MK4 kit screw quality
My MK4 kit delivery is a few days out so I started reading the assembly instructions comments. I found the comments very useful when I built my MK3S a few years ago.
I'm seeing a number of comments that mention poor screw quality.
"I ordered my Mk4 December 22nd, 2023 and received it today January 24th, 2024. I'm amazed they are still shipping these with the same garbage hardware. Not a great way to start off the build when 2 of the screws stripped before they were more than finger tight." (buttsisfun)
"Ditto to what everyone else is saying. These screws are total rubbish. Some of them are so over tolerance that the only way to tighten them is to us a US size Allen wrench. I much admit that my confidence in Prusa quality is already badly shaken!" (Norris)
Is this really an issue? Do I need to go out and buy some screws?
RE: MK4 kit screw quality
No problem what so ever with the hardware or anything else with my MK4 kit.
RE: MK4 kit screw quality
On the contrary, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the screws. No problems at all when assembling the MK4 kit.
RE: MK4 kit screw quality
Same here, no problems with quality of the printer, enclosure and fittings, cannot say the same about the tools supplied, it didn't worry me as I just grabbed my some out of my toolkit
RE: MK4 kit screw quality
Yeah, all screws were of good quality. No problems whatsoever with the screw in my build.
RE: MK4 kit screw quality
I only had one screw on my kit strip, and that was probably my fault by cross threading it. This was on the Y-axis idler pully bracket,
RE: MK4 kit screw quality
Thank you for the feedback. My kit arrives today.
RE: MK4 kit screw quality
No issues here either!
--> MK4 - MK4S - MINI+ - Accelerometer Guide <--
RE: MK4 kit screw quality
I didn't have any issues with the hardware either.
RE: MK4 kit screw quality
I did have some issues with the heads of the largest screws that attach the rails to the frame. Quite possibly could have been more an issue with the included allen key. If you feel you do not have good engagement - don't torque it, but look for another screw or try a better made allen key. There are plenty of extra fasteners in the kit of all sizes. I did not have any issues with the smaller sizes.
ALSO - some of the smallest screws are Torx head, so keep that in mind - I thought I had a key/head issue until I realized oh... it's a torx... 😜
RE: MK4 kit screw quality
I believe it's because they are stainless steel screws and wrenches are steel. Don't over torque. I just built mine last week, no issues.
RE: MK4 kit screw quality
I had one bad screw in my kit that wasn't machined properly. The rest were perfect, no issues building my kit.
RE: MK4 kit screw quality
I have built 3 MK4/MK3.9 kits. Last one shipped in October, 2023. Had one square nut jam or sieze, partly my fault. As for the hex wrenches, I have my own high grade set with screw driver handles. Much faster to use.
A confusing thing is one of the torx wrenches is 2 sizes, different on each end. Allen wrenches seem to fit in the torx heads but slip when tightening. My eyes have a hard time seeing hex vs. torx head screws these days so I had to double check often.
RE: MK4 kit screw quality
I have just finished my first Prusa Build, (mk4) for the most part all the screws and fasteners were fine, the only screws I had a small issue with were the screws that held the frame together, most of them were fine, I had half a dozen or so where the tolerance of the hex wasn't great and my Allen keys just couldn't get much purchase. I managed to get them pinched up, but probably not as tight as I would of liked.
RE: MK4 kit screw quality
The issue I had was with the grub screws for the filament gears on the MMU3. I know you're talking about the MK4 which I built and had great success with. But these grub screws were supposed to be 1.5 mm and the only thing that worked was a 1/16 inch Allen wrench. The 1.5 mm spun in two of the grub screws. Either a really bad tolerance issue or the wrong grub screws were provided. Every other piece of hardware I've had with my MK3, my MK4 and my mmu3 were great.
MK3s / My IKEA Lack enclosure
RE: MK4 kit screw quality
I had no issue at all with screws on all Prusa kits.
I have tons of special screwdrivers, so I use always my preferred screwdrivers, some times different screwdrivers for different tasks. I used the 90 degree Prusa tools only when they were really required, otherwise I use my hex screwdrivers.
Regards
RE: MK4 kit screw quality
I just finished my MK4 kit, and I do feel some screws weren't the best, specifically the M5-16r screws. The hex didn't match the key well. I bought new ones, and they worked great.