3240 can be anything. And stuff sold as FR4 can be outright crap.
So, there's the enterprising Chinese entrepreneur who sells very old FR4 on Amazon... It may once have qualified as FR4, but not today. These plates were old, ugly, damaged, full of scratches, and definitely contain formaldehyde, bromide, and probably tons of other halogens.
Moral of the story: made sure you know what and where you buy!
4. Crap
4.1 Warning!
Warning! Due to the materials involved it is, in general, NOT a good idea to build your own plates. I would strongly suggest to buy some plates from an established vendor, rather than building these plates yourself.
Simply put: you can die. I strongly suggest to buy a plate from a known vendor and NOT make your own.
I'll include a list of better known, likely more respectable vendors at the bottom of this post.
4.2 Risks
Cutting and routing Glass Fiber boards
This will release lots of small particles in the air, and those cause cancer. If you plan to route, then do so outdoors and / or with decent air extraction and filtrage, and wear protective gear.
Halogens and other poisonous stuff
Some of the plate materials may contain halogens, bromides, or formaldehydes. You might not smell them, but even the EU approved materials still contain a decent percentage of unhealthy stuff. These toxic fumes are released when the plate is heated... such as on the heatbed of a 3D printer.
Both the EU and China have agreed to stop the usage of such materials, but Chinese enterprises still sell lots of the stuff. And it's still allowed in the US.
The good news is that it's easier to get decent FR4 / G10 / G11 in the US, than it is in the EU. I suspect the glass fiber nature of the material might be the reason for that.
Cyanides and Urethanes
Glue and stickers often contain very harmful chemicals. Observe the usage instructions, and don't use anything that would release poisonous gasses at higher temperatures.
Did you know that (Poly)urethane fumes are suspected to cause cancer during curing?
Did you know that Cyanoacrylate glue (superglue) releases cyanides (poisonous gasses) when heated up?
The above doesn't mean those materials are inherently dangerous in a passive state, but you must know how and where to use them.
Quality and costs
You won't get it right first time. Affixing a surface of (thin) FR4 on top of a steel blank is harder than you think, especially if you don't want to have any air bubbles. It may take a few attempts before you get it right, and those raw materials are not cheap.
Then there's the question of how 'smooth' and 'flat' your final product will be. Any surface irregularities - especially long undulations - will affect the accuracy of your 3D print.
4.3 Example of a crap source material
I got my refund, and the vendor disappeared, but the images below show the poor quality of his product. He didn't even want me to return any of it.
I build one plate - just for fun - using his crap, and routing that specific glass fiber plate produced a sickening pungent smell. Definitely not the good stuff!
4.4 Aruco
Can we get a dedicated Aruco code for 'crap plate'? 😉
4.5 Raw material
In the end, I collected some FR4 via Amazon, from a local Dutch supplier, and through AliExpress. I couldn't get my hands on 'real' raw G10 / G11. (To be fair, one party offered raw G10, but the price was prohibitive.)
All of the other glass fiber plates appear to be the real deal.
4.6 (Better) Vendors of complete plates
One would assume the regular vendors would make sure no harmful materials are used. I suggest to contact any seller and check on health aspects before ordering a plate. Yet, I'll take any of these over the doubtful stuff you can get from China!
Some well known (and probably safe) vendors:
If you sell plates, and want your link included, drop me a line.
Again, I strongly suggest to buy a plate from a known vendor and NOT fabricate your own.
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