Thoughts on buying a Prusa i3 MK3
Hello everyone,
I am considering buying a Prusa i3 MK3, an upgrade from my XYZ DaVinci Jr 1.0, but I am a little concerned about people in reviews/YouTube videos talking about the longevity of the spring steel plate which it comes with.
At this time, the printer is only available with the standard PEI coated spring steel plate and the optional powder coated plate seems suspiciously unavailable, even 3rd party ones from TheKkiinngg.
My questions are;
is the standard plate good enough? Is the powder coated really that good? Are there any good alternatives? And finally, should I even be worried?
Thanks in advance!
RE: Thoughts on buying a Prusa i3 MK3
I've had no issues purchasing replacement spring steel sheets:
- Prusa spring steel sheet with smooth PEI stickered (qty 2).
- Prusa textured powder-coated spring steel sheet.
- BuildTak spring steel sheet with BT and PEI stickered surfaces.
- PrintedSolid spring steel sheets (qty. 2).
- TheKKIINNGG textured PEI spring steel sheet.
I did replace one PEI stickered side on my original spring steel sheet, but it is otherwise in regular use after 18+ months.
I'm not a fan of the Prusa powder-coated textured PEI sheet due to adhesion issues, but the smooth PEI is amazing.
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RE: Thoughts on buying a Prusa i3 MK3
I just looked into the e-shop and I see option for both sheets when selecting order. It is also available as an accessory with "In Stock" status.
https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/3d-printers/180-original-prusa-i3-mk3-kit.html
https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/mk3mk3s/214-powder-coated-spring-steel-sheet.html
Powder coated creates nice texture on bottom side of print, which may be desirable for "more professional" look. But it's not essential, smooth sheet is very good. BTW you can buy bare steel plates from third party suppliers and stick your own surface if you feel adventurous - people get nice results with carbon fibre or dichroic films, for example.
RE: Thoughts on buying a Prusa i3 MK3
Not sure what weird stories there are out there.
My advice: If you cannot accept any of the steel plates as consumable, which they absolutely are, then don´t buy the Prusa and get stuff printed at a print service for a fixed price. If you do not print on a 24/7 basis the sheets should be good for years. If you print 24/365 then get a stack of sheets as spares.
I try to give answers to the best of my ability, but I am not a 3D printing pro by any means, and anything you do you do at your own risk. BTW: I have no food for…
RE: Thoughts on buying a Prusa i3 MK3
The original Prusa sheets are really pretty good. If you print regular PLA/PETG/TPU/PVA stuff, it should last very long. At least I'm still using side one (of two available) and don't see a reason for a swap. So far I was able to see PEI big bubbles only if I print big ABS prints. But this is same to PEI sheets attached directly to the bed.
At the end as just3d said, the sheets are consumable goods. They are really easy to swap on the MK2.5/MK3 and I don't want to miss it anymore.
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RE: Thoughts on buying a Prusa i3 MK3
The smooth sheet is significantly easier for a beginner to use with PLA. Both types are very good - and very durable.
If you are a beginner and get the textured sheet - we will see you back here with "My prints won't stick".
RE: Thoughts on buying a Prusa i3 MK3
My print bed sheet is actually getting quite old and has visible marks around the edges.
Just lower your acceleration for the first layer. The defaults are way too high. I've done everything from glue to various tapes. I clean it superbly and even have iso alcohol and all the tricks. You just want to have a clean plate, good brand of PLA and lower acceleration.
Provided you have good PLA, you should be mostly fine. But if you have any issues with your plate, you can either fix the problem or as an equivalent just lower your acceleration to about 40mm sec/sec. The default is 800mm sec/sec.
Oh and use a brim. Brims are excellent. like 3mm brim is a tank.
The reason is: traveling in a straight line (or a soft curve) more or less causes little issues. Its the jagged movements that approach 180 degrees. It doesn't do screw all to the print time and can be a general substitute for glue or magic tape or whatever. Better even.
RE: Thoughts on buying a Prusa i3 MK3
Hello everyone,
I am considering buying a Prusa i3 MK3, an upgrade from my XYZ DaVinci Jr 1.0, but I am a little concerned about people in reviews/YouTube videos talking about the longevity of the spring steel plate which it comes with.
At this time, the printer is only available with the standard PEI coated spring steel plate and the optional powder coated plate seems suspiciously unavailable, even 3rd party ones from TheKkiinngg.
My questions are;
is the standard plate good enough? Is the powder coated really that good? Are there any good alternatives? And finally, should I even be worried?https://showbox.tools/","showbox" )" data-sheets-hyperlink="https://showbox.tools/">showbox
Thanks in advance!nhttps://trackeasy.fun/usps/","usps tracking")" data-sheets-hyperlink="https://trackeasy.fun/usps/">usps tracking
issue solved!!