Don’t bother with normal mk2 beds in such a size. The best option is to use Solid state Relay and Silicon heaters.
You will need DC to AC Solid State Relay (SSR) and AC silicon heater pad (you will find the sizes you need like 300x300mm ) (one/relay). They heat up much faster than mk2 beds and usually include a 100k thermistor inside.
Keep in mind that it might be a good idea to include a switch on the SSR-s so if you don’t need all the print surface heated than you can switch off the heaters witch not required.
I have a coreXY in build 90% functional that uses 4 200mm sq heated beds for a total print area just over 400mm sq or roughly 17in on each side. Height is only limited by the rigidity of the frame. I run my beds from 18v so you can either run to beds in series and the pair in parallel drawing about 500w or you can run two beds in parallel and then in series with the next two beds in parallel; 1000w. These are 12v beds. At 500w you can reach PLA printing temps, at 1000w you can reach ABS printing temps. That will be 10A draw from a 120v outlet just for the beds. I am currently wired for 500w myself as printing an abs print that large with the issue of warping is unreasonable. Ian running off board (externally mounted) FETs to overcome the large current draw as the single one on a ramps board is not enough.
Yeah I primarily print abs, thank you all so much for the replies and ideas! When I referred to the alligator board I meant it with the upgrade attachment as well, if that makes any difference. I’m hoping to do it the most cost effective way as possible, may I ask what the price ranges for your alternatives are?
If you had multiple power supplies or one very large one you could probably get away with it but do you need a heated bed at all? Some types of plastics like ABS don’t require one. PLA does but I’ve read that you can print without it if you use things like blue tape and/or hair spray. Then there’s the option of making your own. I’ve seen Indestructibles on this.
Ummm, sorry, but this is completely wrong… You ABSOLUTELY need a heated bed for ABS parts of any size… It has way higher warpage than PLA (1.5%-2.0% vs. 0.4%) and will peel off the buildplate if not heated (to between 90 and 110 degrees C) and coated with some film or adhesive.
Conversely, PLA almost doesn’t need a heated buildplate, but it becomes necessary for larger parts (typically a bed temp between 30 and 50 degrees C is good).
Don’t think so you will need that expansion board, as i have just checked they have 3 connections on it for hot-ends and not heat beds.
For the prices, please consider that you will only need a small 12V or 24V(10A max.) power supply for motors and hotend. As the silicone heaters we recomend uses normal AC power so no power supply required, you can save a lot of money avoid to purchase a 1000-1200W 12/24V power supply.
Wouldn’t you be best off just heating it with electric underfloor heating? That way you get separate electronics and heat controller, its really cheap and you can just use a levelling compound over the top and some cheap IKEA mirror tiles. Think bathrooms more than 3d printers for really super massive size
