Shimming, removal and reinstallation of magnets in your magbed
Posted by Wade Wendorf on
In most cases, getting a 0.5mm or thicker high quality flex plate made with quality steel will negate any potential issues with the strength or the magnets in our magbeds, however, we understand there may be use cases for using other thinner flexplates on our beds.
The proper procedure to determine if you need to shim magnets is this: Get a small piece of steel, like a keyway or something like that, approximately 6mm thick by 30mm long. It just needs a nice flat side to it. In a pinch, a rectangular magnet could work too.
Put it over the top of the magnet so it straddles the magnet and the bed. Shine a light from the back side from where you are standing.
If you see light under the steel in the area of the magnet, you can add a few tinfoil shims under the magnet. If you see light in the area of the bed, you may need to remove a shim (as that would mean you raised the magnet too high).
Also, know that flatness variance may not be the magnets, or the bed at all. It could be something like gantry squaring, or heat expansion in the gantry.
In addition, please follow these instructions for removal and reinstallation of the magnets.
When removing the magnets, do not let the magnets snap together without some sort of plastic washer or something in between them. The strength of the magnets could shatter the magnets when they snap together without a buffer between them.
When reinstalling the screws, turn the screw backwards until you feel the threads in the screw jump the threads in the bed.
Once you feel that little bump, turn the screw in until it gets to the "screw stops turning point" with zero strength behind it.
Once the screw has stopped turning, tighten it 1/32nd of a turn and NO MORE. Overtightening WILL shatter the magnets.
We do not replace magnets that were removed, only if there was damage during shipping (which only happened 2 times).