M201 heated build platform gap.

[YouraT]

I've built up my M201, mostly fine, but one thing still bothers me - there is a large air gap between the PCB heater and the aluminium build plate everywhere except the corner where the screws are - this I'm sure will result in poor heat conduction and bad thermistor readings of the temperature.

It looks as though the heating PCB is sagging under its own weight - have others seen this, and what it a good solution? I wonder about thermal adhesive, but that would cause trouble in the future if I ever need to change the heater for some reason.

Support from below or something else...?

Suggestions and pointers very welcome.

[William]

Could you attach a picture of the gas between PCB heater and build plate ?

[YouraT]

Three views:

This shows the gap at the front - you can see all the way out to the back:

Front gap

36399704891_2c8a953d94_k.jpg (88.96 KiB) Viewed 9905 times

This shows the heater connector actually stopping the plate touching the heater at the back:

Connector interference and rear gap

36490889626_c1422d86d0_k.jpg (131.59 KiB) Viewed 9905 times

And this shows the front left corner, where as with the other corners, there is no gap. It also shows the large (~12mm) gap to the Z-Axis home switch when the extruder is right on the bed, which also can't be quite right. I've checked and the extruder and extruder bracket are mounted as per the instructions:

Corner and home switch

36399708121_ff5e0d1de1_k.jpg (252.72 KiB) Viewed 9905 times

Using a straight edge, I'm sure that the aluminium plate itself is nice and flat.

Thanks,

Youra.

[William]

It seems like that the assembleing is uncorrect bringing about build plate slant ，have you tried levelling the plate that contribute to the printing quality.

[YouraT]

Thanks William.

The build plate is in fact levelled, and in any case, as the heater and plate are held together at the corners where the mounting holes align, any slant will not actually affect this problem.

It will also not affect the issue at the rear where the heater connector causes a gap.

Youra.

[William]

Maybe you can keep the distance between the PCB and the Aluminium plate smaller with some butterfly clip.

[YouraT]

That might help with the edges, but the middle will still be a way out, as will the back.

I'll see what I can do with with some edge clips, and then take some thermal measurements.