For those familiar with 3D printing beyond a novice level, ensuring a constant temperature on your heated bed is crucial to the adhesion of prints. Heat bed insulation made a noticeable difference on Abigail (my Ender 3). As with most upgrades, “a 3-minute project is one broken bolt away from becoming a 5-day job“. Little did I know this would turn into a fucking nightmare. While this upgrade on my first printer was a breeze, Murphy (CR-6) turned this into an absolute nightmare.
This should be exciting!
Now that we got the formalities out of the way, what is heat bed insulation, you ask? That is pretty much what it sounds like: it is an insulation applied to the bottom of a heated bed, allowing the bed to better hold its designated heat, ensuring consistent temperatures. This becomes even more important when you don’t have the / need more money to blow on an enclosure.
Abby is heading for an enclosure when I have completed it. Thanks to the ever-growing wood prices, a project that would have cost me $40 a couple of years ago ended up costing more than triple that. That is another post in itself (maybe for another day). I digress…
Heat Bed Insulation to the rescue…
The insulation I opted for was made by “Cnloya” – someone please tell me how in the world to pronounce that. It was advertised as fitting the Ender 3 and some Anycubic, Anet, and Lulzbot machines. At a size of 220×220 and rated for temperatures up to 150C (302F), it was perfect for my Ender 3. Since it came in a pack of two, I decided to use the second one on my CR-6. Though the bed is 15mm larger on the CR-6, this should be enough.
Troubled waters ahead
Removing the bed of the printer was a mess. While Abigail has 4 attachment points – for the leveling screws – Murphy has 11. Once removing the screws, make sure not to lose any silicone dampers (correct me on the material if I’m wrong). To punch the holes at the correct place, I made a template with a spare piece of foam core, which helped avoid scratches to the plate later. After making holes at the required spots with a Dremel tool, punching the holes was not the worst. The hard part started when inserting the dampers while desperately trying to keep them aligned. Once that was over, all that should be ahead is a quick level, and presto! Wrong.
Oh crap
During the first attempt to level the bed with the built-in pressure gauge, I was surprised by a horrible noise. You know, the one where the tool or bed tries to go beyond its specified dimensions, causing the gear to skip on the belt. I wish I had had my hand on the power button this time around (I always suggest this after modifications and while leveling the bed to avoid ramming the tool head into the bed). Cause? The y-axis stepper assembly was now in the way due to lacking clearance on the underside of the bed. Fuck me.
After screaming into a pillow, I returned to what had now effectively become a CHORE. Time to remove the bed again, cut a big ole rectangle of insulation out, and reassemble. I was pissed that a large chunk of the mod I had just installed but whatever; better than nothing. At this point, I was confident I could relax.
Bed leveling, bed leveling, and more bed leveling
I said this whole thing turned into a nightmare because I have spent the better part of the last two days trying to level the bed. While I understand that I get overly concerned with the tiniest deviations from a perfectly leveled bed, I believe these numbers are a reason for concern:
Where I’m at now
Currently, still trouble in paradise. I have been experimenting with adjusting the tightness of the screws and adding cut pieces of aluminum foil and painter’s tape to the “low points”. So far, no cigar; my numbers have jumped out of line even more. If you own this machine, you are already aware of how complex it is to remove and reinstall the glass of your bed alone.
Moral of the story: think twice and do your due diligence before installing hot bed insulation on your Creality CR-6 Se. It may not be worth your time, and you may face some printing downtime. BOOOOOOO!