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Prusa Mini installation location and requirements  

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akomives
(@akomives)
Eminent Member
Prusa Mini installation location and requirements

Hej,

I am considering purchasing a Prusa Mini printer, but am not aware of installation location requirements.

1. Do I need to have the printer on a really stable fundament such as a solid bench or large table? Or can it be put on a robust shelf? Have a wooden bookshelf in New England style where there is a taller opening to locate a combined printer/scanner/fax machine. I could put the Prusa 3D-printer next to the conventional 2D-printer.

2. What height of free air is recommended to provide for fire safety reasons? I have some air above, but then there is the next shelf with books and items on it. Will I need to think of having open air above the printer to allow the heat to dissipate?

3. How large area is needed for the printer to allow all motion of the plate and to secure area for the filament roll even?

4. I have a shed outside of the house, where I store my bicycles, can do some hobby stuff and have access to a larger workshop bench, where I could have the printer installed. However in Summer it is fairly warm (close to 30 degrees maybe top) and in Winter it can cool down to +5 degrees Celsius (there is limited heating, to avoid freezing temperature). Would the printer work or do I risk malfunction due to possible condensation and deterioration of filament?

 

If all these questions are already answered elsewhere please provide a link.

Thank you for your patience.

 

Best regards,

Akos

Postato : 15/03/2021 12:39 pm
VeMeth
(@vemeth)
Active Member
RE: Prusa Mini installation location and requirements

1)/2)/3) Ok so in general I wouldn't recommend putting it on a shelf . You want some space in all directions, I can't remember if the recommended safety distance is 30 or 50cm, but you want some space and it shouldn't be next to books and wood. Never heard of an unmodified Mini catching fire but it's still a device that works with quite some heat. Also it will be a pain to maintain if you almost no access from from almost all sides except the front. 3D printers require a bit more work and maintenance than a 2d printer. 

 

4)  the shed being hot shouldn't be a problem, but 5° will be a problem. My printer wont print if the bed is measured under 10°, it runs into some protection issues. I'm not suuure if there is an official stance on this, but I forgot to close a window for some time and the print bed was 10° and the printer would refuse to print, used a heat fan to warm it up to 15° and it printed. You will probably be able to print PLA once you managed to warm the print bed a bit, but there are materials like ABS or Nylon that are recommended to print with some kind of enclosue to keep the heat, printing such a material at 5° outside temperature will be almost impossible.

Postato : 25/03/2021 10:57 am
3DK
 3DK
(@3dk)
Eminent Member
RE: Prusa Mini installation location and requirements

Hi. My experience is that the Mini is not fussy but it likes to be in an area at 20°C or more. 

1. My Mini is currently on the third shelf from the bottom of a domestic storage rack. It works fine there. The shelf would shake if I pushed it.

2.My Mini has just a few inches of space above it, where the next shelf starts. It only fits in the gap by tilting it. Even so, it’s perfectly happy and the area does not overheat at all. Some folk run their Minis in an enclosure so I don’t think heat build up is a problem and print quality is superb in this setup.

3. The footprint is modest. The filament spool is a good part of the width. If nobody else has posted the dimensions, I can measure and report back tomorrow.

4. We had a heatwave last summer. The Mini was very happy at 30° indoors. I felt prints were less reliable below 20° C. I moved the Mini in winter to a smaller room and heat the room to 20° C

I’m sure you’ll be delighted with your Mini. Happy printing. 

Postato : 27/03/2021 12:39 am
3DK
 3DK
(@3dk)
Eminent Member
RE: Prusa Mini installation location and requirements

Akos,

I measured my Mini setup. Above the top of the Z axis there is just about enough room to fit in two finger widths between the printer Z axis and the shelf above. The footprint of the Mini is 630mm by 390mm. The width includes the filament reel. In my case the reel base fits nicely on the shelf and the reel overhangs the edge a little. The length measurement allows for the bend of a cable exiting at the rear. 

Postato : 27/03/2021 11:47 am
akomives
(@akomives)
Eminent Member
Topic starter answered:
RE: Prusa Mini installation location and requirements

Hej,

Thank you for all the replies!

I have made a picture of the shelf. It is measuring following dimensions: (W) 900 mm x (D) 570 mm x (H) 630 mm

Shelf

Right now I have multifuction printer/scanner there and different tools for soldering RC quadcopters. I can move the printer and the boxes to a different location, so the entire volume could be taken by the printer.

I probably give up the idea to have the printer in the shed, afraid of condensation and low temperatures.

If I remove everything from the shelf I could even fit the i3 MK3S+ even, as the dimension with spool on top is smaller than allocable space.

 

  • Assembled printer box dimensions: 11 kg, 52×48×54 cm; 20.5×18.9×21 in (D×H×W)
  • Printer dimensions (without spool): 7 kg, 55×40×50 cm; 21.6x15.7x19.6 in (D×H×W)

 

Postato : 28/03/2021 3:22 pm
akomives
(@akomives)
Eminent Member
Topic starter answered:
RE: Prusa Mini installation location and requirements

Hi again,

I have finally pushed the button. A Mini+ kit with all the bells and whistles (double bed plates, filament sensor and extra filament roll).

Ordered some PETG and PLA Prusament to start with, then I will order the Bondtech upgrade kit (extruder and heat break).

The leadtime is 6-7 weeks now, so mid July probably I would get the shipment. Or with shipment time probably end of July. Which is Summer holiday, so that will be exciting...

Thank you all for the replies and help!

Postato : 27/05/2021 4:52 pm
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