Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
I've been using a Powder Coated PEI sheet for the past 2-3 months during which time the original MK3 Gold Smooth Steel Sheet has been sat in a card envelope in a dry cabinet. I was quite surprised when I went to change the sheets and found the gold steel sheet seems to be covered in a sever patination that I assume is rust that's eaten it's way into the gold PEI sticker. It's a bit of a knock as the sheet is hardly used.
Is it still useable or will the rust affect prints? It'll risk spreading to other areas of the printer if it's left on the printer so I don't really want to use it, but I'd rather not bin it either so could always swap it in and out as necessary I guess.
Is this a common issue? 🤔
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
Definitely contact support (log in and contact them via chat) with those pics. You're likely to be told "the sheets are a consumable", but that's bad enough you might get some remedy. A Prusa-supplied stickered sheet should definitely not look that bad after such a short period of time.
I damaged the PEI surface on one side of my original sheet and eventually replaced it. I have some corrosion occurring under the PEI, but the top surface remains smooth and prints well.
The flip side definitely has worn a bit but looks good otherwise:
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RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
@bobstro
Thanks for the advice, I'll give that a go.
I just did a little more googling and it seems Prusa are aware of the gold steel sheets suffering rust and have replaced the finish with the newer black version. I don't know if they also updated the steel sheet or not (to a rust proof metallic compound). Also, I thought it used to be possible to buy replacement stickers and refinish your own steel sheet, but I can't see the stickers in the e-shop now. When you say you replaced it do you refer to the PEI sticker or the whole steel sheet?
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
There are instructions online about how to get the old sticker off and put a new one on.
Not an endorsement, but I would look at something like this:
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
@robert-rmm200
Thanks for the link. Is the Amazon link because Prusa has stopped selling replacement PEI stickers now then? I'd prefer to buy official items to support Prusa if at all possible.
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
My preference would always be to give Prusa the business.
Unfortunately, I usually find their shipping prohibitive. I keep hoping for a stocking location in America!
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
[...] I just did a little more googling and it seems Prusa are aware of the gold steel sheets suffering rust and have replaced the finish with the newer black version.
Both of my smooth PEI stickered sheets are the old-gold version, so I have no experience with the newer version.
[...] Also, I thought it used to be possible to buy replacement stickers and refinish your own steel sheet, but I can't see the stickers in the e-shop now. When you say you replaced it do you refer to the PEI sticker or the whole steel sheet?
I was able to order the PEI adhesive-backed sheet from Prusa at the time. IIRC it was $18. What I had read about but not fully appreciated was the fun of working with Lemonene and freezing to remove the old adhesive. If you like the smell of oranges, it's great stuff but man was that a mess. I got the replacement sheet applied, but it was far from perfect. It works well though.
I since discovered PrintedSolid's much thinner and flexy spring steel sheet combined with BuildTak's adhesive-backed PEI sheets. BT uses an easy-to-remove adhesive, so if I ever need to repeat this process (unlikely) it will be much simpler. Otherwise, I'll just order a 2nd sheet from Prusa with the PEI pre-applied.
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He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
My last order from Prusa was for the PEI smooth sheet.
That was big enough and expensive enough that the shipping charge was reasonable (mostly).
Prusa stocks some filament on Amazon. That is a go-to purchase. Two day free shipping is a killer.
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
@nathan-b20
The Prusa PEI stickers are available in the Eshop spares list as PEI-Ultem sheet for $8.79 US at this very moment.
Regards,
Steve
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
My problem is that the $8.79 price for a very light item has a UPS shipping charge of $11.43. That is the cheapest charge - they go up sharply from there.
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
@shop-online
Many thanks, I missed it as Prusa's changed the product name and the photo since I last looked. It now appears to be a generic picture and not like the original gold variant that used to be displayed and sold as 2 pieces for around £16 (UK pounds). From the product info it's no longer clear exactly what you get - gold or black adhesive PEI sticker. Due to not knowing if the replacement will rust again and considering the price I think it's probably easier to buy a smooth or powder coated steel sheet.
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
@robert-rmm200
Yeah, that's steep delivery pricing. I think it's best to wait until I need a few different items before placing an order.
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
@bobstro
It sounds like quite a challenge to remove the PEI sticker. Quite the pain! 😑 I'm not sure I can be bothered to do that and I may just buy a new steel sheet when I place a new Prusa order. In the mean time I'll get in touch with Prusa online chat and see what they say about the condition of my rusted smooth PEI sheet.
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
The latest non textured sheets are a sort of olive drab green colour. My original was the black one but I recently put together a mk3s for a friend and also ordered a spare for myself and both of them were the olive colour.
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
I could've sworn there used to be a live chat feature on the Prusa website (so I can tell them about the rusted steel sheet) but I can't find one now. 🤔 Does anyone know if I'm imagining things or is it hidden away somewhere? Thanks
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
I could've sworn there used to be a live chat feature on the Prusa website (so I can tell them about the rusted steel sheet) but I can't find one now. 🤔 Does anyone know if I'm imagining things or is it hidden away somewhere? Thanks
You must be logged in to the estore with your account.
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He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
@bobstro
Many thanks bobstro. I can't explain it but whilst being logged in there was no live chat function. Increasingly confused I searched the Prusa Research website, including the estore, and waited for one to appear (in case it was offline etc.) until 2pm before writing Prusa a message. No sooner had I pressed send when the Live Chat feature appeared at the lower edge of the browser window. 🙃 It's proving to be one of those days/weeks! 😆 Anyway... thanks again.
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
[...] whilst being logged in there was no live chat function.
Are you using PiHole or any sort of adblocker? Those are notorious for blocking the chat function.
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He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
@bobstro
No, neither PiHole (yet) or any adblocker extensions. I've no idea what happened so I'm just gonna put it down to gremlins! 😉
RE: Prusa i3 MK3 Steel Sheet Rusted
No, neither PiHole (yet) or any adblocker extensions. I've no idea what happened so I'm just gonna put it down to gremlins! 😉
Can you try another browser? Also make sure you don't have cookies disabled.
and miscellaneous other tech projects
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan