Little tube of Lubricant missing from pre-assembled kit?
I bought the MK3S last year
Today I'm cleaning/prepping printer for printing these Face Shields (my wife is a health worker and her phys. ther. and nurse colleagues at work want them ASAP) but the maintenance guide and here says I need this lubricant. I looked in the MK3 accessories box that came with my Prusa but there is no extra lubricant provided. WHY?
It even said on one guide (can't find where now) that there should have been a tube provided with the printer. But it was not. Now I am worried about starting a bunch of prints now that I've cleaned the rods with alcohol and have no lubricant.
I'm in Croatia and can't just pop out under lockdown and buy the right stuff - the stores are limited or closed in my town. If I order now from Czech I won't likely receive the stuff at all, or not for several weeks.
Is it because the printer came assembled that the lubricant wasn't in the kit? Seems like an oversight to think I wouldn't need a tube at least to begin to maintain the printer.
Please in future provide at least a small tube for people to get a little "warning" before they "run out" of the lubricant.
Thank you.
If anyone can help me - send me email to "info at sleepinggiantvisual dot com"
RE: Little tube of Lubricant missing from pre-assembled kit?
The adding of the little tube of lubricant is relatively recent. Not sure when the date was they started adding it but it wasn't in at the start of mk3s orders.
Its not even the best thing to lubricate after the fact without tearing your printer down to get at the inside of the bearings. The bearings have little black seals that are supposed to keep dust and other stuff out of the bearings. The grease is great when you have the bearings removed so you can pack it into the bearing and then fit back on the rail. If applied on a working printer the seals will just push it along the rail.
A thin light machine oil such as used for sewing machines is a better stop gap method as more of it will work its way under the seals. Be careful not to let it drip on to your build sheet though (remove it before lubricating is always recommended) and remove any excess after you have worked the axis back and forth several times otherwise the oil coating will attract dust and debris onto the rails which you don't want.
RE: Little tube of Lubricant missing from pre-assembled kit?
I am using bicycle and sewing machine oil and it works just fine. I also bought the lubricant (did not have it in my accessories box either - printer purchased 03/2019).
But to be honest, I prefer the oil over the lubricant for the very reasons pointed out above in the previous post.
RE: Little tube of Lubricant missing from pre-assembled kit?
correction - I've got the MK3, not the MK3S - I mean, I have the "S" upgrade kit which came with my MMU2 upgrade, but didn't install yet as I was busy with life.
Thanks for replies, I will try to find "sewing machine oil". I have a sticky bike chain oil/spray - would this be bad to use?
RE: Little tube of Lubricant missing from pre-assembled kit?
You basically need a thin oil, I'm not sure what sticky bike chain oil is but the fact that its got the word sticky in there and is a spray I don't think its a good fit. If you were in the UK I'd suggest 3-in 1 as a high street accessible brand if you cant find a light oil.
Before I repacked by bearings during my last maintenance I was using some 'knife' oil in a precision applicator I got off ebay. Mainly bought it as I liked the needle applicator it was in.
RE: Little tube of Lubricant missing from pre-assembled kit?
Actually, in the Czech Republic, "Bicycle and Sewing machine oil" is a fairly common name for a light, thin oil suitable for lubrication of different light mechanical parts with little to no heat and high pressure load. It is noticeably thinner than for example any car engine oil. It creates a very thin film on all lubricated parts, excess can be easily wiped by paper towel for example. As opposed to the Prusa lubricant which apparently has hard time to get into the bearings area if applied straight onto the steel rods. As already mentioned, this kind of lubricant is ideal when applied right into the bearing which is way too complicated to do for routine maintenance lubrication I think.
But if sleepinggiant wants to get on with the face masks as soon as possible, such a kind of light lubrication oil will do it's job very well.
RE: Little tube of Lubricant missing from pre-assembled kit?
I'll try to find this kind of light oil someplace... will be difficult as most places are closed here. 🙁
RE: Little tube of Lubricant missing from pre-assembled kit?
Fingers crossed! 🙂
But please stay away from any organic/natural oil (olive oil, sunflower oil, etc...) at any cost. That would be a very bad idea as all of them deteriorate over time due to UV light, heat, etc... and in a matter of weeks/months they create a very sticky coating which is very difficult to remove.
Anybody in the close neighborhood running a bike shop or has do-it-yoursef hobby? You will surely find a few drops of oil in places like this.
RE: Little tube of Lubricant missing from pre-assembled kit?
I agree. Sewing machine oil is good for it. You need delivery, try to see the right oil on such sites or just on Amazon. I hope you're doing all right.