anet a8 heatbed

[Matwal]

Hello all, new user here.

Recently bought a anet a8.

putting it together has gone relatively smoothly except for 2 or 3 minor hiccups.

The heatbed has 4 holes, one in each corner, 3 of the holes match and the screws that where provided fit. The 4th hole is large and the screw head can go all the way through it with ease, have I missed something or was it drilled through at the factory by accident?

ATM to move along I have used a spare washer to get the provided screw to fit but I do not believe that is how it was supposed to be used.

Any help or suggestions is greatly appreciated.

[Ewokalvino]

Anets use to have really low cuality, yep its a error. My tip is to drill all 4, I done it to my one cause in one hole was a error similar at yours that broke me twice acrews she I was leveling. Now they’re drilled and its easier to level without screwdriver

[mozCORP]

When I build my A8, I took the hot bed apart to take off all the blue protective film. I was having similar problems until I realized they only mill the screw holes one way. I had to take a pair of locking pliers and a scotch pad to get enough leverage to get the screw out.

Try taking the hot bed frame apart and flipping over the metal plates that the hot bed screws into.

[3Dprintspeed]

I have the same printer. Normal is there a thread. I think its a factory misstake.

as you progress you Will drill out the other holes as well.

[AVall20]

I agree with previous posts, drill out the other three now. Then when you are up and running, Thingiverse has thumb screws that will help with bed leveling. Then you don’t need to use a screwdriver and you won’t need to drill out later if you add glass to your bed.

[Grizfyrfyter]

That is definitely a manufacturer error. Contact your retailer for a replacement. Guys, the bed mount is what is threaded, not the bed. There is no use in drilling the rest of the bed holes out like the bad hole.

[marcbea]

There is an approved it didn’t have threads on the mound you can use a few nuts to lock it in place. Just a pain in the ass when you want to go on adjust.

[Matwal]

Was tinkering with it last night and figured I would need to drill them out, the retailer is being less than helpful and getting anxious to play around with it. I appreciate everyone’s input; this is one of the friendlier forums I have been on thus far! Thank you you everyone!

[SMART_LAB]

Hi, the screws should “run through” a spring, the springs push up the bed, the screws, tightening the springs, make it possible to level the print surface… The holes should be drilled so that the M3 screws provided can thread in, not slip, then, on the other side, there’s a wing nut that locks the position… However, these operations can get tiring, especially if you tinker with nozzle etc and have to recalibrate often, so many people get around by drilling the thread and only having the wing nut to calibrate, I also did this, but only for the 2 front screws… So recapping, the holes should be threaded, but if they’re not it’s not a big deal

[dugly66]

Thats correct the factory messed up. Some people (including myself) drill out the holes and use a nut on the back but if yours is big enough for the head to go through see if you can find a tapered screw that will not pull through and sits flush with the bed. If anything is sticking up above the bed you will loose a little bit of print area but just a few mm.

[BOBLS]

My A8 perfectly fit for 4 holes. May be something wrong from the factory. Contact to your seller should be better. But if you not mind that wrong. I think lock nut under the heat bed can help.

[HoosierDude]

Well, I had no problems with my bed or the bed mount. But, I have 1 bearing block with bad holes. I ended up going to the local hardware store and got bolts and nuts and, so far, it’s working fine. I know that was of no use to this subject but, thought I’d share my 2 cents worth about poor QC. Improvise, adapt, and overcome!

[HootsTheOwl]

Hi Matwal,

If the hole that’s too big is on the heated bed itself, you have to use a washer like you do currently.

If the hole that’s too big is on the mount of the heated bed i suggest you, to drill all holes out and you can level the bed just by turning the butterfly nuts, which is easier than using a screwdriver. If you decide to do this i would suggest you to Print a fail-safe clamp or something similar so that the heated bed is not propelled by the spring if the nut fails due to wear. Example here: http://imgur.com/a/DcEIr

You level with the upper green one and the Butterfly nut is for protection if the leveling knob fails.

Another approach is to buy a new heated bed at Gearbest or Ebay/Amazon. You can them relatively cost friendly there. I believe you can also get genuine Anet 3D ones there.

What you do is up to you.

Regards,

Marco

[fatewilleatyou]

I had off center holes in my bearing block as well. Of course, I didn’t discover it until it was the last one on the lower X-axis rod and there wasn’t room for the belt. I had to push out my X-rods and jockey them around to a place where the off center bearing wasn’t catastrophic.