1

Ive recently bought a Creality Ender 3 (yes the cheapest one the internet could find for me).
Now buying cheap is never great, always run into problems. I knew this from the start.

So… first problem… printer arrives, i set it up, all works fine.
Adjusted the tensions etc. on all the wheels and axis. Runs smoothly on all axis.
then i start printing. The bed from the Creality Ender 3 is NOT equal, nor level.
The middle drops down (sort of up-side-down bowl shaped).

So, google, my dear friend. I buy myself a 4mm plane of glass (let it cut to the exact size of the printbed). Put it down, plate slides across the metal heatbed (ofcourse). So i use 0,2mm thick rubber like double sided adhesive tape (around the edges) to glue it into place.

Leveled it, double check it with paper. Guess what.
The corners are all perfectly aligned. All 4 just about allow a simple (A4 grade) piece of paper to go underneath. But in the middle, same story, some points allow a piece of cardboard to go underneath. Other points get stuck on the A4 paper.

As far as i know all window type glass is pretty much perfectly smooth, this one isnt. Or its warping due to the heat of the heated bed (im guessing?).

Question is, is it advisable to use glass. If so, has anyone had this same problem where the glass isnt equal in every spot? (can vary from 2cm to the next 2cm).
How can i get this to be perfectly level. Every single print i do needs to be done in the corners (thus limiting the sizes of prints).

PS. As i said, im a complete newb in the world of 3d printing. Im fairly fermiliar with Cura and object drawing but not with the acutal setup/maintenance of printers (hence why i buy the cheapest one ^^).

2

Glass is fine but I’d stay away from tempered since it can be bowed from the treatment.
You do not want to “adhere” the glass to the bed to not warp it. Simply attach at the edges with binder clips or some other method you can find on thingiverse.com.

3

Alright, thx. Ill start off with paperclips in the corners or something, ill see if that fixes some of it.

4

Mainly you just want the glass to stay in place that’s all!

5

I get that :p. Had it sliding in the beginning. Great if you want to make a mess, but theres enought of that to go around ^^.

Only problem i have now is that the brim and the layers dont stick together very well (sideways). I set thickness to 0,2 already. But it still curls up and in some random area’s it just doesnt adhere to the layer next to it.

6

Are you using anything on the glass for adhesion? Minimal you will need to clean the glass with alcohol or acetone to get any contaminants off.

7

Nope, no surface adhesion of any extra type. And yes, im cleaning the glass with cleaning alcohol with every print.

Update: Removed the tape, add the default clamps that come with the printer. Seems level now. Trying it out atm. Might be warping the glass when heated or something. Ill keep things updated. brb.

8

You’ll probably find you need something for adhesion. I’d use glue stick like the purple ones like Elmer’s school glue.
Google on how to apply and use. Pretty easy once you learn it.