Powder coated sheet for MK2S  

RE: Powder coated sheet for MK2S

I bought a powder coated sheet off Amazon.  It is for the Mk 2.5/Mk3 series.  However, looking at the size, it is a couple of mm longer in 1 dimension.   I got some magnets to put on the bottom of the heat plate to hold it on.  It should come in a few days, I will try it then, and report back. 

RE: Powder coated sheet for MK2S

I mounted magnets under the heatbed, made some sheets out of steel and used PEI from prusa and buildtalk on top of it. After that I ordered a powder coated sheet from prusa, and this works also great. The prints pop off great 🙂 No more damaged PEI sheets, mice ears, etc. I use it now for more then 2 years. Very happy with the mod 😀 😀 

If you want more info, just let me know

Frans

RE: Powder coated sheet for MK2S

Hi there!

The PEI-Sheet of my MK2s does not provide a good stickyness any longer sadly. Even though it still looks as new, first layers just won't stick no longer. At the moment i'm using blue tape with good results, but it's annoying to use day by day.

I'd love to use the steel spring sheet as the MK2.5+ printers are using. So the only thing that stops me from doing so are the missing magnets, that i can just add manually myself? Otherwise apart from a z-offset adjustment there is nothing else stopping me from doing so? This would be awesome.

Thanks in advance!

RE:

Yes, you can add magnets to the original Mk42 bed and use the steel sheets.

Even though the kit is no longer available, you can also upgrade to a Mk2.5s piecemeal.   If I recall correctly, the non-printed parts you will need are:

12v Mk52 heatbed (several important differences from the 24v version for mk3)

Pinda 2 or SuperPinda

5v 40mm 3 wire hotend fan

Filament sensor and harness, The filament sensor harness is similar to Mk3, but 1 wire is in a different place at the Rambo end.

Magnet set and ball for filament sensor

Bondtech extruder gear set 

2 Y-cables to adapt the 5v hotend fan and Pinda2 to the MiniRambo

Textile sleeve for extruder and nylon filament stiffener

The instructions are still available in the manuals section of Prusa's site and the printed parts are still downloadable.

And of course, after installing all of the parts, the MiniRambo must be flashed to Mk2.5s firmware

It's quite a project though!

RE:

Thank you so much for your reply!

I think this is a little to big of a project for me though. I really do love my MK2s still, even after so many years. I'm only doing small modifications currently, mainly to reduce the noise (upgrading to silent motor drivers and changing fans)... And I might give it a go with the magnets.

Posted by: @chicago-keri

Yes, you can add magnets to the original Mk42 bed and use the steel sheets.

Even though the kit is no longer available, you can also upgrade to a Mk2.5s piecemeal.   If I recall correctly, the non-printed parts you will need are:

12v Mk52 heatbed (several important differences from the 24v version for mk3)

Pinda 2 or SuperPinda

5v 40mm 3 wire hotend fan

Filament sensor and harness, The filament sensor harness is similar to Mk3, but 1 wire is in a different place at the Rambo end.

Magnet set and ball for filament sensor

Bondtech extruder gear set 

2 Y-cables to adapt the 5v hotend fan and Pinda2 to the MiniRambo

Textile sleeve for extruder and nylon filament stiffener

The instructions are still available in the manuals section of Prusa's site and the printed parts are still downloadable.

And of course, after installing all of the parts, the MiniRambo must be flashed to Mk2.5s firmware

It's quite a project though!

 

RE: Powder coated sheet for MK2S

Hi Felias,

About the stickyness of your PEI. Clean it very very good. Adjust the Z very good for the first layer. That is essential. There is enough info on this site how to do that.

About the magnets: Yes it is quit simple. Just remove the heatbed from the carrier (4 corners screws and the 2 screws of the belt). Turn over the heatbed and stick about 12 magnets (roud 12 and 5 thick). The magnets should be of very goood quality and heat resistant (100 celsius). I used heat resistant dubbel side tape. Place the mangets with the same polarity up (or down). The location of the magnets should be away from the places where the PINDA looks for its place to do the sequence for calibrating. But if your MK2 is already calibrated, you don't have te do that anymore. Remove the PEI sheet from the heatbed. You place the steelplate directly on the heatbed. Once done everything, give the printer a meshbedleveling with the steelsheet on the heatbed. The PINDA will detect the the sheet and perform the mesbed leveling. I made the steelsheets (and coverded them with the original PEI sheet from Prusa) out of a plate of steel some years ago, because it was not possible to order the Prusa sheets, due to the production problems they where facing in those days. I have now the Prusa textured sheets also in use, but only for PETG. PLA is very sensitive for wharping with these textured sheets. If you want some foto's, just let me know.

Frans, who is now printing the wordclock in Dutch 🙂

RE: Powder coated sheet for MK2S

Posted by: @frans-krau

Hi Felias,

About the stickyness of your PEI. Clean it very very good. Adjust the Z very good for the first layer. That is essential. There is enough info on this site how to do that.

About the magnets: Yes it is quit simple. Just remove the heatbed from the carrier (4 corners screws and the 2 screws of the belt). Turn over the heatbed and stick about 12 magnets (roud 12 and 5 thick). The magnets should be of very goood quality and heat resistant (100 celsius). I used heat resistant dubbel side tape. Place the mangets with the same polarity up (or down). The location of the magnets should be away from the places where the PINDA looks for its place to do the sequence for calibrating. But if your MK2 is already calibrated, you don't have te do that anymore. Remove the PEI sheet from the heatbed. You place the steelplate directly on the heatbed. Once done everything, give the printer a meshbedleveling with the steelsheet on the heatbed. The PINDA will detect the the sheet and perform the mesbed leveling. I made the steelsheets (and coverded them with the original PEI sheet from Prusa) out of a plate of steel some years ago, because it was not possible to order the Prusa sheets, due to the production problems they where facing in those days. I have now the Prusa textured sheets also in use, but only for PETG. PLA is very sensitive for wharping with these textured sheets. If you want some foto's, just let me know.

 

Frans, who is now printing the wordclock in Dutch 🙂

Wow, thank you so much for these detailed instructions. This is a great help!

I‘m printing 90% PLA, 5% PETG, 5% Flex. Which sheet would you think is best for me to get? From the description in the shop it seems that the satin sheet might be preferable ( https://www.prusa3d.com/product/double-sided-powder-coated-satin-spring-steel-sheet/)?

Or what are you using for PLA?

Regarding my current PEI-sheet. I think my Z-axis is well configured. Using the blue tape i‘m getting perfekt first layers and amazing prints. However i‘ll try washing with soapy water thoroughly and IPA after to see if this helps.

RE: Powder coated sheet for MK2S

Hi

For PLA, I use the PEI sheet from Prusa. I just placed it on the sheet I fabricated myself 🙂

Frans