MK3 Kit - questions and what do I do
My boyfriend got the MK3 kit, which I built most of and then he finished the rest since I was tired haha. On first impressions, it was an easy build except some of the printed pieces had issues with the nuts. The spaces were either too small and made it hard to place them, even after using the method of putting a screw in the opposite side to help place it. Other pieces had the nut areas so big that it took a lot of care to not turn the parts to put them together, or they'd just fall out. One of the ball bearings we got arrived broken (about 6 of the balls were in the bag loose prior to opening), but we were able to fix it until we order new ones.
We did quite a few test prints, a lot of user error, but we're both new. Then today we had a larger print going. We set the print to start just before we left for work and I stupidly didn't make my boyfriend stay to make sure the first few layers were printing alright. So we got home and the extruder was covered in a ball of plastic. I disassembled it all, was able to get the large chunk of plastic off, then reassembled to heat up the hot end to remove the rest. I didn't realize it had covered the smaller wire, and despite being careful, I'm worried I damaged it. 🙁 My Prusa now screams at me MAXTEMP. I shut it off to cool it down in case it was just an overheating issue. Turns out after doing a little more looking I noticed that one piece on the Y belt (closest to the LCD screen) had a screw come almost completely loose, because the nut had begun to pop out since it couldn't be placed in properly due to the hole being too tight of a fit. I'm suspecting this is the issue that caused the problems with the larger print this morning and I just didn't realize it somehow (a print the night previous came out perfect).
So, are there better hotends I can order and install that work for the MK3? I saw one on Voxel but they're out of stock.
What kind of ball bearings should I get to replace the ones that come with the MK3? I plan on replacing all of them since I do not trust their condition right now.
Does ordering the printed parts from Prusa's site include ALL pieces for the printer, or is it just for MK2 and older?
I do like this printer a lot since I don't think I've ever assembled and disassembled something so easily on my own before, so whatever I can do to fix these issues would be much appreciated!
Re: MK3 Kit - questions and what do I do
don't worry, half the fun is fixing and upgrading things that break.
I'm going to guess the heater or thermistor wires were damaged when you removed the jam. Maybe we can help more with pictures? Either way they are easy enough to replace. The hotend itself is very good, so don't worry about a "better" one.
Just about everything on it can be swapped/modifed/upgraded in some way to suit your needs especially the stock linear bearings which I'm not a big fan of, but lets focus on one thing at a time. Also don't be afraid to contact support through livechat if you have an issue with a part not caused by user error 🙂 They're very helpful.
Re: MK3 Kit - questions and what do I do
Yea, I think tomorrow I will contact support. Thank you so much for the reassurement though!
Here are some pictures. One is just how much was stuck that I removed, the rest hopefully show the blue wire clearly.
I think I'm just beating myself up because I've only had this for a few days. But I was able to print a 3d godzilla my boyfriend made which turned out super nice. So I will take that as a win haha.
Re: MK3 Kit - questions and what do I do
the heater and thermistor wires can be fragile and it looks like they got a good coating so you might have tweaked them during cleanup. Thats why they're so adamant in the manual about securing the wire bundle behind the carriage. the parts are a few bucks each from the store though, so no big deal.
oh also...please trim those ends off of your zip ties. I know firsthand, they are a lot sharper than they seem and will slice through skin very easily.
Re: MK3 Kit - questions and what do I do
What kind of wiring am I looking for and is it at any hardware or electronics store? How do I attach Those? Believe me I was trying to be as gentle as possible when I removed the glob of filament, but when I saw it was completely covered I knew there was going to be damage.
I can cut the cables closer.
Edit: Ivelink 12V 40W 620 Ceramic Cartridge Heater and NTC Thermistor 100K 3950 for 3D Printer(Pack of 10pcs) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073TVBJVY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_QsOOAb5NP2S6K
These are 12v, so they should work correct?
Re: MK3 Kit - questions and what do I do
No, the printer support only 24V, so you have to find a 24V heater. Check what you need in Prusa shop.
https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/34-mk3-printer-parts
Edit:
Do you really need a new heater? Did you cut the cables? Mabye you only need a new thermistor.
Check out Prusas support chat, they will help you.
Bear MK3 with Bondtech extruder
Re: MK3 Kit - questions and what do I do
No, the printer support only 24V, so you have to find a 24V heater. Check what you need in Prusa shop.
https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/34-mk3-printer-parts
Edit:
Do you really need a new heater? Did you cut the cables? Mabye you only need a new thermistor.
Check out Prusas support chat, they will help you.
If I just have to replace the cables then I guess that's all I need. I did not cut the cables. I heated the hotend, waited for the filament to get soft and goey enough to pull it off (like in Prusas video about filament blob removal). Because it had covered the cable completely though, the cable was also damaged since it looks like it got pulled off. The red wires seem fine, it's just the blue one as seen in the pictures. The filament stuck to the back of extruder piece and not the front.
I wasn't aware that you could buy cables separately when I made my post, so I don't need a new hotend.
I'll be contacting support and see what they say, if I'm lucky I can just buy new cables from them, because I haven't seen anything of use other than spare printed parts on their shop, or they're just out of stock on stuff.
I do need to order new ball bearings and still need to figure out which ones to get, preferably don't want to risk getting new ones sent that could be damaged in shipping.
Edit: I cannot access the link you gave me. Is this because my boyfriend purchased it on his account?
Edit 2: only he can access the link, looks like they have what we need in stock.
Re: MK3 Kit - questions and what do I do
I'll be contacting support and see what they say, if I'm lucky I can just buy new cables from them, because I haven't seen anything of use other than spare printed parts on their shop, or they're just out of stock on stuff.
I do need to order new ball bearings and still need to figure out which ones to get, preferably don't want to risk getting new ones sent that could be damaged in shipping.
there is a flag they have to set in your account sometimes, but every part is available on their shop. which linear bearings are you having issues with?
Re: MK3 Kit - questions and what do I do
I'll be contacting support and see what they say, if I'm lucky I can just buy new cables from them, because I haven't seen anything of use other than spare printed parts on their shop, or they're just out of stock on stuff.
I do need to order new ball bearings and still need to figure out which ones to get, preferably don't want to risk getting new ones sent that could be damaged in shipping.
there is a flag they have to set in your account sometimes, but every part is available on their shop. which linear bearings are you having issues with?
My boyfriend was able to access the link so we are good on the hotend wires now.
The X axis bearings are ones that definitely need to be switched out, but my boyfriend wants to try the ones Prusa provides again for whatever reason. One of them is missing at least two balls, though I'm worried it may be at least three since after placing it on the rod another may have fallen out (not sure if it was one that had already fallen out of the bag or an additional).
Re: MK3 Kit - questions and what do I do
The X axis bearings are ones that definitely need to be switched out, but my boyfriend wants to try the ones Prusa provides again for whatever reason. One of them is missing at least two balls, though I'm worried it may be at least three since after placing it on the rod another may have fallen out (not sure if it was one that had already fallen out of the bag or an additional).
two or three you might actually be okay, you can accidentally pop them out sometimes when feeding the rods through.
They're not going to be completely silent or "feel" smooth when you slide the carriage by hand, its just the way it works.
Re: MK3 Kit - questions and what do I do
The X axis bearings are ones that definitely need to be switched out, but my boyfriend wants to try the ones Prusa provides again for whatever reason. One of them is missing at least two balls, though I'm worried it may be at least three since after placing it on the rod another may have fallen out (not sure if it was one that had already fallen out of the bag or an additional).
two or three you might actually be okay, you can accidentally pop them out sometimes when feeding the rods through.
They're not going to be completely silent or "feel" smooth when you slide the carriage by hand, its just the way it works.
That actually makes me feel better haha. I was worried it would cause me issues. Thanks!
Re: MK3 Kit - questions and what do I do
Just posting what I'm doing now.
Support agreed the wire is damaged and suggested I order the wire on their shop.
I ordered that, an extra preassembled hotend for backup purposes, new ball bearings as backups, and a PINDA probe since I've had a lot of issues with the live Z adjust not being consistent (using the gcode provided by Prusa on the sd card, but only anything over -1mm seems to work despite the PINDA being positioned exactly as in the manual, lowering / raising did nothing but make it worse). Now I'm seeing the threads of a lot of people having issues, I'm not sure if it will help my issue but who knows.
Thanks again for the help!