1

I’ve had some issues with my build plate wrapping even after I’ve attempted to straighten it out. After a few prints, it returns back to its wrapped state. I’ve searched on this site regarding using a glass plate and I went out purchased a cheap picture frame, cut it to size and secured it to the aluminum plate with clips. Issue is even with the plate screwed all the way down, the nozzle is too close. I guess my questions are dumb, in that should I simply adjust the height of the nozzle, of remove the aluminum plate and secure the glass directly to the heat platform? Some here has suggested the use of Bascilica glass over regular picture frame glass.

2

You need to print a shim that fits at the back behind the build plate, so that your endstop is triggered for the extra space on build platform.

It should be the thickness of your glass. FlashForge/PowerSpec glass-bed z-axis shim by johngiachero - Thingiverse

As for glass, the glass you purchased will not survive long, and can easily shatter. Borosilicate glass has better thermal properties.

3

I used standard float glass for over two years and I’ve never broken one.

4

I am clumsier than you, probably.

5

Thanks for the feedback! I’ve been racking my head trying to figure out how to get the distance between the nozzles and the glass bed to work! I will take your advice and purchase a suitable piece of glass later this week.

6

I believe I may have you on that one…

7

Thanks for the advice…

8

Just to sum up and expand upon what others have said; First things first, as others mentioned you need to print or otherwise fabricate a shim to offset the nozzle… What this is doing is adding material equal to the thickness you’re adding to the buildplate, to the surface that the endstop switch contacts…effectively making the axis shorter by that amount. Alternatively, you can add the axis offset in software, depending on your program…but a physical shim is more reliable, and software-independent.

And again, standard soda-lime float glass as found in picture frames is really unsuitable for use as a glass print bed. You can often get away with using it for a time, but like any thing that you can-but-shouldn’t do, it’s only a matter of time before the thermal cycling will eventually cause it to at best crack and at worst catastrophically fracture. (I’ve heard of really cheap thin picture frame glass practically exploding into shards like a dollarstore light bulb…doesn’t sound fun.)

Borosilicate glass (a.k.a. Pyrex, a.k.a. the glass that labware and glass baking dishes are made of) is really the way to go; it has excellent thermal properties and is nigh-indestructible. I’ve been running the same 3mm slab of borosilicate glass on my Bizer for just over two years now, I use Elmer’s purple washable glue stick on it, and when the glue film has started to get too worn from removing parts, I literally scrape the entire bed clean with a razor blade… Just going at it with a #9 single-edge razor blade in a 3D printed scraper handle… And to this day there still isn’t a single scratch in the glass! Hardy stuff, that. (Every week or so I give the glass a full wash to remove all residue, followed by a once-over of the print surface with isopropyl alcohol to prep it.) I’ve printed basically everything on it; PLA, PLA/PHA, ABS, TPE, TPU, Polycarbonate, Polycaprolactone, PETG… I’ve seen some horror stories of people taking chunks out of borosilicate glass beds trying to remove PET/PETG prints, I can only guess they were printing straight on the glass and that my gluestick acts as a release agent, because I’ve never had that problem…

Another one of my tricks is that instead of ever letting the bed be off for a print when it’s not needed, I have it set to 45-50°C (Which seems to be about the minimum that either the cheap TCs will read, or that the firmware will register, anyway) and this causes it to always be just warmer than ambient temp, and ensures the whole “Print’s done when you hear it pop!” effect where large parts come loose from the bed when the bed cools. Makes life easier!