3D Printing Blog

The Removable Heated Build Plate Upgrade for MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printers from BC Technological Solutions is a must have upgrade for anyone with a MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer looking to add HBP capabilities for example to print with ABS or other filaments requiring it. The upgrade kit from BC Technological Solutions may not be the cheapest solution out there to provide you with a Heated Build Platform, but is probably the best in terms of ease of installation and ease of usage. The BC Tech upgrade kit will cost you $175 USD without the shipping and you would need to also get a more powerful power supply capable of at least 9.2A @ 24V if you are using Replicator 2 (another $100 USD or so). The upgrade kit is also compatible with Replicator 2X, but there you already have HBP by default though not as good as this one, as well as with Replicator 1 3D printers and some clones of these devices such as Flash Forge Creator, though make sure you order the specific version you need.

The standard power adapter of the Replicator 2 is a 24 Volt 6.25A and this is not enough to handle the additional power requirements of the Heated Build Platform. So we have purchased a compatible 24V 9.2A power adapter from Mean Well (GS220A24-R7B) that can be plugged in directly in the printer without the need to modify the adapter connector. If you get a more generic 24V power adapter with a different connector you may need to replace the connector, BC Tech sell a power supply connector for $6 USD that you can use to make generic power supplies compatible with the Replicator 2. So make sure you get a power supply that meet the requirements and preferably has the right power connector already to save some trouble like we did with the Mean Well PSU that is ready to be plugged in and works just fine.

We have mentioned that the installation procedure is very simple, you remove the standard build plate of the MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer and attache the new aluminum HBP plate with a heating element on bottom. You route the cables trough a hole on the bottom of the printer case (you need to remove a plastic cap first) and can directly connect the heating element and the thermal sensor to the main board of the 3D printer – the have dedicated connectors available, so no soldering or anything like that is needed. All in all you can have the new HBP installed in less than 30 minutes when you have everything needed available and be ready to start using it, unlike for example the much harder and more time consuming installation of the Aluminum Arm Upgrade from BC Technological Solutions that we have also recently installed.

Now, after you install the new HBP upgrade you can notice how convenient the removable glass plate can be after you print something in order to easily remove it from the build plate. The glass build plate is attached to the aluminum base with magnets, so it is being attached with enough strength, but is still easy to be removed when needed. Thanks to the removable glass build plate we have seen a significant reduction in the number of times we need to readjust the build plate height between prints compared to using the standard 3D printer build plate. Again we are going to say that in our opinion the Removable Heated Build Plate Upgrade for MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printers from BC Technological Solutions is a must have upgrade for anyone with a MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer. That is if you want to get an easy to install solution and one that works great and problem free and actually makes your life easier working with the printer even when hot using the heating feature of the build plate.

Do note that after installing a HBP to your Replicator 2 3D printer you will need to tell your slicer software that you have this capability in order to be able to use it, so we have guides available on how to enable this in the software:
– How to Use Heated Build Plate on Replicator 2 with MakerBot Desktop
– How to Use MakerBot Replicator 2 with Heated Build Platform in Simplify3D

– For more information about the Replicator 2 HBP upgrade from BC Technological Solutions…