ToM ABP fix?

[Lars Osborne]

Hi all,

I originally got my ToM with the ABP but eventually discovered after much frustration that it was crap. For a beginner, it was pretty rough and took a while to realize it was the problem.

I have removed the conveyor and have been printing on the heating board with blue tape, but I wish I could get the heated build platform. Does anyone have any advice for how to get the heated build platform or suggestions for sourcing parts to make my own?

Thanks.

[Dan Newman]

If you got your ToM as a kit from MBI, then it came with the heated build
platform parts in the "standard" box of wooden parts. The ABP was shipped
with the kit as an add-on kit.

So, if you still have all the pieces, then you should have the pieces for
the normal HBP and it's X carriage. If you don't, then you can print
an X carriage. I use http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:9420. But you still
need one of the wooden top pieces for it.

Dan

[PrettySmallThings]

Not necessarily true: My late 2011 TOM was shipped with an ABP and acrylic platform, but the aluminum plate was an additional order.

[Dan Newman]

On 15 Nov 2012 , at 9:31 PM, PrettySmallThings wrote:

> Not necessarily true: My late 2011 TOM was shipped with an ABP and acrylic platform, but the aluminum plate was an additional order.

Interesting. While I know that some of the build docs suggested buying the
Al plate, my ToM came with one. So perhaps that was a fluke (or someone who
was expecting one didn't get theirs).

Dan

[Joseph Chiu]

Do you mean the aluminum build plate for the heated platform? 

You might consider mounting a glass plate or a ceramic tile with binder clips. 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MakerBot Operators" group.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/makerbot/-/SVN-SFMv-F0J.
To post to this group, send email to make...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to makerbot+u...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/makerbot?hl=en.

[MacGyver]

I received my TOM last year, hard to believe it has been a year that I've been enjoying this thing.  The ABP was included in a separate box also there was the acrylic build plate but I had to order the aluminum build plate separately.  I've had fairly good luck using Aqua Net hair spray instead of blue tape or kapton tape for adhesion.  I'm still trying to figure out which temperature settings work best with this setup though.

It's a pity because the ABP was an interesting idea but just doesn't hold up very well with regular use.

[Mark Durbin]

Some guys got the ABP working with a metal band, I wonder if they're still using it?

I must admit, when I have a series of items to print, it would be nice to queue them up and forget about them until they were all sitting in a box at the front of the machine.

On Fri, Nov 16, 2012 at 4:19 PM, MacGyver <bdwel...@gmail.com> wrote:

I received my TOM last year, hard to believe it has been a year that I've been enjoying this thing.  The ABP was included in a separate box also there was the acrylic build plate but I had to order the aluminum build plate separately.  I've had fairly good luck using Aqua Net hair spray instead of blue tape or kapton tape for adhesion.  I'm still trying to figure out which temperature settings work best with this setup though.

It's a pity because the ABP was an interesting idea but just doesn't hold up very well with regular use.

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MakerBot Operators" group.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/makerbot/-/nIEhOgIj8QwJ.

[Ethan Dicks]

On Fri, Nov 16, 2012 at 11:19 AM, MacGyver <bdwel...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I received my TOM last year, hard to believe it has been a year that I've
> been enjoying this thing. The ABP was included in a separate box also there
> was the acrylic build plate but I had to order the aluminum build plate
> separately. I've had fairly good luck using Aqua Net hair spray instead of
> blue tape or kapton tape for adhesion. I'm still trying to figure out which
> temperature settings work best with this setup though.

The TOM I just got (#3307) was an early one. It had the wooden
carriage for the HPB in the box and the acrylic build surface, but no
Al plate. I only just got a 20mm test cube out the other night (had
to repair the bot first) and the ABP belt is used and a bit wrinkled,
which showed up on the bottom surface of the cube.

> It's a pity because the ABP was an interesting idea but just doesn't hold up
> very well with regular use.

Agreed. It looks slick, and the first time I used my TOM, it worked
as expected, but since it was a used belt, the impressions it left
behind were less than nice.

I'll probably fabricate a heat spreader at our hackerspace and mount
the HBP carriage. Does anyone know what thickness was used? Are
there SVGs or DXFs for the holes?

Thanks,

-ethan

[c f]

The aluminum heatspreader from MBI only costs like $9, and comes with flush screws to hold it in place. It's probably worth it to just go ahead and get it. There is a place on amazon that sells a titanium foil replacement belt for the ToM as well.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MakerBot Operators" group.

[John D'Ausilio]

I was having some luck with a belt made from 6" wide 0.015" shim
stock, but I ended up breaking one acrylic side while trying to get a
tensioner working. I've got a bunch of the shim stock if anyone wants
to give it a go ..

john d

[Dan Newman]

MBI. which still sells these for $8.75, used 1.5 mm aluminum. When I cut
some from some annodized aluminum scrap, I used 2.0 mm. I got the hole
spacing by pulling the HBP PCB off of thingiverse and just having Eagle
print the layer with the outline and holes. (You should be able to use the
free version of Eagle CAD.)

Dan

[Ethan Dicks]

On Fri, Nov 16, 2012 at 12:57 PM, Dan Newman <dan.n...@mtbaldy.us> wrote:
> Ethan Dicks wrote:
>> I'll probably fabricate a heat spreader at our hackerspace and mount
>> the HBP carriage. Does anyone know what thickness was used? Are
>> there SVGs or DXFs for the holes?
>
> MBI. which still sells these for $8.75, used 1.5 mm aluminum.

Do you have a link? I went looking around the store and found the
aluminum sticker and the ABP belts but not the plate.

> When I cut some from some annodized aluminum scrap, I used 2.0 mm.

OK.

> I got the hole
> spacing by pulling the HBP PCB off of thingiverse and just having Eagle
> print the layer with the outline and holes. (You should be able to use the
> free version of Eagle CAD.)

Good tip. I use EagleCAD all the time.

Cheers,

-ethan

[Dan Newman]

Ethan Dicks wrote:
> On Fri, Nov 16, 2012 at 12:57 PM, Dan Newman <dan.n...@mtbaldy.us> wrote:
>
>> Ethan Dicks wrote:
>>
>>> I'll probably fabricate a heat spreader at our hackerspace and mount
>>> the HBP carriage. Does anyone know what thickness was used? Are
>>> there SVGs or DXFs for the holes?
>>>
>> MBI. which still sells these for $8.75, used 1.5 mm aluminum.
>>
>
> Do you have a link? I went looking around the store and found the
> aluminum sticker and the ABP belts but not the plate.

http://store.makerbot.com/aluminum-build-surface.html

For reference, I just went to store.makerbot.com and entered "aluminum"
in the search
box and hit return.