aluminatus borosilicate glass

[anol...@yahoo.com]

My aluminatus borosilicate glass was broken a long time ago but now my printer is almost ready to finally print so I need a replacement. Is there a good, or better, replacement? If not, where can I get the borosilicate glass and what are the size specifications?

[Jon Bondy]

I went to Home Depot and purchased a box of 12" x 12" mirrored glass. This is not exactly 300 mm x 300 mm, but it is close enough.  The edges are beveled, but I cannot print on the full build plate in any event.

Jon

[Frank]

I went looking for sources of Borosilicate glass when I was designing a replacement for my A1.
I also bought spare glass build plate(s) when I made my buy..
There is a section on build plate, you'll have to scroll down, and the prices are from 2014..
http://www.r2-3d.media-conversions.net/nextgen/Platform.html
I bought from
Cincinnati Gasket & Industrial Glass - www.cincinnatigasket.com - http://www.cgindustrialglass.com/
very helpful folks.

Frank Pirz

[MarionTheGoat]

I had challenges sourcing a glass plate for my 12" x 36" printer ... I ended up buying a chunk of 'Neo-Ceram' which is what is commonly used in fireplaces.  It was expensive but it worked great when printing PLA.

When I switched to ABS, I experienced some problems printing large flat panels over 2' long -- Bed adhesion was difficult as I didn't have the printer enclosed yet... using 'ABS Juice' I got a couple good prints.  But as the second ABS print was cooling, there was a loud BANG as the part shrank and finally pulled free of the glass ... except towards the center where the lateral forces all focused to actually flake a thin layer of the glass off which remained stuck to the part.  $250 chunk of glass down the drain.  I think this sort of thing has happened to other people with the borosilicate as well.

My glass supplier then advised me that ordinary tempered glass can handle temperatures up to about 250 degrees C, and is about 1/10th the cost.  I bought a piece but haven't tried it yet as I'm not confident it will solve my particular issue... it's my belief that I need a build surface which can expand and contract more as does the ABS.  With that in mind I'm going to try using aluminum plate.  The main challenge there is maintaining proper flatness.  But at least it might not flake away like the glass did.

Wondering if anyone else has tried plain tempered glass ?

MTG

[Glenn Beer]

The tempered glass, if broken, will shatter into small chunks. 

Broken glass happens, I'm not sure its worth buying expensive glass.

I too have found that the 12" mirror squares from the home improvement center work fine. Buy the un-beveled mirrors, they are cheap and flatter that any other glass you can buy. 

You can use a sharpening stone to grind small chamfers on the edges, making them easier to handle.