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Do I have a defective build plate?

Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2013 8:54 pm
by Christian79
I purchased the glass build plate from SeeMeCNC (was not included back in April 2013) and mine seems to have broken mysteriously.

Here are my methods and a pic of what has happened.

1) I print only ABS
2) I use Elmer's purple children's glue as a binder
3) I print at 230c with a bed temp of 90c
4) I normally just wait for the print to pop off since at 90c it usually only takes a few mins to do so

I found the damage shown in the pic after returning home from work. The damage is more or less in the center of the bed where the print was located. I have approximately 10 days of printing on the printer.

I do not expect the guys to warranty this printer until the end of time, but with this being such new tech and with us for the most part being beta testers, I thought I would get your input and then ask theirs. If you all say it is normal and they agree, I will just turn it over and be done with it. I really like my max and am very happy with its performance and the amazing value it provides.

Please let me know what you all think.
photo-2.JPG

Re: Do I have a defective build plate?

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 3:28 am
by Eaglezsoar
Run it by the folks at SeeMeCNC.com and see what they have to say.
I have seen that happen to other users but it is very infrequent and there
is most likely a defect in the glass.

Re: Do I have a defective build plate?

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 10:44 am
by cope413
It happened to me and they replaced it. It's since happened again, but I don't think it was a defect the second time. I just filled it with some resin used to fix windshields And it's as good as new.

You can help prevent it in the future by using PET tape on your glass when you're printing large parts that will have a lot of contraction force on the glass.

Re: Do I have a defective build plate?

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 3:47 pm
by dpmacri
What's PET tape and how does it help?

Re: Do I have a defective build plate?

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 4:29 pm
by cope413
It's polyester film and can handle high temps. It's similar to Kapton tape but much stronger/more durable.

It helps because it takes the contraction forces off the glass directly. If you have a large part that could potentially crack your glass, it would pull up the tape before it would crack the glass.

It's a bit of a pain to apply - you have to wait 8-10 hours for it to dry/cure completely so that you don't get air bubbles - but it is excellent for ABS adhesion, and it gives the best finish on ABS parts of any method I've seen. Glossy and ultra smooth.

Re: Do I have a defective build plate?

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 6:53 pm
by ccavanaugh
Most quality automotive window films are PET based. A trip to the automotive store will be much less expensive than purchasing from McMaster or reprap supplies.

I concur that PET is a big help. A little hair spray on the film goes a long way also. After printing and the part has cooled, pop the glass into the freezer for about 10 minutes and the part should release easily.

Re: Do I have a defective build plate?

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 7:39 pm
by cope413

Re: Do I have a defective build plate?

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 8:32 pm
by Christian79
I see what you all are saying about large prints and contractions, but most of my prints are small. In this case the print was less than 4" long.

Is there a seemecnc rep on the forum I should contact about this?

Re: Do I have a defective build plate?

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 10:14 pm
by Eaglezsoar
You cannot contact a SeeMeCNC rep via this forum, you need to send an email to [email protected]

Re: Do I have a defective build plate?

Posted: Mon Dec 30, 2013 10:59 am
by Christian79
I just wanted to give you all an update, I spoke with john at SeeMeCNC and they are sending out a replacement plate at no cost. I must say it is nice to deal with a company who is so available to its customers. Happy New Year everyone!

Re: Do I have a defective build plate?

Posted: Mon Dec 30, 2013 11:36 am
by Eaglezsoar
Christian79 wrote:I just wanted to give you all an update, I spoke with john at SeeMeCNC and they are sending out a replacement plate at no cost. I must say it is nice to deal with a company who is so available to its customers. Happy New Year everyone!
They are fair and honest people and I am sure that is one of the reasons that people purchase their products.
Happy New Year to you also!

Re: Do I have a defective build plate?

Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 1:53 pm
by Lochemage
This same thing happened to me as well. It's actually pretty common with composite glass like these. I just flipped my glass over and started printing on the other side which is still flat.

I think what happens is that there is a micro pocket in that area that is imperfect, and the constant heating and cooling causes that pocket to expand and contract at a different rate than the rest of the glass, eventually the pressure difference causes a shard like that to pop off.

Re: Do I have a defective build plate?

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 7:59 pm
by jckrieger

Re: Do I have a defective build plate?

Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2015 12:18 am
by Eaglezsoar
It looks like a chunk of glass was pulled from your plate.
There have been at least a dozen reports of this and is usually caused by using ABS Juice or other strong adhesive on the glass.
I am not sure if this is covered under the SeeMeCNC.com warranty but it can't hurt to ask.

Re: Do I have a defective build plate?

Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2015 11:59 am
by jckrieger
Eaglezsoar wrote:It looks like a chunk of glass was pulled from your plate.
There have been at least a dozen reports of this and is usually caused by using ABS Juice or other strong adhesive on the glass.
I am not sure if this is covered under the SeeMeCNC.com warranty but it can't hurt to ask.
I was printing nylon with Elmer's purple standard glue stick. I didn't think this would have any chance of damaging the glass. I easily removed the print with the SeemeCNC spatula. It was very odd.

I had BuildTak on the glass for a short period of time, and that was the only time my prints were difficult to remove. I had some bad G-code that destroyed the BuildTak, so I removed it carefully and have only printed nylon with the glue stick since.