Thinking of getting the Prusa i3 MK3 kit... what was your assembly experience like?
I've had a FlashForge Creator Pro for about two years. It's been... well, it's been okay. I enjoy the 3D printing, and I really dig 3D design. But I have spent way more time than I ever anticipated just trying to make the printer work, and keeping this printer running so that it can print anything has required constant attention and frequent maintenance. I expected some tinkering, but it's just become absurd.
I'm craving a higher-quality 3D printing experience. The Prusa i3 MK3 has drawn outstanding reviews across the board, so that's probably going to be my summer project. The clincher for me was seeing the beautiful prints and calibration cubes that have apparently been rolling off of brand-new printers (the parade of "look what I've printed in my first week of owning a printer!" posts...)
I'm a little torn between the factory-assembled printer and the kit. It's not a question of money, but about tradeoffs:
Pro-kit: I've got ample time and patience for assembling it this summer, and I'd like to have some knowledge of the mechanics of the printer under my belt in case something goes wrong.
Pro-factory-assembled: I trust Prusa's assembly skills more than mine. and if they're going to ship me a printer that's perfectly tuned and hassle-free right out of the box, then that's a little tough to overlook. I do have the patience to roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty, but I'm also fatigued of printer diagnostics and repair.
So I'm curious about your experiences with building an i3 MK3 from scratch. I've looked at the assembly guide and it doesn't seem too bad, but I know from experience (lots of IKEA stuff) that instructions can be deceiving:
How did you find the experience? Easier or more difficult than expected?
Total assembly time? Have you had any problems with the printer post-assembly, or has it been running great?
If you knew then what you know now, would you still have chosen the kit, or would you have switched to the fully-assembled model?
Thanks in advance...
Re: Thinking of getting the Prusa i3 MK3 kit... what was your assembly experience like?
Two points that stalled my build -
E-Axis: the nylon filament cable support for the extruder cable bundle should be install first in that section. It was a pain to insert it, and trying to force it into the socket with the parts already attached to the slide bearing runners was tedious at best. Just make sure the nylon filament fits the hole before putting the parts on the rails.
Electronics: The filament sensor cables are easy to connect backwards, and in the wrong place. There is only a brief warning connecting it wrong can damage the sensor (my build instructions didn't even have that warning). But the instruction are lacking and use vague terms like red goes to the right and use the lower pins. People are plugging it in wrong and their filament sensors are catching fire. So look at the photos and triple check your connections.
And these slowed my progress finishing my first few prints -
First Layer Calibration: There is lots of advice but little actual help as to how to do this right. A "make it look like this" chart that is mostly useless. First layer should be 0.2mm or about 0.0075 in thick. Measure it and walk away happy; or guess at it while prints fall off the bed.
And nowhere is there any warnings about just how important finger prints are. Bed adhesion requires that the bed print surface be touched only by clean tools or the plastic extruding from the nozzle. One finger print can ruin a part build.
Re: Thinking of getting the Prusa i3 MK3 kit... what was your assembly experience like?
I chose to build kits, a Mk2 and then the Mk3. I had my teenage grandson help me so that he could be exposed to the technology. Both times the experience was very good and the results were printers that are real workhorses. He learned to troubleshoot and think through the minor frustrations
kit building brings as well as learning to use the printers to actually make things. The money saved on kits went to printing supplies.
If you don't think you'd enjoy the building experience/frustrations I'd suggest going with an assembled printer.
MK2S & Mk3 my mini farm is alive 😆
Re: Thinking of getting the Prusa i3 MK3 kit... what was your assembly experience like?
I assembled mine this week - took me around 6h total over two evenings. This was my second 3d printer build - the first one was an Anet A8 that I had for little over a year.
The instructions are extremely well written and very easy to follow. Do yourself a favour though and pick up a precision screw driver set with small hex bits (I think you need 2.5mm and 1.5mm), it's a lot easier than using the included allen keys.
Re: Thinking of getting the Prusa i3 MK3 kit... what was your assembly experience like?
I put something of a build log/commentary together on another site I frequent:
https://techreport.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=121329
If you are reasonable competent with a screwdriver and detail oriented, I don't see putting the kit together as particularly hard. It is time consuming (relatively). The price differential for a pre-assembled one is certainly a good deal. Originally, I had decided my second one would be pre-assembled, but after printing a while and using the printer for a while, I've swung back to thinking me second one will be a kit again. Mainly as I will assemble it with any mods I want, from the beginning. Doesn't make sense to order pre-assembled, only to take it apart to modify it.
For a first printer, either way is good. I think you hit the main pros and cons to each.