MK3 Heated Print Bed

The 12V/24V MK3 Aluminium Heated Print Bed is one of the recent contenders in 3D Printing build platforms, and is based on the MK design by Josef Prusa. While it is made to fit most 3D Printers with 200x200mm build volume, while some people have even reported mounted it directly onto their previous heatbeds by simply drilling holes to accommodate the new mounting points.

Because this heatbed is made from aluminium, it is very efficient in terms of transferring and maintaining high temperatures, and offers an almost perfectly flat surface with an impressive flatness tolerance of about 0.2mm. Another great benefit of these Heatbeds is that they offer dual power supply options, catering to both 24V and 12V systems. This allows you to use whichever power supply you need to, and can even offer faster heating times with a few tricks found on some of the popular forums – although we recommend utilising this heatbed as originally intended.

If you want to further improve the efficiency and heating speed of the MK3 heatbed, you can also consider adding some Heatbed Insulation to the underside such as cotton pads or cork. This will help reduce heat loss and keep the temperatures stable – further improving the value and print quality of this heatbed quite dramatically.

Typical Applications for the MK3 Heated Print Bed:

The MK3 Heated Print Bed is designed to perfectly fit our TEVO Tarantula 3D Printers, but can be used for almost any other printers with similarly-sized build platforms. It is designed with five mounting holes in total, to allow for the option of mounting the heatbed with either the four corner holes, or with three. And while some Makers simply use the standard four corners for mounting, others have reported that using only three (two on the bottom and one in the centre top) makes it a lot easier to level the bed.

Additionally, although we don’t recommend this, it has been reported that the bed can heat up a lot faster if you connect a 24V supply to the 12V terminal. However, instead of using the standard ±150W, it will then use up to 575W, but will heat the bed up within two minutes rather than ten. To ensure your own safety and the safety of your 3D printer though, it’s a better idea to simply utilise the board as intended, with the right power supply leading to the right power terminals.

As a final note, we would feel bad if we didn’t warn you about the extreme temperatures that this heatbed can achieve, and that it will maintain high heat even after the LED status light has gone off. So please do be careful and always put your hand close to feel for any residual heat before simply grabbing the plate.