Yet Another PowerSpec/MakerBot/FlashForge/CTC Glass Bed Corner Brace by The_Desdichado

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

Background:
I have a PowerSpec 3D Pro printer (original model) and switched to glass bed printing a couple of years ago. Ever since, I have been searching for a glass bed corner brace/bracket that held the glass firmly and didn't eventually fail after (what I felt was) an unreasonable time frame. If a glass bed corner brace has been designed for use with the PowerSpec 3D Pro or any of the various MakerBot Replicator clones, and it's been uploaded to Thingiverse, chances are I've tried it. With no disrespect to any of the designers of these braces, they just didn't seem to work for me. They'd all melt, or crack, or deform to the point that the glass was not securely held in what I believed was too short an interval of time. This search lead me to design this brace.
My three major principles in designing this object were:

High degree of ease and speed in swapping the glass plates out.


Achieving a design that provided increased surface area for contact with the edges of the glass plate; I've had an issue with the designs that use the end of an M3 socket screw to hold the glass in place, wherein the glass ended up chipping when I used one of this design.

Achieving a design with the ability to securely hold an oversized or undersized glass plate. My six glass plates were sourced from only two different glass companies, and unfortunately not one of is the same size as any of the others.
The Components:
There are four printed components; the support bracket, left and right side slides, and the thumbscrew. For a complete corner, you will need:
(1) Support bracket
(1) Left slide
(1) Right slide
(2) Thumbscrews
Additional components:
(2) M3 x 35mm Hex socket head cap screws
(4) M3 Hex Nuts
(2) 7/32" x 11/16" Compression springs (Optional; however I find the corner brace functions much better with the springs included. Optional Substitution: The original corner braces were created using compression springs cannibalized from a number of dead ballpoint pens I had lying around.)
(1) Original countersunk screw and nut from your aluminum build platform. I upgraded the nut to a nylon lock nut that I purchased at Home Depot in their specialty hardware section.
(1) Metal washer for use with the original countersunk screw and nut. (Optional, but it is my belief that the use of a washer between the support bracket and the nylon nut will greatly extend the life of these corner braces).
Assembly Instructions:
I specifically omitted the mounting hole for attaching the support bracket to the aluminum build platform, as the holes on my build platform are not uniform. Prior to assembling each corner, I handheld the support bracket in place and used a #33 or .113" drill bit to drill a hole in each bracket.
I have included a number of photos detailing how the components relate to one another. If you have questions regarding the assembly, just drop me a line in the comments and I'll do what I can to help.
Results of Testing and Use:
I have been using four of these braces on my printer since I designed them in January of this year. I revised the design slightly in February, and replaced the originals on the printer with the updated parts. The originals worked extremely welly up until I swapped them out, and the new parts have been on the printer for not quite three months, and they're working even better. I've done alot of printing lately, in both ABS and PLA, using these corner braces, with build platform temps between 50-110 degrees Celsius. Four braces are probably overkill, but unfortunatly, redundancy is hardwired in my DNA.