List of most commonly needed spare parts?
Hi folks. I teach at an American school in Cairo, Egypt. Getting parts here is hit and miss. We recently had a thermister cable break and in the effort to source a replacement, I realized I should probably get a cupboard full of spare parts stocked. I'm hoping to leverage the great minds here to create a list of most needed spares.
We have heating elements and nozzles. What else would you recommend we stock to ensure the most likely failures will be on hand?
Thanks in advance!
RE: List of most commonly needed spare parts?
Matt,
Others will likely chime in but here is my minimum list for parts/spares. You should adjust quantities based upon expected lead times and your tolerance for down time. If the printer is closely monitored and you are using a silicone sock on the hot end so that the dreaded "blob of death" failures can be avoided quantities can also be adjusted down.
1. Extruder heater element (24V, 40W) (qty 2 min.)
2. Extruder Thermistor (qty 2 min.)
3. Extruder silicone socks (Genuine E3D are inexpensive. I prefer pro style which covers the nozzle, others prefer the standard type)
4. PTFE tubes (can be sourced ready made or buy bulk PTFE tubing and fabricate)
5. nozzles
6. heat break
7. heat block
8. thermal compound for hotend assembly
In addition you should stock spare belts for the X and Y axes as even the vaunted Gates belts will wear eventually :).
Heaters and thermistors should have pretty good life expectancy if they are not subjected to mechanical abuse of the wires which are pretty fragile.
The heatbreak is there in case you bend or break one changing nozzles or experience a "blob of death" which precludes the use of the current hotend parts. PTFE tubes are pretty robust unless you experience a lot of filament jams which can damage the tube.
Nozzles should not wear too quickly, unless you are printing with abrasive filaments, so clogging is your major threat here.
If you don't already have one, get a heat gun for help removing stuck filament if you do get a "blob." Many people have managed to salvage their hot ends after a "blob" with careful application of heat and picks to remove the unwanted plastic.
For general maintenance you should have some good lithium grease for the bearings. If the bearings are kept well maintained they and the smooth rods should last quite a long time.
Hope this is of some help,
Steve
RE: List of most commonly needed spare parts?
@steve_g
Steve, thanks very much! This is extremely helpful.
Warmly,
Matthew