New printer, Help needed!
Hi Prusa community,
I have joined a "Men's shed" and they have a 3d Printer donated by a member's son. None of them really know how to use it and all I've got is some Gcode files on an SD card previously sliced by the original owner. I have taken it upon myself to get it working for them. I am aware it's a Prusa i3 as that's what it says on the LCD screen and it's got a MK2a Heat bed so assumed it was an MK2. The issue is I'm not quite sure how to interrogate it any further.
I've attempted a test print but it looks like the extruder is starting too high and so isn't laying things down properly. How do I change the default starting z position. In addition to that I'm not really sure what the parameters for the printer actually to put into the PrusaSlicer programme to make the gcode.
Thanks in advance!
Best Answer by JoanTabb:
Hi,
215/60 degrees suggests PLA,
Bulldog clips come in various sizes, the printers originally used small versions
IF the glass fits well, a better clip style in my opinion, is Swiss Clips
Small is Good! bigger clips get in the way from time to time. 
My reference to Slic3r was intended to suggest that the old parameters may have different names, or there may be new parameters that do not appear in old information.
You should be able to set up a custom profile for this printer
you may be able to copy an older printer profile, like, say an ender (without automatic levelling) then adjust the Build plate size and height to match your printer.
an existing Gcode, should have suitable Start Gcode and end gcode that you can copy.
the printer should have an Auto home capability.
Once you autohome, the printer, you need to adjust the heatbed height often using screws at the corner of the heatbed this can be done, using a business card of paper sheet, sometimes the printer extruder and bed are moved by hand, sometimes printers have LCD Menu options that move the printer extruder and bed, to fascilitate this process.
WHen you have created a suitable Gcode, you should be able to load Suitable filament, Probably PLA.
and start a print...
If there is a maker space, or hacker space near you, you may well be able to get some assistance
best wishes,
Joan
A few pictures would help us determine what you've got.
I expect a maintenance session and recalibration will get you going but my experience of "Men's sheds" is that most equipment is abused/misunderstood so plan to run some sort of training sessions. Decide how you will protect it from the inevitable sawdust and straying aerosols - and straying oily fingers.
Cheerio,
RE: New printer, Help needed!
Thank you for your reply! This is all I’ve got for the moment in terms of pictures, I will take more next week. Helpfully they’ve built an enclosure for it so that’s will prevent the entry of rogue dust.
That looks like a Prusa Mendel i3 Mk1 (but no-one called it Mk1 until Mk2 came along) with a bunch of mods - @joantabb, can you confirm?
This is from 2011/2012 - another problem for Men's Sheds is being regarded as a dumping ground for obsolete but once treasured machinery ... it may well have more value as a museum piece than as a practical printer.
Yes, it could be made useable and it would make useable parts for your members but this was a generation when the hobby was running a 3D printer, not making useful things that happened to be 3D printed. I would not inflict this on beginners.
The levelling is off because there should be a borosilicate glass print sheet clipped on top of the head bed which is then levelled with screws at the corners.
If you have contact with the original owner you might be able to source a suitable set of slicer presets - recreating them from historical software and tweaking them in line with ad hoc modifications may be difficult.
Although Prusa continue to support many older printers; the Mk2.5 had a firmware update last year, the oldest I would consider genuinely useful would be the Mk3. There are a lot of Mk3's available second hand for around £200 and although there are plenty of cheap new printers at that price a good second hand Mk3 will be a better buy. Support and forum expertise will probably remain available for another 8 - 10 years.
Cheerio,
RE: New printer, Help needed!
Thank you yet again for the considered reply. I have had a look and I think you are bang on with it being a Prusa Mendel i3 Mk1.
Point taken about its usefulness. They have a box of bits and I have seen some glass plates which would fit the description of what you've mentioned so will try fitting one of them next time I'm there (assuming that's what needs doing).
I have asked for slicer presets from the father of the one who donated it so will see what that yields.
I will take your suggestion regarding the MK3 to them but unless they see any real utility for the printer I'm not sure they'll want to spend any additional money on another one. I suspect they were just happy to take it off the previous owner's hands for free but not sure whether they'd want to spend any additional cash (though £200 is quite reasonable!) as their budget is quite tight as is. They are also generally much happier working with wood!
Are you able to confirm from the photo whether that's PLA on the spool from appearance alone? Is there any reliable way to tell. I assumed it was and it did extrude on the PLA settings (as you can see on the photo). Aside from the glass plate and trying to get a hold of the slicer presets, are there any other things I can do with regards to maintenance that might help before giving up?
RE: New printer, Help needed!
Is the filament 1.75mm or 2.8/3mm?
The extruder is a Wade type extruder as used on the original i3 prusa.
On the original prusa i3, the filament was 2.8mm or 3mm. (Effectively mk0)
I don't recall genuine Prusa printers having an LCD at the top of the frame
This could be an early Clone. The slicer if the day, may well have been 'Slic3r' grand father of Prusa Slicer .
There was usually a glass plate over the red heat bed. Held in place with bulldog clips.
There were physical endstop switches on X,Y and Z axis.
The extruder height was adjusted manually, after homing the printer. Like an early creality
Adhesion was best with a spotlessly clean glass plate.
Or blue printers tape, ABS slurry, or PVA glue, or glue stick could be used to aid first layer adhesion.
Try running one of the Gcodes to see what temperatures are used, this will help determine the filament used when the printer was last used. Possibly ABS...
Regards Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK
RE: New printer, Help needed!
Thanks for your reply Joan.
First off, not sure about the filament size. Will need to measure when I'm back there. Yeah, it looks like it's probably been cobbled together as the frame bears the logo "e3D" which is a 3D printing parts seller (selling Prusa gear amongst other stuff) rather than Prusa itself. Does that mean it would be better to try and run an old copy of "Slic3r"? I will attach the glass plate next time, are these bulldog clips just your garden variety? How does one adjust the extruder height? Through the menu on the LCD or fiddling with it by hand? I think they've been using glue sticks as there are a bunch of them in the associated box. You can just about make out on the picture the temps are 215 degrees for the extruder and 60 degrees for the plate printing a test square Gcode that came on one of the associated SD cards. I will give all of the above a go next time! Is it possible to take a look at one of the old Gcodes and work out the presets from there?
I'm not sure they'll want to spend any additional money on another one. I suspect they were just happy to take it off the previous owner's hands for free but not sure whether they'd want to spend any additional cash (though £200 is quite reasonable!) as their budget is quite tight as is.
I have saved a local Men's Shed way more than £200 just in printing spare parts and accessories for their veteran machines; I know just one replacement control lever would have been £90 for the part but used under £1 of filament. There are lot of caveats regarding protecting the printer from the environment and overambitious users and it would require someone to learn to design such parts - but even their woodwork has to be designed so ...
As a taster here are a top and bottom views of a cobbled together print-sheet featuring a few recent Man Shed spare parts projects:
Cheerio,
RE: New printer, Help needed!
Hi,
215/60 degrees suggests PLA,
Bulldog clips come in various sizes, the printers originally used small versions
IF the glass fits well, a better clip style in my opinion, is Swiss ClipsSmall is Good! bigger clips get in the way from time to time.
My reference to Slic3r was intended to suggest that the old parameters may have different names, or there may be new parameters that do not appear in old information.
You should be able to set up a custom profile for this printer
you may be able to copy an older printer profile, like, say an ender (without automatic levelling) then adjust the Build plate size and height to match your printer.
an existing Gcode, should have suitable Start Gcode and end gcode that you can copy.
the printer should have an Auto home capability.
Once you autohome, the printer, you need to adjust the heatbed height often using screws at the corner of the heatbed this can be done, using a business card of paper sheet, sometimes the printer extruder and bed are moved by hand, sometimes printers have LCD Menu options that move the printer extruder and bed, to fascilitate this process.
WHen you have created a suitable Gcode, you should be able to load Suitable filament, Probably PLA.
and start a print...
If there is a maker space, or hacker space near you, you may well be able to get some assistance
best wishes,
Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK
RE: New printer, Help needed!
Thank you both greatly for all the help! I will see what I can do with all the information!
RE:
I have to thank you both once again greatly for your help for without it I’m not sure I would have managed. Put the glass plate on and fine-tuned the z-level and finally managed to get it running with Slic3r and printing our own designs after a few weeks of tinkering. No doubt there is fine tuning to be done and more issues will rear their head in due course but for now we’re off!
RE: New printer, Help needed!
Success Well Done!
Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK