New User for MK3 Kit  

Re: New User for MK3 Kit

Kit has turned up and I wanted to check with people their thoughts on assembly. Any things to watch out for?

I think you'll find the best notes on assembly are in the online manual. I recommend having it on a laptop/tablet at your build space. The photos especially are better, as they can be enlarged.

One concern I had was with reference to screw torque. I do not have a torque screwdriver but presume standard hand tighten is fine?

I don't have one either. One way I prevented over-tightening was to use the short end in my fingers (hurts more, but less torque). My fingers aren't as strong as they used to be either... 🙄

Are there any good guides on using Slicer for a beginner

Slic3r tutorial

Re: New User for MK3 Kit

Thanks for the info.

I will use the online setup and check the notes. Plan to do it over a few days.

Re: New User for MK3 Kit

I put my kit together recently and only ran into a couple of things of note.

Watch to screws that attach the heat bed to the Y carriage. The heads should sit below the surface of the heat bed and you should be able to get them there without excessing tightness. Several of the screws in my kit had fairly significant variation in the size of the head and became very tight when trying to get them below the surface of the bed. One seized up and I had to drill it out. If you get tight screws, head for the spares bag. There are plenty in there.

While on the subject of the print bed, I would recommend going ahead and ordering wave washers/springs and using them from the beginning, instead of the stock spaces. While not necessary, it will make like much much simpler down the road when you decide you want a physically level bed rather than fighting the software.

The are two minor notes about the X axis. First the idler pulley has a screw that holds it in place. That screw fits in a recess in the x-end idler. The bottom of this recess has a lip that the screw head sits against. This lip is very thin and you can pull the screw head through very easily when tightening it down. Second, there are five square nuts that sit into traps in the X-carriage. These nuts aren't used until the E-axis step and have a tendency to fall out of their traps any time you move the X-axis assembly. I ended up threading some space screws through them while I finished the X-axis and the Z-axis.

I also made a mistake in the E axis steps that I didn't catch until I failed Z calibration in the wizard. Pay close attention when to the pictures when installing the hot end.

It is easy to get it wrong and you end up with the hot end sitting about a centimeter lower than it should in the mount.

I did not use a torque wrench/driver in installation. Just pay attention to what you are attaching to what, and what the materials are. For metal, I generally tightened as much as I could with the short side of the hex key and then switch to the long side to get more toque and when another quarter turn or so. For plastics, just pay attention, when things get tight, you can generally feel a change. Stop there unless you have a specify reason to keep going. The screws aren't going to back out of PETG, or the lock nuts.

If you go slow and pay attention, you can get pretty decent prints out of the kit with nothing more that adjusting the live Z appropriately.

Once you get past the initial rush of printing things are want to improve the quality, physically leveling the bed is a good place to start. Calibrate your extruder. Run linear advance calibration -- I found my to be more accurate at 30, rather than the stock 40.

Re: New User for MK3 Kit

Nice.

Thanks for the info.

Do you have a link to the washers to get?

Re: New User for MK3 Kit

Nice.

Thanks for the info.

Do you have a link to the washers to get?

I opted for 5mm spaces and 2.5mm (uncompressed springs).

spacers: https://www.mcmaster.com/94669a007
wave sprints: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B4 ... UTF8&psc=1

Note that that I am in the US and getting those shipped internationally is prohibitively expensing. If you aren't in the US, they should at least give you and idea. Search the forums for "wave spring" or "wave washer" and you'll find a number of other options that people have used. Just using springs, without spaces will be the easiest to install. I probably went for the hardest option and in the hardest configuration -- spring under spacer.

Re: New User for MK3 Kit

I managed to drop one of the tiny needle bearings use in the Bondtech extruder gears when I was stung by a wasp, and it dove between the floor boards never to be seen again took almost 2 weeks to get a replacement here from europe (FedEx lost the first envelope) so if you are a bit fumbelfingered from time to time have your working surface cleared off and protected against tiny parts seeking escape

Re: New User for MK3 Kit

Ouch!

Joan

Re: New User for MK3 Kit

wave sprints: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B4 ... UTF8&psc=1

That link produces a "page not found" error--probably due to the forum software abbreviating it.
Would you mind reposting it using the URL tags?
(The first link to McMaster works fine.)

THX 😉

[EDIT]
How are the spacers from McMasters different from the spacers provided in the kit (or aren't they)?
[/EDIT]

Re: New User for MK3 Kit

It wasn't the forum software, it was my cut and paste. Computers are great at doing exactly what you tell them too, not what you want them to do...

spacers: https://www.mcmaster.com/94669a007
wave springs: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B45Y37D/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Re: New User for MK3 Kit

Thanks for all the info again.

Will have a look and see if I can find the springs and spacers for UK.

I am slightly concerned about getting the exact type needed so if anyone from UK has already done this it will be appreciated.

I guess they are exactly the same as to what is provided but of a better type?

Re: New User for MK3 Kit

Thanks for all the info again.

Will have a look and see if I can find the springs and spacers for UK.

I am slightly concerned about getting the exact type needed so if anyone from UK has already done this it will be appreciated.

I guess they are exactly the same as to what is provided but of a better type?

They are 1mm shorter so that once you place springs under them and compress the springs, the resulting height is approximately 6mm.