Stabilize Your Printer Bench

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quaver
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Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2015 4:32 am

Stabilize Your Printer Bench

Post by quaver » Fri Sep 16, 2016 2:28 am

I have noted M2 owners mentioning in several posts that their printers jump around, the bench or table on which it rests shakes, etc. I experienced this as well even though mine rested on a substantial solid wood work bench. Reducing the acceleration as recommended here in the forums helped with this condition. I also purchased a 12"X18"X3" surfaced plate from Grizzly for around $40. I placed the surface plate on a sheet of 1/8" think foam rubber non-slip drawer liner, printer on top of the surface plate. Steady as a rock. Inertia is your friend.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/12-x-18 ... aign=zPage
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M2 on surface plate

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Jules
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Re: Stabilize Your Printer Bench

Post by Jules » Fri Sep 16, 2016 3:12 am

Nice! ;)

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zemlin
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Location: Indianapolis, Indiana

Re: Stabilize Your Printer Bench

Post by zemlin » Fri Sep 16, 2016 6:20 pm

Yep - mine sits on a cast-iron table that weighs at least 50 lbs. Quiet and stable.

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Matt_Sharkey
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Re: Stabilize Your Printer Bench

Post by Matt_Sharkey » Sat Sep 17, 2016 5:32 pm

So I want to do similar to this, but I'm not sure how to do it on the cheap. A granite surface plate looks nice and the cost is low, but the shipping is steep. any suggestions where to find a massive foundation for the printer that wont take up a lot of desk space. I was thinking of cement, but cement is kinda intended to be light weight.

Do you think that a local granite dealer would cheaply sell rough cuts?

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insta
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Re: Stabilize Your Printer Bench

Post by insta » Sat Sep 17, 2016 11:01 pm

Matt_Sharkey wrote:So I want to do similar to this, but I'm not sure how to do it on the cheap. A granite surface plate looks nice and the cost is low, but the shipping is steep. any suggestions where to find a massive foundation for the printer that wont take up a lot of desk space. I was thinking of cement, but cement is kinda intended to be light weight.

Do you think that a local granite dealer would cheaply sell rough cuts?
Cement is lightweight, but aggregate-mixed concrete is not. You can get a $4, 60lb bag from any big-box hardware store and pour it into a simple mold made from 2x4's.

Come to think of it, this would be an amazing way to abuse the USPS's "it fits, it ships" policy -- I could sell these for like $15 shipped :lol:
Custom 3D printing for you or your business -- quote [at] pingring.org

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quaver
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Re: Stabilize Your Printer Bench

Post by quaver » Sat Sep 17, 2016 11:28 pm

Granite and Portland cement have about the same density. I think Insta's recommendation would work well enough for the mass but there are two factors at work in using the surface plate to stabilize the printer. The first is the mass but the second is the contact between the feet of the printer and the surface of the mass. The surface plate is highly polished and smooth which allows the rubber feet to grip nicely (high surface tension). The concrete would likely not be as smooth, a bit irregular and chalky. If you did a good job with the screed and perhaps polished and sealed the top surface when you were done you might be able to make the concrete block work effectively. Another option might be to build a snug fitting top covered with a smooth surface like formica to place on the concrete pad. Finally, you could simply pour the concrete block and place in on a shelf of your work bench below the work surface. Adding the mass to the bench should greatly improve stability if the shelf and bench top are rigidly connected.

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