Printer due - advice and tips please UK  

RE: Printer due - advice and tips please UK

First thing (and some will disagree) but clean and re-lubricate the bearings before fitting them.  Some say you don't need to, others will point out that the beatings come is packing oil for storage and that's not a proper lubricant.  However my view is that its much easier to do from the start than the dissemble everything to do them later.  

Take your time.

Read the comments on the online version of the build instructions, the book is handy but the online is easier and you can zoom in on the pics. 

Get your cable placement perfect.  Even a misaligned cable tie can cause initial check to fail, make it look like each step of the pictures exactly, don't just think that adding a cable tie is JUST adding a cable tie.

Make sure your assembly area is clean and has plenty of light, a torch for finding screws that roll off the table onto the floor is handy 🙂  or a magnetic tray lol.

For filament in the UK there's 3dJake, its in Germany but the shipping is great and the range is large.  There's also Filaprint.  For UK manufactured filament both 3DQF and 3DTomorrow aren't bad and do ABS.
Don't write off PLA for working models.  It's weakness is its temperature range but if that's not a factor for use then its surprisingly strong.  Stefan over at CNC Kitchen has some very good videos breaking down all the differences.

RE: Printer due - advice and tips please UK

Don't assemble it while watching Better Call Saul! I paid the price and had a couple of things to troubleshoot and adjust otherwise it would have been an issue-free assembly. I have only recently completed my build. 

I found the online assembly instructions handy, because whilst the print version is good, some of the photos weren't great where fiddly detail is concerned and written description doesn't always quite cut it. Being able to pinch and zoom in on an image was very helpful at a few stages in the assembly. 

Also, go easy when assembling the bearings - very slow and stead is best, otherwise ball bearings pop out. I'm pretty pleased with myself as only one popped out, which is within allowable tolerances for lost ball bearings. 

I'm also a newbie here, so I will also post another thread about tools, which was something that has just occurred to me. 

Good luck and enjoy. I'm already having no end of fun printing stuff. 

RE:

Just RTFM in the online version, read the comments of other users underneath the individual steps, and you will be fine. I cannot recommend to look third party videos, they will potentially be irritating. Watching Josef´s older video after completion of assembly should help much, though.

Regards

Chris

RE: Printer due - advice and tips please UK

I found the following helpful

get a hex screwdrivers like WIHA 2.5mm for all m3 screws  get 2 and 3 mm ones as well if small cost.   I found good small side cutters and a curved tip tweezer helpful

pay careful attention to cable ends and the exact orientation of cables  I got the heater cable backwards and it took an hour to fix  

use the online manual and read comments

yes  I’d clean Misumi bearings and relube which is the manufactures recommendation regardless of Prusa directions  

treat it as a zen exercise and only assemble when calm and patient  haste will cause errors  

Organize a section of parts before doing that part of the assembly 

try to think about the purpose of the parts and their design as you progress so you will better understand the unit when you have to service

RE: Printer due - advice and tips please UK

Many thanks folks, I really appreciate your advice. 

I will take the build nice and steady and make sure I check the images against what I am doing. Thanks for the tip about the wires.

I will clean and re-lubricate the bearings. I would much rather do them now than later.

I will look at those recommended suppliers for filament. 

Any more tips welcome!

Thanks again. 

Mick

RE: Printer due - advice and tips please UK

I have another couple of questions if that's OK.

I have read a number of posts regarding the quality of the bearings with the kit. A number of people recommend changing the bearings supplied to a more "quality" brand (I think Misumi and SKF were mentioned), however some of these posts were quite old and I wondered if this was still recommend- if so, which bearings are recommend?

Also regarding bearings, I have also noted that some recommend cleaning the bearings and then re-greasing as the lubrication in the packaged bearings is more to keep them in good condition until used rather than for in-use lubricant.

Whilst I am sure the supplied bearings are adequate I would prefer the printer to be as quiet as possible as my good lady seems to be able to hear a pin drop at 100m, and any noise will drive her crazy. I really don't want to have to stop the printer running during the evening/night, especially with the number of hours some prints take.

Thanks for your help. 

Mick

RE: Printer due - advice and tips please UK

Hi Mick, welcome to the community.

Noise and bearings, while related, are separate issues. 

The linear bearings that ship with your printer should be perfectly adequate for your build and are covered under the warranty. They are likely Misumi but I can’t swear to this. If this is your first Prusa printer, I don’t see any reason to alter the base configuration at the outset. Anything you change from bone stock will potentially complicate troubleshooting and support downstream, should it be necessary. My advice to new users is to always stick to the stock build, keep things simple, and learn the machine before making any modifications. There’s plenty of time to do that after the warranty period is up.

Lubrication of the linear bearings is a much discussed topic here and there are basically two schools of thought on the how and why. The official Prusa instructions state the bearings are pre-lubricated and no further action is required of the kit builder. Many users have followed this instruction and will add some light oil to the smooth rods during maintenance, and most report good results and longevity of the bearings over time. Others have experienced dried out bearings and scratched rods requiring replacements, often while still under warranty.

The linear bearings are shipped in a plastic bag and are coated in a light machine oil. By all accounts, and per the Misumi web page, the shipping oil is a rust preventative and the bearings need to be de-oiled, cleaned, then lubricated with an appropriate grease. Prusa includes a tube of grease and a nozzle to grease the bearings in the build kit. The stated purpose of these items is described as for a future maintenance procedure.

So the broad debate boils down to, install the bearings ‘as is’ per the Prusa guide, or use the supplied grease to lube lube the bearings before assembly. I’ll just say that for my money, and after everything I’ve read on the topic, it makes sense (to me) to clean (soak in IPA for an hour, dry thoroughly) and grease the bearings before installing, at least for the X and Y axes. The Z axis bearings see far less motion and are under less gravitational stress. They can be cleaned and the internal ball-bearings lubricated with a light machine oil, like sewing machine oil, in my opinion.

Properly lubricated bearings will reduce noise to some extent. There are other ways to mitigate noise, including ‘stealth mode’ and alternate ‘feet’ for the printer. Some folks put the printer on a large paving stone on top of a foam slab. Search the forums for more info.

Good luck and have fun.

Cheers

Randy

RE: Printer due - advice and tips please UK

FWIW, this is what I’m using for the feet on my MK3S+:

https://www.printables.com/model/59947-new-version-squashball-mk3smk3s-vibration-damper-v/files

They do a great job knocking down the noise due to vibration induced resonance from the wood desk my printer sits on.

Cheers

RE:

Thanks Randy, I appreciate your time with your reply. 

I will clean and relubricate the bearings as I would rather do it before I build rather than wish I had later.

I also intend to put it on a paving slab as you mentioned as I know vibration can be a significant noise generator and want to minimise noise as much as possible. I will likely build an enclosure at some point but I would like that to have a filtered ventilation so I can vent into the room it's in rather than outside. 

As you said, build it as stock to start with and let it prove itself. 

Thanks for the link to the anti vibration feet, thy look like a great idea and something to use as a first project for printing. 

Thanks again for your time. 

Mick

RE: Printer due - advice and tips please UK

My printer kit arrived yesterday - will most likely start the build this Xmas weekend so a good thread for me too!

Something you may want to consider - I have already picked up a Raspberry Pi 4B and installed OctoPi onto it. It's ready to connect to the printer. 

I did this for mainly 2 reasons (to begin with). Firstly it was so I can add a webcam for monitoring prints while I am elsewhere in the house. The stream really does work well! Secondly, it was for the Prusa levelling plugin - I intend to do the 'nylock mod' considering I have all the parts to do it anyways, just to ensure a level bed before my initial prints.

Maybe I will also use it for OctoLapse later on, but not a priority right now. Some of the other suggestions in this thread have been good to know, especially teh vibration dampening!

My guess is, because you have forethought issues and checked here, you are a careful, methodical builder and user...

And so you won't need any of the mods, remedies and precautions touted on the forums.

[In many cases, on reading the threads, you may discern some of the character of the user and diagnose some of the causes underlying the issues.]

Remember, there are over a third of a million Mk3s out in the wild and as most users never visit forums unless they need help we can assume that we see a significant proportion of the major problems - but there are rarely more than a dozen or so at any one time.  Mk3s are very reliable if you take care as I expect you will.

By all means lubricate the bearings but as long as you clean and lubricate the smooth rods regularly it probably won't matter.

Be prepared to buy a paving slab but if the printer is carefully assembled you probably won't hear it unless you are next to it.  Mine is quieter than the fans on my computer so when sitting in the same room I am often surprised to look up and realise a print has finished.  You have the option of enabling stealth mode for even quieter working but I've never needed it.

And I have never understood the point of the nylock mod as it is used to correct an assembly fault that, as far as I am concerned, is better fixed by going back and assembling the original properly.  In many cases it's addressing a wrong diagnosis caused by deperately searching for something not the fault of the user and lighting on overly precise measurements of an otherwise acceptable build.

Take your time, double or triple check every step (don't build while imbibing Christmas spirits), look up threads here about drying filament, configuring your first layer and bed cleanliness; and you will be fine.

Oh, and don't expect your prints to be perfect in the first month.  Every user builds their printer slightly differently and pre-built models are shaken up in transit so during the first few weeks of use the printer will run-in and settle its parts together; then you will have to go over the basic maintenance checks, lubricate and recalibrate. Even if you got everything dialled in perfectly today, it would all need re-doing.

Better to settle, temporarily, for a basic working printer and get some useful printing done, make your early mistakes, establish a routine and generally get used to the process. Then when you do your one month service you can take extra care knowing the new settings on your now stable printer are likely to last for several months.

Cheerio,

RE: Printer due - advice and tips please UK

What Diem said! Do not do the nylock mod. Assemble your printer correctly and you will be fine.
There are several things methodically wrong with the nylock mod, starting with the accuracy and precision of PINDA.

RE: Printer due - advice and tips please UK

Ah, I thought the nylock mod was a given as it's been one of those "if you're gonna do one mod make it this one" kinda stories that I've read about everywhere!

Guess I'll put that on hold then and go completely stock for now - will just use OctoPi for the remote camera to keep the odd eye on prints!

RE: Printer due - advice and tips please UK

As a new build 'veteran' - that is I did the build back in April, but only got the machine to work consistently this month - desperation to get some Xmas presents made!!

I did use both the on-line and book for the build.  I was very impressed by both - going back through memory I think there was an area of the head build that caused me problems and I damaged a cable - it's worth having some small diameter heatshrink tubing at hand, and I would certainly agree to the recommendation of avoid using the alan keys to fit the screws - a screwdriver with interchangeable bits is strongly advise.  The book and on-line for the build was superb.  But then you have to move onto the Handbook; now it be that that has been updated, but in contrast it is awful, such that it has taken me the 8 months (OK I have not used the printer very much!) from April to get confidant that I have got the nozzle height right, and in the end I went back to basic engineering and used a micrometer (8 thou is the 20 microns recommended) and printed lots of 75 x 75mm base layer squares.

I'm not sure quite whether I did something wrong after the build in terms of setting up something, but all the guides mention nozzle setting points of around -400 (not sure what units that is) - and I couldn't get any sense at that setting and had to bite the bullet and go out to 1200.  And then I was running into adhesion problems.  The latter is base plate cleanliness and then also proper nozzle height, which now is at -1280 to give me the desired 8 thou base layer thickness. 

Otherwise I will go with all of the above - though I don't remember doing anything about the bearings, and that might revisit me but I will check the rods cleanliness.  I'm not too sure about the nylock mod - I suspect that I got the bed pretty flat when I built the machine, but a test printing the base layers of 5 pads does show some variation in thickness.

As I said the biggest problem for me was getting the nozzle height correct.  

RE:

@Ambodach. By far, the largest problem with the uninitiated (me) when testing my MK3+ build was setting the Z height. Although an engineer, looking back, the best advice and technique I used was simply knowing what a good Z “looks like’. I took pictures and several here at Prusa forums critiqued until I learned what a good Z looks like. Then no measurements are necessary. I think that there is a model to set the Pinda height and that is really good for a starting point. Then getting a bright small LED flashlight with my 3x glasses and doing a live Z adjustment as I was doing the Z calibration in the LCD menu was best. Printing small 1 layer squares is also super useful. I think it is natural learning that will have you ploughing into your smooth sheet a bit because you’ll never learn the correct height unless you go too far in both directions. Hence, 7 months after my build and several hundreds of hours of printing, I’ve ordered a new smooth sheet. My rough sheet is pristine because I bought it AFTER I learned about proper Z height.. 

If you just have the smooth sheet and use PETG, I find using glue stick great for the PETG. If you don’t, some PETG can lift your PEI surface. (Hence I bought the rough sheet although the satin is also fine). One trick I learned is that if I have a small surface area on a model-build plate contact, and don’t want to use a brim, then I’ll use glue stick on the smooth PEI sheet for PLA and it adds better adhesion. (I really like glue stick). And the cheapo Walmart glue sticks work fine.  

So try to find Z height videos to get a sense of what the correct height should look like. It should be squished, but the amount of squish is important. Also on brass nozzles, the nozzle will wear over time and you’ll need to slowing increase the Z distance as the nozzle becomes worn. One other indication of nozzle wear (which I didn’t know) is that your nozzle extrusion will get larger. Over 7 months, mine because .55mm from the original .4. This is noticed by excessive stringing on filaments and a lack of precision if making models where holes have to be a precise diameter. So buy a second brass nozzle. Mine wore and I was only printing PETG, PLA and small amounts of TPU.  (And get a 17mm (or 16mm better but hard to find) and 7mm nut driver to remove the nozzle. (Check a video to ensure you turn the nut driver the correct way to loosen the nozzle). Easy to damage the heater/temp sensor wires, but if you check vids and are careful, not an issue. You can measure your nozzle width somewhat by simply measuring the plastic extruded with a digital caliper.. It will give you a close measure of your nozzle diameter.. (do it when your nozzle is new so you know what conditions give you the correct nozzle diameter (what temp and extrusion condition). 

RE: Printer due - advice and tips please UK

A 17mm wrench .. used on bicycles.. open ended .. (I hate Prusa’S fast timeout for editing posts)

RE: Printer due - advice and tips please UK

Again, and for what it’s worth, my advice to new users building their first kit is to stick to a pure stock configuration. No nylock mod, no octopi, no alternate bearings, or feet, or anything that didn’t come in the kit.

ANYTHING you change from stock will add a level of complication to troubleshooting and future tech support (including forum support) should it become necessary. You will be told to put your printer back to stock configuration for troubleshooting. You could potentially void your warranty if a mod you make causes a failure. There will be plenty of time for mods once you obtain a greater level of understanding.

In the beginning, you don’t know what you don’t know, so keep it simple and follow the build instructions. The online assembly manual with all the comments is the best resource for a new build. Read it before you receive your printer. Read all the comments! There are great ‘tips & tricks’ there to help you get through the build. Take notes. Be methodical and patient. It’s a process.

Thats just my opinion, good luck.

Cheers

RE: Printer due - advice and tips please UK

the stock kit comes with good misumi bearings.. so I agree.. don't change.... but I set up my octopi immediately and they'd have to pry that from my dead cold fingers.. grin.. Swapping SD cards gets tiring fast.. I've never heard of the nylock mod.. but I don't have any mods on mine.. (okay.. I do like the squash ball feet and was suggested earlier.. I didn't do that until about 2 months after.. so don't do it until you get the printer humming).. 

RE: Printer due - advice and tips please UK

@randym9 made a good point there. Get the printer running via SD card and in stock configuration before changing anything or using octopi - that makes troubleshooting so much easier. To add to that: Use the online manuals preflight checks, the internal setup wizzard and the build in first layer calibration. That way you can get help here on the forum. Stay away from alternate methods of everything and do not do the Prusa advanced calibration routines in the beginning. If everything is done correctly you will have a great and reliable printer in the end. When you have used it for some time and learned about the details, you can decide where your projects need additional modifications and calibration.

one last thing: don‘t use the pre-sliced g-code from the SD card, generate your own with slicer and default settings, don’t start with a benchy…