Can I make a Mk3S+ with leftover parts from Mk4S -> CoreOne Upgrade?
Hello,
This will be a slow build.
I am planning to only place one order to Prusa, to minimise shipping cost to Australia. I started with a Mk3 and have upgraded all the way to Mk3S+ to Mk4 to Mk4S to CoreOne. I have a lot of left over parts, so let’s see what I need.
The obvious missing parts are a heat bed, y smooth rods and 2x 8mm linear bearings. I am going to reuse the MK4 y carriage parts. My plan is to built all parts expect the y axis, to see what else I need.
I will see how far I get and will update this thread.
RE: Can I make a Mk3S+ with leftover parts from Mk4S -> CoreOne Upgrade?
I am doing the same thing. You will need a power supply as well. You can also, if you choose, buy a pair of 10mm x 325mm smooth rods for the Z-axis and re-use the parts from the MK4S for a slightly stiffer Z-axis instead of reverting to the 8mm bearings and parts from the MK3. I am referring to my "frankenprusa" as an MK3S++ :).
RE: Can I make a Mk3S+ with leftover parts from Mk4S -> CoreOne Upgrade?
I wasn't fast enough with my edit...
One advantage of buying the 10mm smooth rods is that you gain the improved X-axis belt tensioning and 10mm bearings. Otherwise you have to print new X-axis parts for the 8mm bearings to get the MK3S+ improved X-axis belt tensioner. You can also reuse the heatbed bearing "straps", the Y-axis rod holders and the Y-axis motor mount and belt tensioner from the MK4S. My end objective is an MK3S+ extruder on an MK4S motion system (minus the 0.9 degree steppers) with an MK3S+ Einsy controller.
Good Luck and have fun,
Steve
RE: Can I make a Mk3S+ with leftover parts from Mk4S -> CoreOne Upgrade?
Steve,
Good call out. I have a silver power supply from upgrading, so will use that.
good idea with the 10mm rods, but I am wanting to use the parts I have. My Mk3S+ was a Revo, so rolling back to that.
Have fun with your Mk3S++
RE: Can I make a Mk3S+ with leftover parts from Mk4S -> CoreOne Upgrade?
Well, after a week of building, I can confirm, if you have upgraded from Mk3>Mk3s>Mk3S+>Mk4>Mk4s>CoreOne, you can build a MK3S+ with the left over parts plus:
- A heat bed
- 2x 8mm linear bearings
- 2x 8mm y smooth rods.
Time to place my order.
RE:
No doubt some users like the fun ( and headaches ) involved on these progressive upgrades but, consider that if you do that, it’s far more expensive than keeping the original MK3 and eventually purchasing a Core One in kit ... and you don’t have to worry about leftover parts or need to buy additional rods/beds.
RE: Can I make a Mk3S+ with leftover parts from Mk4S -> CoreOne Upgrade?
For me I appreciate the upgrade path for two significant reasons. One is that I am fully familiar with the construction of the printer and can ensure that it absolutely assembled correctly and two, while there are leftover parts, I do not have to deal with getting rid of an older printer that I do not have space to keep. While it is true that the cost of the kit (especially the Core One upgrade) can be a significant part of the cost of just purchasing the full kit itself my sense is that the used printer market is flooded and people have unrealistic expectations about what their old printers are worth so the costs are comparable on the whole between upgrading and buying the kit and selling the old (this discussion flies completely out the window if you are purchasing the printers assembled).
Steve
RE: Can I make a Mk3S+ with leftover parts from Mk4S -> CoreOne Upgrade?
I agree with Steve. Part of the fun of owning a Prusa is the rebuilding that the upgrade path gives. I find the cost of the upgrade worth the entertainment of rebuilding the printer. Everyone has their reasons.
RE: Can I make a Mk3S+ with leftover parts from Mk4S -> CoreOne Upgrade?
Well, after a week of building, I can confirm, if you have upgraded from Mk3>Mk3s>Mk3S+>Mk4>Mk4s>CoreOne, you can build a MK3S+ with the left over parts plus:
- A heat bed
- 2x 8mm linear bearings
- 2x 8mm y smooth rods.
Time to place my order.
I can confirm, you can make a working Mk3S+ with the leftovers and the above extra parts. Nice to have a 2nd machine for single material prototype prints.
RE:
Interesting. What I would really like to see is an MK3s -> CoreOneINDX upgrade kit (maybe with the intermediate MK3 electronics upgrade step) but avoiding the NexTruder. Is there any sort of table anywhere that lays out all of the parts that are kept / replaced in each of the upgrade stages?
I also am not keen on just dumping the MK3s and buying a CoreOneINDX kit as I would rather get some use of the MK3s -
Plus also in my house getting 'approval' for upgrades is much easier than justifying whole new printers 😉