Print PEI: MK4 High Temp 450 °C mod is here!
This handsome benchy was printed on a MK4 using this mod at 390*C in PEI-GF30 filament.
This mod is a combination firmware and hardware mod, but the hardware modification is extremely basic and amounts to things you will probably need to do anyway one day (replacing parts of the hotend).
This replaces the hotend thermistor with a PT1000, but most importantly, it does so with almost no loss in resolution and without any resistor swapping or external amplifiers or anything else. Just a PT1000's wires spliced directly to the loveboard's hotend thermistor connector.
In fact, I am testing a version of the firmware that can use a PT1000 with no loss in resolution, however there are minor side effects and it is unclear if this is necessary, as the standard version of my high temp firmware seems to work great and has zero side effects. I may release it but at this point, it is unclear if there is any real benefit.
I designed this mod to be as easy to achieve as possible, but it will require some very basic soldering of two wires (the PT1000 leads).
You can find the firmware in the 'releases' on my github repo for the high temp firmware, as well as detailed information on what it does, how it does it, and instructions and links to parts needed for the hardware modifications. The repo is the primary source of the latest information/instructions/etc, so check it out if interested:
RE: Print PEI: MK4 High Temp 450 °C mod is here!
Hell yeah! I’ve been working on a similar mod for my Core One 🙏
RE: Print PEI: MK4 High Temp 450 °C mod is here!
That is a spectacular trick! I absolutely love it. Thanks for posting this!
RE: Print PEI: MK4 High Temp 450 °C mod is here!
One question on this: Your github says you can't use brass nozzles, anymore. That's just a temperature issue, right? If so, then I would still be able to use brass for lower temperature materials, which is my plan. Having a separate aluminum heatblock for using brass OEM Prusa nozzles, so I can swap nozzle sizes easier, and then the nickel plated copper heatblock for use with hardened steel nozzles at higher temperatures, for abrasive and higher temperature filaments.
RE: Print PEI: MK4 High Temp 450 °C mod is here!
One question on this: Your github says you can't use brass nozzles, anymore. That's just a temperature issue, right? If so, then I would still be able to use brass for lower temperature materials, which is my plan. Having a separate aluminum heatblock for using brass OEM Prusa nozzles, so I can swap nozzle sizes easier, and then the nickel plated copper heatblock for use with hardened steel nozzles at higher temperatures, for abrasive and higher temperature filaments.
Yes, I should have qualified that statement by saying you can't use them for high temperature printing. They work just fine at for <300*C. And it isn't the end of world if you do use them at higher temperatures - they won't just stop working AFAIK. Brass doesn't melt until 900*C+.
It begins to soften at 300*C however, so I think the reasoning is that they'll wear out very quickly and even non-abrasive filament at higher temperatures can begin to widen the nozzle hole. I haven't actually bothered to test, so I couldn't tell you how quickly this happens or how much of a concern it really is, but regardless, it shouldn't be an issue below 300*C.
RE: Print PEI: MK4 High Temp 450 °C mod is here!
Hell yeah! I’ve been working on a similar mod for my Core One 🙏
I think all the critical changes in my branch should work without modification for the Core One as well, feel free to steal any of the code you want if its useful or helpful for your mod!
RE: Print PEI: MK4 High Temp 450 °C mod is here!
I think all the critical changes in my branch should work without modification for the Core One as well, feel free to steal any of the code you want if it’s useful or helpful for your mod!
Looking forward to it! I’m shooting for 350C since I’m not planning to print the super expensive filaments (PEEK, PAEK, PEI/Ultem, etc.) in the immediate future, so I got a CHC heater w/ PT1000 that should do the trick.
It’ll be a little while before I can get to the mod, however, since I’m currently blocked by troubleshooting and fixing my C1’s teething issues. Need to get everything working reliably before experimenting.
I’ll send any feedback your way, though, here or on GitHub. Thanks again for doing all the work and PoC— really awesome.
RE: Print PEI: MK4 High Temp 450 °C mod is here!
any chance of submitting a pull request, to get your code integrated into official firmware?