Anycubic Ultrabase Platform for 3D Printer (240x220+ Hotbed)

So far this print surface is working nicely for me. Finally, my warped bed problems are over. I've started to think that there is no such thing as a flat aluminum surface. I've tested it with some rather large prints, using all corners of the bed. I'm going to try to provide some tips and tricks for using this successfully, as well as a few details.I recommend using some kind of thermal insulation under the bed. It makes it heat up far faster, conserves electricity, makes for a much more accurate thermistor reading, and directs more heat into the glass (which is itself a thermal insulator, so you have to fight that effect to keep most of your heat from going downwards.) I'm using rock wool, it works great. I tested a sample of it under my welding torch. I guarantee that stuff will not catch fire, ever. I printed some washers so the springs beneath the bed hold it to the bottom. With the insulation, the temperature of the bed always stays within 1° C of the setting, verified with a laser thermometer.The aluminum heating element was very slightly warped, but the glass bed is dead-flat. Sticking it to the heated bed ensures that the glass will hold everything level. That said, I recommend applying the glass and adhesive before you mount the system to your y-axis carriage. If the bed is already held in position by the springs and screws, you run the risk of one of the corners not sticking effectively, causing it to peel up later when you adjust the level or heat up the bed. Apply the glass to the heated element on a flat table and weigh it down with something heavy, but not so heavy that it risks cracking the glass. I ended up doing it the wrong way and machining some aluminum corner clamps to hold it absolutely flat. If I did it again, I'd leave some books stacked on top of it for a day and finish the installation the next morning.Keep the top of the glass surface clean. I use isopropyl alcohol. I've noticed that finger grease affects this surface worse than PEI; keep it clean and then keep your fingers off the print surface.Make sure that your bed is hot enough throughout the print. A lot of people's slicer settings might cause the bed to cool towards the end of the print or after the first layer. When this surface gets cold enough, the print literally pops off. This feature is super handy for removing the print after it's done, but you don't want it to get too cold while printing. If you're using a desk fan to aid in bridging and overhangs, make sure it's not pointed straight at the heat bed. Play with the settings and you'll get a result that holds the print firmly and doesn't cause any melting or sagging. Don't scrape or wrench prints off the bed while it's still hot! You will only damage the print surface. This need for patience might be a downside for some, so you can speed it up by pointing the desk fan at your heated bed after the print is done.The heater element is 1 ohm when configured for 12 volts, which is how it comes soldered. If you re-solder it for 24 volts, it becomes very nearly 2 ohms. According to Ohm's law, this means it puts out around 150 watts using 12 amps at 12 volts, making it heat up fast. Once heated, the necessary wattage drops very significantly. Make sure your power supply is at least rated for 20 amps. The heating element is non-polar of course, so you can hook up the positive and negative however you like, but to make the power indicator LED light up you need to follow the positive and negative markings on the board. If you are using an auto-leveling sensor, make sure it's optical or touch-based, as inductive sensors may have trouble sensing the aluminum through glass.I think some people are disappointed at the work and experimentation necessary to build a nice 3d printer. Unfortunately for them, these devices are not yet at a click-and-forget level of sophistication, especially if you're building your own. Think of it as a hobby. This is about the journey, not the destination. Enjoy being part of the early, wild west days of a technology. Get involved with the community, make some friends, and take satisfaction in being a pioneer and contributing to the development of these machines.

TL:DR – Worth the price for your prints – don’t leave the nuts on the pegs – needs instructions/does not include any.So, now that that is out of the way for those that just want the short and simple, let’s get into the good stuff.I started off with, let’s call it “V1” printer, where the thick aluminum bed was covered with a buildtak sheet on it. This thing was great to start with! I had little adhesion problems other than OVER-adhesion. Due to the over-adhesion, my buildtak ripped. So, I looked on amazon to find a replacement and eventually contacted the OEM, Anycubic. I will say that I was extremely happy with their customer service, they took about a day to get back, but let’s face it, they are overseas.I was informed about the Ultrabase and I decided it was worth a shot.Once I received it, my first impression was that the packaging was odd… The box with the bed came inside of a box that had a simple set of bagged air padding. Once the product box was removed… protective foam! Anycubic really didn’t want this thing to get damaged! LOVE IT!Opening the box, I found that the bed was not assembled and there were no instructions to be found. I was back to contacting support about the proper steps to put the bed together…1. There is film on both the aluminum bed and on the glassa. Read to step 4 before removing them2. Put the screws into the holes in the corners of the bed.3. Use the nuts to tighten them down until flush with the bedplate.4. Remove the film on the both plates.5. Line up the plates and put them together.6. Remove the nuts from the screw/pegs and place the rubber pieces on thema. If you leave the nuts on the pegs when you put the bed on the platform it will not screw all the way down. Take the nuts off and just use the rubber rings… learned the hardway!7. Remove the old bed form printer and remove wiring from the mainboard/frame.a. This may be challenging due to the amount of hot glue placed EVERYWHERE!8. I recommend not cutting the original zip ties… take the time to snake the cords back through9. Bring in the new cords and zip tie them to the existing wiring.10. Confirm connecting ends are placed correctly and put printer back together.After heating the bed up to printing temps, I let it sit to help make sure the bed pieces were firmly secured. (this may just be in my head, but whatever, I did it).Printing was great! Things stuck to the bed with no raft and after cooling it was like they were never stuck to it! SUPER EASY REMOVAL!!!!Pros:Great packaging – lots of protectionSimple installAmazing prints without worry of adhesionLooks way better than the original “bulk bed”Cons:No instructions! – Anycubic, you could do better with some instuctions!Aluminum part and glass did not come already pieced together. – I just feel like something this simple should be “factory assembled”.The leveling sensor doesn’t work with the new bed. – to some this may not be a problem, however, for me I liked the quick and easy leveling with the sensor.

The ad implies that this will get up to 120C depending on ambient. It will not. In a 22C space without an enclosure I can get it to 98C but it cant hold the temp while printing. The highest I can get it is 90C (while printing) which is too low for ABS which is the whole point of a heated bed for most people.I coated the whole underside with automotive high temp RTV to try to insulate the underside. This allowed raising the temp to 95C which is barely useful for ABS. I have had some success and failures with acetone and abs smeared on the bed and 95C.The aluminum heated bed is really thin... maybe 1mm. It shouldnt matter since the glass is quite thick maybe 4mm. The glass itself is nice and has a coating similar to the wear coating on a glasstop stove. I like it.As for the heating being subpar I think this is a limit of the 12V heater pad in general. 24V might perform better. I would like to see these in 110V for much better performance. Granted 110v would require a relay but it might be a chance to upsell to the huge 220mm market. With a 110v heater this thing would be able to do ABS well and not need an enclosure so even if they want more money it would still be cheaper.

After purchasing and using my new Anycubic Mega-S printers (please see my review on these as well), and noticing how perfectly smooth the prints came out on those printers, I was pleasantly surprised that they also made a print platform for my older Monoprice Maker Select v2 printer.Adding the Anycubic Ultra Base to my Monoprice 3D printer has really given it some new life. I was about to retire my older printer after purchasing 2 of the Anycubic Mega-S's, but will now keep it instead.I had a piece of glass on top of my old bed previously, but that required me to use craft glue in order to ensure the prints stick to the bed properly (can be a bit messy but it worked). With the Anycubic Ultra Base, I no longer need to apply anything to the surface and am getting the best print results I have ever had. Knowing that your prints are secured to the bed, relieves some of the stresses about 3D printing. Once the bed cools off, the prints just pop off like magic.I would highly recommend this Anycubic Ultra Base to anyone out there with a 3D printer, they seem to make various sizes that fit a wide variety of models.

Haven’t set it up yet but the quality of the glass is nice and the heated is put together solid! The only issue I have is the care taken when packaging our items, as I received the heated bed with a nice little gouge out of it and a bunch of surface scratches like it was dragged across something! The heat bed it literally only 1mm thick, very very thin bed but with the glass being apart of the heated bed I guess that makes up for lost 2mm on the heated bed due to the glass not being removable after being installed! Other then that, I’m stoked to test it out and review it on my YOUTUBE channel! 🤗

Original that came with the AnyCubic was an Ultrabase, but the one I was sent was NOT an Ultrabase. The problem with this one is the prints, even when cold, are very difficult to release from the bed. The adhesion is excellent, but the removal is difficult to do without having to pound the hell out of the putty knife.The original bed, when cooled, almost had prints falling off of it, but this replacement bed does not. It's probably leftover stock from before the latest bed release. The bottom right corner of the bed is marked only with "Anycubic" and not "Ultrabase" as shown in the product description.

Very easy to install. Perfect replacement for the stock build plate. DO NOT try to print nylon or any extreme high heat filament. If the adhesion isn't perfect it will separate from the build plate while printing and damage the Ultrabase coating. The glass comes separate from the build plate, so to print nylon, I simply flip the build plate over so the ultrabase is against the buildplate. Smooth side up. Then you can use whatever adhesion assistance method you like.