 2013-11-13 04:03:18

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Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

I will
I'll write a review comparing granite, marble, basalt, and tile if the basalt isn't perfectly flat and have my friend use the blanchard on all of those listed above.

Powder coated steel enclosure, 1/4" Surface grounded hardened aluminum plate, MK2A Heat bed, .200 Polished fused quartz plate, Machined quick change hot bed mount, E3D hot end, Ramps 1.4, DRV8825 stepper motor drivers

**Claghorn** · 2013-11-13 11:24:52

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Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

My poking around on the web has led me to really like the idea of "Borofloat" glass. It is borosilicate glass specifically engineered to be really flat. I even found http://www.howardglass.com/ which is willing to sell single sheets at reasonable prices (but I haven't yet asked them how much it would cost to have them cut 6x6 sheets for me).

**techbuilder2175** · 2013-11-13 11:38:19

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Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

If you go to home depot and purchase glass you'll notice it's about +/- .0003 if you measure the flatness.
I think that's more then flat enough for our purposes.

The issue lies with granite and tile not being completely flat

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**Claghorn** · 2013-11-13 12:33:29

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Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

The home depot glass is indeed quite flat, but it also is quite thin and flexible. I am using it now (when I'm not doing the tile experiment), but I'd like something stiffer, or a better way to attach the glass to the bed which doesn't involve clipping it to a possibly warped surface (I have some experiments I plan to do with attaching the glass as well).

**techbuilder2175** · 2013-11-13 12:38:28

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Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

Yeah I agree,

That was one of the reasons why I switched as well and the fact that glass just didn't work how I wanted it to.

That's why I ended up replacing my aluminum bed plate with a precision ground plate so I know my bed would always be flat and a perfect reference.

http://www.soliforum.com/topic/3595/bow … e-or-rods/

Powder coated steel enclosure, 1/4" Surface grounded hardened aluminum plate, MK2A Heat bed, .200 Polished fused quartz plate, Machined quick change hot bed mount, E3D hot end, Ramps 1.4, DRV8825 stepper motor drivers

**iowajames** · 2013-11-15 04:06:04

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Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

techbuilder2175 wrote:

I will
I'll write a review comparing granite, marble, basalt, and tile if the basalt isn't perfectly flat and have my friend use the blanchard on all of those listed above.

So, your friend has a blanchard, would he use a vise on the magnetic chuck to hold the material? As the table on a Blanchard is magnetic, also, the materials listed sound like a bad idea for a grind. Those stones are meant to grind metal, I imagine that grinding a dense, hard material like those listed could cause the stones to wear quickly, or even disintegrate.

Coming from a Blanchard operator... I would hate to peer in to the machine when a piece of stone breaks loose from grinding hard material.

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**techbuilder2175** · 2013-11-15 05:56:44

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Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

So, your friend has a blanchard?

Nope the company he works for does

would he use a vise on the magnetic chuck to hold the material?

Yep

Those stones are meant to grind metal

Not all the time, the company specializes in quartz and doesn't deal with metal
the blades have diamond and are specialized by a tooling company. They also have a centrifuge attached to the blanchard to separate the quartz from the coolant.

I would hate to peer in to the machine when a piece of stone breaks loose from grinding hard material

He is the maintenance man for the shop and he does stuff for me from time to time and it doesn't get him fired.

Powder coated steel enclosure, 1/4" Surface grounded hardened aluminum plate, MK2A Heat bed, .200 Polished fused quartz plate, Machined quick change hot bed mount, E3D hot end, Ramps 1.4, DRV8825 stepper motor drivers

Tile isn't very flat :-).

Posts: 14

1 Topic by Claghorn 2013-11-10 23:36:55

Topic: Tile isn't very flat :-).

2 Reply by IanJohnson 2013-11-11 00:17:26

Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

3 Reply by Claghorn 2013-11-13 01:06:57

Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

4 Reply by Hazer 2013-11-13 02:44:17

Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

5 Reply by elmoret 2013-11-13 03:30:18

Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

6 Reply by techbuilder2175 2013-11-13 03:46:05

Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

7 Reply by Stevos758 2013-11-13 03:56:08

Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

8 Reply by techbuilder2175 2013-11-13 04:03:18

Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

9 Reply by Claghorn 2013-11-13 11:24:52

Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

10 Reply by techbuilder2175 2013-11-13 11:38:19

Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

11 Reply by Claghorn 2013-11-13 12:33:29

Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

12 Reply by techbuilder2175 2013-11-13 12:38:28

Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

13 Reply by iowajames 2013-11-15 04:06:04

Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

14 Reply by techbuilder2175 2013-11-15 05:56:44

Re: Tile isn't very flat :-).

Posts: 14