Strange Noise from i3 Mk3
I'd like to know whether the noise during printing from my i3 is normal or not. Obviously there is the whirring of the stepper motors on x, y, z planes at various stages through the print, but I also get an almost musical sound at some points during the print. I've attached a rather poor recording of the sound, and would just like someone to verify that this is normal, or do I need to be concerned or lubricate something.
RE: Strange Noise from i3 Mk3
They are the stepper motors they can oscillate and make a musical sound , my mk3s does the same. Ive attached a fun link showing that they can produce music.
You can listen to me, or not more people than me will reply to this thread
RE: Strange Noise from i3 Mk3
I’m glad to hear it, panic over. Thank you.
I guess if I print an infinite number of shapes, at some point the motors will play Beethoven’ symphony no. 5
😀
RE: Strange Noise from i3 Mk3
There is a Youtube channel that I enjoy where some guy named Paweł Zadrożniak (Polish, I think) has a lot of videos of songs that he covered with his Floppotron musical instrument. Here is his Floppotron playlist:
Enjoy!
See my (limited) designs on:
Printables - https://www.printables.com/@Sembazuru
Thingiverse - https://www.thingiverse.com/Sembazuru/designs
RE: Strange Noise from i3 Mk3
Come on, check that your device is connected safely?
RE: Strange Noise from i3 Mk3
My printer is having the same problem as yours. Have you found the solution yet?
RE: Strange Noise from i3 Mk3
Reading further on the web, it seems the above posts are right. The stepper motors move in very small micro-steps, so to move a reasonable distance have to step many times very quickly, in fact so fast that the waveform from the drivers to the motor has a frequency in the audible range. That, along with magnets in the motors, and you've got yourself some small loudspeakers.
So, bottom line, it's normal and nothing to worry about. I've now had my printer for a couple of years, printed through a dozen or so 1kg PLA spools, and the printer is still printing as good as new!
RE: Strange Noise from i3 Mk3
When I moved my MK3S+ to a Lack enclosure, it noise got much louder. The light-weight Lack enclosure is acting like an speaker cone, transmitting those sounds through a larger surface. Not that it is all that loud from a decibel perspective, but the tone/pitch is such that it does pass through walls with surprising efficiency.
I had read of others isolating the printer from the surface it sits on by using concrete pavers and sorbothane pads. Not having either, I took some of the closed cell foam padding that was around my MK3S+ stepper motors in the Prusa packaging. I cut some 50 mm x 50 mm squares from this material and placed under each printer foot. This worked fantastically, I cannot believe how much quieter the printer is -- almost silent. The loudest sound is now the cooling fans.
RE: Strange Noise from i3 Mk3
To reduce resonance noise from the printer, take a look at this thread Best $7 buck improvement you can make.
The heavy base plate will act as a sound low pass filter.
Have a look at my models on Printables.com 😉