Is your i3MK3S/S+ sensitive to low temperature?
Hi, every Winter, I have many cases of the LCD screen displaying garbage or the entire screen in only blue color without any word. There is no loose connection between the LCD and the controller board. Sometimes when removing or placing the build sheet even caused static electricity. The surge protector/cable extension is grounded. Does yours have these issues? Any good suggestions to prevent these issues from happening?
RE: Is your i3MK3S/S+ sensitive to low temperature?
Not related to your specific issue but yes my printer is very sensitive to temperature. I keep it in the garage and if the outside temp is 40 (fahrenheit) I get minimum temp errors when starting the printer. Luckily for me I have it in an enclosure and I am able to bring the temp up with a heat gun so the printer can start up.
RE: Is your i3MK3S/S+ sensitive to low temperature?
After frying the original LCD display on my then-new MK3 due to static electricity, I have learned to ground myself before I touch the printer to discharge any buildup. Usually, just touching the screw on the light switch on the wall as I walk in the room does the trick. I never had an issue with temperature in my basement, lowest I have seen is 18 deg C. but it hasn't caused any ill effects like the static does.
RE: Is your i3MK3S/S+ sensitive to low temperature?
You don't mention what you mean by low temperature. The static electricity is your main problem. If you can whatever room your printer is in needs to have the humidity raised up. I have mine in my upstairs office. My house has a humidifier running on the furnace and keeps the humidity high enough in the winter so that I don't get any static electricity anywhere in the house. If you have a problem getting the humidity up then you should take care and eliminate the static electricity by making sure that you are grounded with a good ground strap attached to you and your machine when you are touching it so that you and the machine are at the same charge level.
RE: Is your i3MK3S/S+ sensitive to low temperature?
You don't mention what you mean by low temperature. The static electricity is your main problem. If you can whatever room your printer is in needs to have the humidity raised up. I have mine in my upstairs office. My house has a humidifier running on the furnace and keeps the humidity high enough in the winter so that I don't get any static electricity anywhere in the house. If you have a problem getting the humidity up then you should take care and eliminate the static electricity by making sure that you are grounded with a good ground strap attached to you and your machine when you are touching it so that you and the machine are at the same charge level.
Yesterday, the lowest outdoor temperature was -4C. However, inside the enclosure, the temperature was about 20C. I had to open the window so some badly smelled fume could go out through a hole in the enclosure near the window. Usually humidity in the room is about 20% but when the temperature outdoor was about -4C, humidity was a bit over 30%. Is it better to keep the humidity at about 20% or 30%?
I had the power supply outside the enclosure as suggested in those Prusa enclosure building threads. In this case, where is the best place to connect a ground strap to? I noticed that when I touched the frame of the i3MK3S today, there was also static electricity.
One strange thing is that sometimes the LCD also showed garbage or just a blue screen without anything when I operated the machine via the 3D printed knob. It is plastic so there should not be static electricity. How come operating the machine via the plastic knob still affected the LCD screen?
RE:
After frying the original LCD display on my then-new MK3 due to static electricity, I have learned to ground myself before I touch the printer to discharge any buildup. Usually, just touching the screw on the light switch on the wall as I walk in the room does the trick. I never had an issue with temperature in my basement, lowest I have seen is 18 deg C. but it hasn't caused any ill effects like the static does.
After spending two hours printing, there was no problem. However, when I accidentally touched the i3MK3S’s top frame (the large inverted black frame just below the spool holder), static electricity was generated and the printer went crazy to restart. The room with wooden floor seems like a static electricity magnet. Sometimes even touching a painted wall caused static electricity.
The screws on the light switch are painted. Given that I have the power supply outside the enclosure, where is the best place to ground myself? Recently, I noticed that even touching the 3D printed knob of the LCD, back of the LCD when I was using the knob or the large black frame just below the spool caused static electricity.
RE: Is your i3MK3S/S+ sensitive to low temperature?
So, it has been my experience that some plastic can conduct static electricity quite well. As an example, my shop vac can carry a charge on it’s plastic hose and my shop dust collection system can carry quite a charge on the PVC pipe system that connects it. So it wouldn’t surprise me if you arced through the printed selector knob.
I would touch something other than the printer when you approach it, maybe if it’s on a steel cart or workbench then touch that first? Touching the printer PSU on mine still wigged out the LCD display on mine.
RE: Is your i3MK3S/S+ sensitive to low temperature?
The paint on the light screws should not really prevent a static discharge. A static discharge, can jump through the air a fair distance. A little bit of paint or plastic won't stop it. You might want to consider what you are wearing. Some materials build up a static charge really easy.
Never tried them, but they do make anti-static gloves as well as anti-static floor mats. Maybe they would work.