Skip to content
WhatsApp
Request a Quote

Polyimide (PI) Film Heaters · Application-Specific PI Heaters

3D Printer Bed Polyimide Heaters

Continuous to 200 °C, wound for 5-220 V, built to UL 499 / IEC 60335 / RoHS. Set the outline, the voltage and the wattage on the drawing below and it redraws to them.

3D Printer Bed Polyimide Heaters are continuous to 200 °C, wound for 5-220 V, watt density 0.4 W/cm² in free air and 3 W/cm² bonded to a heat sink, about 0.3 mm thick. The outline is cut to your drawing, up to 300 x 500 mm (one piece) in one piece. It does not limit its own temperature: a thermostat, a thermal cutoff or a control loop with an independent over-temperature channel belongs in the design.

Continuous temperature
to 200 °C
Supply voltage
5-220 V
Watt density
0.4 W/cm² free air / 3 W/cm² bonded
Thickness
0.3 mm
Maximum one-piece size
300 x 500 mm (one piece)

These are the process limits for this construction, not the rating of a finished part. The ratings of your heater come from the drawing it is built to, and the watt density it can carry depends on what it is bonded to.

Outline & Specification Builder

Set the outline, the size, the voltage and the power you have in mind. The drawing redraws to match, and the panel works out the heated area, the watt density and the current — then checks that watt density against what this construction survives in free air and bonded to a heat sink. Those two limits are different by several times, and it is the difference that decides whether a heater lasts.

Fills in the form below; attach your outline drawing or DXF there.

Request a Quotation for 3D Printer Bed Polyimide Heaters

The form below follows the current technical drawing configuration. Change the drawing values above and the request details update automatically.

Request a Quotation

The part

If you have an outline drawing or a DXF, say so in the notes and we will reply with an address to send it to — a drawing turns an estimate into a quotation.

Business Information

Dimensions & Specifications (UL 499 / IEC 60335 / RoHS)

Every row below is a starting point for the customizer above — pick any size and the drawing will redraw to that row.

ParameterSpecificationLimit / note
ConstructionPhoto-etched copper or Inconel foil circuit laminated between polyimide films with a high temperature acrylic or FEP adhesiveDecided at quotation from the outline and the wattage
Insulation systemPolyimide film, 0.05 mm or 0.125 mm per faceThis is what sets the temperature limit, not the element
Total thickness0.3 mmNominal, before adhesive; add 0.2 mm for PSA backing
Minimum size10 x 10 mmBelow this the element cannot be routed with a safe edge margin
Maximum size, one piece300 x 500 mm (one piece)Larger areas are supplied as tiled zones with separate circuits
Dimensional toleranceu00b10.5 mm on dimensions up to 200 mmOn the die-cut outline; hole positions are held tighter
Supply voltage5 V DC to 240 V AC, wound to orderWound to the ordered voltage u2014 it is not a switchable range
Resistance toleranceu00b110% standard, u00b15% on requestMeasured at 20 u00b0C; hot resistance differs with the element alloy
Watt density, free air0.4 W/cmu00b2 typical, 0.6 W/cmu00b2 maximumNothing conducting heat away u2014 the honest figure for an unbonded heater
Watt density, bonded to heat sink3.0 W/cmu00b2 maximumOnly valid with full-area contact to metal; specifying at this figure and running in free air destroys the heater
Continuous working temperature-200 u00b0C to +200 u00b0C continuous (+220 u00b0C short term)Of the heater itself, measured at the element, not the ambient
Dielectric strength1500 V AC, 1 minute (2500 V AC on the 0.125 mm film build)One minute, element to any exposed surface, no breakdown
Insulation resistancegreater than 100 Mu03a9At 500 V DC, measured after the dielectric test
Lead wirePTFE or silicone insulated 24 AWG to 20 AWG, or an FFC tail etched as part of the circuitLength, gauge and termination to your drawing
AttachmentFree, 3M PSA backing, or bonded with a two-part thermally conductive adhesiveAdhesive-backed heaters need continuous contact pressure while curing
Sensor and control optionsNTC 10K B3950, PT100/PT1000, K-type thermocouple, KSD9700 bimetal thermostat, thermal cutoffFitted under the same insulation and tested as one assembly
Certifications availableUL 499 construction, IEC/EN 60335, UL 94 V-0, RoHS, REACH, CE, ISO 13485 QMSConstructions are built to these; the certificate covers the construction, not every outline
Common formats200 x 200, 220 x 220, 235 x 235, 300 x 300, 400 x 400 mmQuoted from your bed drawing; these are the sizes asked for most often
Warm-up110 u00b0C bed temperature in 3 to 6 minutes at 0.4 W/cmu00b2Depends far more on the bed mass and insulation than on the heater

3D Printer Bed Polyimide Heaters are polyimide (pi) film heaters, produced to a dimensioned drawing or a DXF. The table below is a statement of what this factory can build rather than a list of what is on a shelf; the sections after it cover the two things that decide whether a heater survives its duty — how much power per square centimetre it carries, and what stops it.

What Are 3D Printer Bed Polyimide Heaters?

3D Printer Bed Polyimide Heaters are polyimide (pi) film heaters. They are specified by supply voltage and outline together with the outline drawing, the wattage or the temperature to be held, and what the heater is bonded to — that last one decides the permissible watt density and is the question a quotation cannot skip. The construction is built and tested to UL 499 / IEC 60335 / RoHS.

Construction & Insulation System

The insulation is polyimide film, 0.05 to 0.125 mm per face, laminated over a photo-etched copper or Inconel foil circuit with a high temperature acrylic or FEP adhesive. Total thickness is 0.2 to 0.4 mm, the thermal mass is almost nothing, and the part is dimensionally stable enough to bond to an optic. The limit is the film's: 200 °C continuously, 220 °C briefly. Polyimide absorbs moisture and hydrolyses in continuous steam, and it tears from a nick — which is why every outline gets radiused corners rather than sharp ones.

Watt Density

In free air, with nothing conducting heat away from it, this construction carries 0.4 W/cm². Bonded over its full area to metal that carries the heat off, it carries 3 W/cm². The second figure is not an upgrade of the first — it is a different operating condition, and a heater ordered at 3 W/cm² and then run unbonded fails within minutes. Divide the wattage you need by the area you have before anything else: if the answer is above the free-air figure, either the area grows or the heater gets bonded down.

Typical Applications

Diagnostic instruments, reagent cartridges and cuvette blocks, optics and camera housings kept clear of condensation, semiconductor chucks, drone and instrument batteries, 3D printer beds — duties where the heater has to disappear into the assembly and settle in seconds rather than minutes.

Inside the plant

Manufactured in our own plant

This heater is laid out, wound or etched, laminated, cut, tested and imaged in-house. The stages below are where its resistance tolerance, its temperature uniformity and its insulation integrity are actually decided.

  1. Engineer laying out a heater circuit over a customer outline
    01

    Circuit design & layout

    The customer outline comes in as a drawing or a DXF, and the element is laid out inside it: conductor gauge from the voltage, path length from the resistance, pitch from the watt density wanted at each part of the surface. Where the load needs more heat at the edges than in the middle, that is decided here, in the geometry, not later with more power.

    Calculated resistance and watt density checked against the construction limits before any tooling is cut.

  2. Etched foil circuits and wound nichrome elements ready for lamination
    02

    Element preparation

    Wire-wound elements are wound on a glass carrier at the calculated pitch; etched-foil circuits are photo-imaged and etched from Inconel or copper foil to a trace width held within 0.05 mm. That tolerance is what makes the resistance repeatable from lot to lot, which is what makes the temperature repeatable.

    Trace width and element resistance measured before lamination — a circuit out of tolerance is scrapped here, not after it is sealed inside the part.

  3. Heated press closing on a silicone heater lay-up
    03

    Lamination & vulcanising

    The element and its sensor are laid between the insulation and pressed under heat: silicone is vulcanised, polyimide and PET are laminated with a high temperature adhesive, epoxy plates are potted under vacuum so no voids are left anywhere in the heat path. A void is not a cosmetic defect — it is a place the heat cannot leave from, and it becomes the hot spot that ends the part.

    Press temperature, pressure and dwell recorded per lot; potted plates checked for voids.

  4. Die cut heater blanks with leads and connectors fitted
    04

    Die cutting & leads

    The outline is die cut with radiused corners — a die does not cut an inside corner, and a sharp corner in a film is where a tear starts. Leads are crimped or soldered and strain relieved at the exit, and connectors are fitted to the harness drawing so the assembly line never has to solder.

    Outline to ±0.5 mm on film, ±1.5 mm on silicone; lead pull-out tested per lot.

Video: 3D Printer Bed Polyimide Heaters

Third-party video, selected automatically for this topic. It is not produced by Heating Film and is not a specification source — use the tables on this page for dimensional data.

Frequently Asked Questions

What sizes do 3D Printer Bed Polyimide Heaters come in?

There is no size list. 3D Printer Bed Polyimide Heaters are cut to your outline, so the size is whatever your drawing says, up to 300 x 500 mm. Larger areas are built as separate zones with their own circuits. Send a dimensioned drawing or a DXF and the quotation comes back against that outline.

What watt density can 3D Printer Bed Polyimide Heaters run at?

Two figures, and they are not interchangeable. In free air, with nothing conducting heat away, 0.4 W/cm². Bonded over its full area to metal that carries the heat off, 3 W/cm². A heater ordered at the second figure and then run in the first condition fails within minutes, so the quotation asks what the heater is bonded to before it asks anything else.

How hot can 3D Printer Bed Polyimide Heaters run?

200 °C continuously. That limit belongs to the insulation system — Polyimide Film (Kapton type) — not to the element, which would tolerate a good deal more. It is a hard ceiling: above it the insulation degrades, and no derating scheme buys headroom. Past 200 °C the construction has to change rather than be pushed.

What protects 3D Printer Bed Polyimide Heaters from overheating?

Nothing in the heater itself — a heater is a resistor and has no opinion about temperature. The protection is a separate part of the design, and on this construction it is normally a bimetal thermostat or a one-shot thermal cutoff fitted inside the insulation, in series with the element. It can be built into the heater at manufacture, which is both cheaper and more reliable than adding it to the assembly afterwards, and it is a different component from the sensor that closes the control loop: the case the cutoff exists for is the loop failing on.

How are 3D Printer Bed Polyimide Heaters fitted?

They are bonded with a factory-applied pressure sensitive adhesive to a degreased, smooth surface, rolled on from one edge so no air is trapped; an air pocket under a bonded heater is a hot spot and it is permanent.

What voltages are 3D Printer Bed Polyimide Heaters available in?

5 V DC, 12 V DC, 24 V DC, 36 V DC, 48 V DC, 110-120 V AC and 220-240 V AC. The element is wound for the voltage ordered — it is not a switchable range, and running a heater at a voltage other than the one it was wound for changes its power by the square of the ratio. Resistance is held to u00b10.5 mm on dimensions up to 200 mm.

What is the dielectric strength of 3D Printer Bed Polyimide Heaters?

1500 V AC, 1 minute (2500 V AC on the 0.125 mm film build), with insulation resistance above 100 MΩ at 500 V DC measured after the dielectric test. Both are tested on every unit rather than on a sample, because a heater that fails this test in service fails it into whatever it is bonded to.

How do I get a quotation?

Set the outline, size, voltage and power in the builder on this page and send that configuration through, or attach a drawing. The quotation needs six things: the outline, the supply voltage, the power or the temperature you need to hold, what the heater is bonded to, the ambient it works in, and the quantity. With those, a quotation comes back within one business day.