things needed to assemble the i3 MK3  

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

Prusa have always provideda set of tools. Excluding a vernier caliper. In the past.

With the new Y frame. This will not be necessAry. You should be good to go.

Some folk use feeler gagues to set the pinda to nozzle height. But I have never done this. You may feel happier with a set of feeler gagues.

Regards Joan

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

I have "Super Lube 92003 Silicone Lubricating Grease with PTFE" is that good enough for the bearings? if not what do I need?

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

That's a good point, anything that would be good to procure that are Not included?

Specifically for building?

Blue Locktight?

Any special tools that are better/easier to assemble with? I really like drill blank ground Allens! As well as if they are 1/4" hex drive.
And those 1/4" or 3/8" allen drive adaptors with ball ends always come in handy for hand tightening around tight spots or running in a long screw at awkward angles.

Any specific lube oil or grease anyone has grown fond of specifically for linear bearings? Something that stays where the user places it without leaking out and making a mess. Is there a optimal type to use specifically for this application?

Any other nice things to have handy to make the build go smoother and easier that we wouldn't nessesarily think about until we are actually doing the job?

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

Having recently built the MK2S I would recommend...
(I got all of it for my upcoming MK3 build...)

* Quality needle nose pliers (they will come in handy later as well for removing suports)
* Quality side cutter "electronic" model (i.e. the smallest, no good for piano wires but great for plastics, will be useful later as well)
* The thread lock is a good tip as well
* For lubricating the linear ball bearings a drop of engine oil is a good option, or simple ball bearing grease. No need for fancy lubes here

Optional Tools:
* Allen wrenches (the included wrenches work fine, proper ones with a grip just improve handling a bit)

Optional Tuning:
* for tinkerers: better linear ball bearings, Misumi or similar (in Europe hard to get, I got some decent no-name ones with 4 ball races from cncshop.at)
* for real "hot-rodders": Misumi linear precision rods, hardened, h5 tolerance or similar
* Concrete slab to place printer on (really quiets down the beast)

Other accessories to get:
* Digital calipers
* Air tight containers for storing Filaments dry (even Zip-lock bags work)
* Dessicant (Read about health risks of indicator dyes)
* IKEA Lack table as a base or for buliding an enclosure.

FILAMENTS! 😀

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

For MK2s kit build what you really needed:

* Calipers (might be still useful for MK3 - and ist a must have anyway when doing 3D printing)
* Side Cutters (to cut the black "wire straps" efficiently without damaging the surrounding cables)
To handle bad quality of 3d printed parts (hope the MK3 parts are of better quality):
* Scalpel /Exacto knife (to remove overhangs from 3D printed parts
* Drills from 1mm to 10mm (I needed to drill filament hole in extruder body part, I needed to drill holes for smooth rods on x axis)
* Some sanding paper to smoothen overhangs etc.

All other things are imho not necessary. Bearings come lubed from Prusa.

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

I have "Super Lube 92003 Silicone Lubricating Grease with PTFE" is that good enough for the bearings? if not what do I need?

I would be careful with anything that is grease or Silicone. Grease has a tendency to get gummy and attract dirt. Silicone has a habit if swelling orings and plastics. I work with Delrin Leadscrew nuts and we use Lubit 8. One tube will last you a lifetime. 2 drops is enough to lubricate an entire leadscrew of this size. Depending on use 2 drops per service. The only warning I would put in is if the leadscrews and guide rails are not parallel it will seem like they need more to operate but it is most likely do to misalignment issue. Boeing has a neat product that dries and leaves a film that protects against rust. I think it is called Boeshield T9. I use it on my bike chains.

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

I have "Super Lube 92003 Silicone Lubricating Grease with PTFE" is that good enough for the bearings? if not what do I need?

I would be careful with anything that is grease or Silicone. Grease has a tendency to get gummy and attract dirt. Silicone has a habit if swelling orings and plastics. I work with Delrin Leadscrew nuts and we use Lubit 8. One tube will last you a lifetime. 2 drops is enough to lubricate an entire leadscrew of this size. Depending on use 2 drops per service. The only warning I would put in is if the leadscrews and guide rails are not parallel it will seem like they need more to operate but it is most likely do to misalignment issue. Boeing has a neat product that dries and leaves a film that protects against rust. I think it is called Boeshield T9. I use it on my bike chains.

Would love to hear more about the lubrication and anticorosion products, and more importantly, are they even avalible?

I have been on the corrosionX kick lately, it's interesting stuff for all kinds of applications! Specifically outdoor electronics, or even making your own untreated electronics compatible. Has the ability to creap into tight interfaces, and seems to grab onto surfaces vigorously. It's some fun stuff.

And besides, the linear rods are set on top of a piece of printed plastic with a zip tie, I sincerely doubt there will be any issues with misalignment...kind of surprised that wasn't addressed TBH... seems like it has the potential to mask any issues by simply allowing the rods to float around should they desire to do so. But it must work well...

With the aluminum fromt/rear plates now, a captured endplate seems like it would have been possible to securely and percisly mount the rods? But then maybe it's better not to do so? I don't see that as a design philosophy on other similar applications to essentially allow them to free float though. And what beinifits come with not constraining them at this point? Seems like a hangover from previous construction with the threaded rods that could have been omitted with the new design.

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

Precision means different things to different people, there is a point at which it is of no value to go further, at the moment the biggest issue in the 3D printing world (IMHO) is the inconsistency of extrusion / nozzles and material variation - doesn't matter how accurate your slides are if the nozzle just goops everything.

I've had different results using the same material at the same settings and the only thing that changed was the date.

Sure this may apply if you're dealing with CNC machining and more accuracy in that is always desirable, but that comes at a price.

As for lubrication you really don't need any with good quality linear ball bearings these days such as those produced by SKF, there is a fine line to be walked by having the bed runners too slick and getting oscillation and overshoot at higher speeds, you also don't the movement too stiff, this is especially true in belt driven systems - that's the world of 3D printing, you fix one thing it raises another.

That said I have often wondered why they still don't use lead screw setups on the X and Y axis, I've never had a genuine Prusa machine so the MK3 will be under the microscope as I'm not a big fan of belts.

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

Precision means different things to different people, there is a point at which it is of no value to go further, at the moment the biggest issue in the 3D printing world (IMHO) is the inconsistency of extrusion / nozzles and material variation - doesn't matter how accurate your slides are if the nozzle just goops everything.

I've had different results using the same material at the same settings and the only thing that changed was the date.

Sure this may apply if you're dealing with CNC machining and more accuracy in that is always desirable, but that comes at a price.

As for lubrication you really don't need any with good quality linear ball bearings these days such as those produced by SKF, there is a fine line to be walked by having the bed runners too slick and getting oscillation and overshoot at higher speeds, you also don't the movement too stiff, this is especially true in belt driven systems - that's the world of 3D printing, you fix one thing it raises another.

That said I have often wondered why they still don't use lead screw setups on the X and Y axis, I've never had a genuine Prusa machine so the MK3 will be under the microscope as I'm not a big fan of belts.

In my experience, a belt is perfectly fine for 3D printing, because there isn't a big load that the tool head has to deal with.
In CNC a belt would be a bad idea because of the load.
Also, it would make the printer significantly slower by using lead screws for the X and Y axis.

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

because there isn't a big load that the tool head has to deal with.
In CNC a belt would be a bad idea because of the load

Makes sense but I'm not interested in speed when it compromises the print, but I understand that reasoning.

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

because there isn't a big load that the tool head has to deal with.
In CNC a belt would be a bad idea because of the load

Makes sense but I'm not interested in speed when it compromises the print, but I understand that reasoning.

To be quite honest, I think that the LM8UU bearings would have a greater damage to the accuracy of the print than the timing belts would.(due to the play that is made on them. If they didn't have any play, the slightest misalignment would make them seize up.)
And yes, printing faster does cause print accuracy to suffer.

I guess the real question to ask is how much better would the printer be as far as accuracy if you used lead screws instead of timing belts, in which I would think is negligible. Using them would make the printer more expensive, and sacrifice other perks of the printer. It would be a lot more expensive, because if you use couplers then you will introduce some wobble, completely defeating the purpose of using lead screws in the first place.

Basically, unless you have some significant load (like in a milling machine) than a timing belt will do just fine, assuming you have the tension correct.
With the level of precision the Prusa i3 MK2 has, if you need something more precise than that, then I don't know if 3D printing would be the best option.

Just my thought on this, but I am not an Engineer (yet) so take my advice with a grain of salt.

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

Alas I'm an engineer at the other end of the career path to yourself.

I think much has been sacrificed to make it available for the mass market, if the current 3D printer owners could be described as a mass market.

If you're going to sell a kit it has to be viable for somebody with very few skills to assemble, that requires certain compromises.

I have no problem playing later, I may even try some engineering of my own - but I'm sure Mr Prusa has thought of most of this ....

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

That said I have often wondered why they still don't use lead screw setups on the X and Y axis, I've never had a genuine Prusa machine so the MK3 will be under the microscope as I'm not a big fan of belts.

Belts are cheaper, less maintenance, more reliable, easier to align, easier to build, easier to design, and have gotten better of the years with little or no stretching. From my experience the motors and belts will last the lifetime of the instrument where leadscrews require constant maintenance depending on use.

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

I designed and built my own CNC plasma cutting table 4x4 feet cutting area that uses three belt drives. It has about a 45 pound gantry and is driven on both sides of the table all with a 3:1 gear ratio. The 1/2" wide XL belts have worked great for the last three years. The only thing I need to check is for belt stretch each year and adjust the belt tension and steps per inch in Mach3 for the three axis for dimensional cut accuracy if even needed.

Nothing wrong with belt drives if used properly.

This tiny MK3 printer running belt drive for low mass weight horizontal movements is just fine. The threaded rod Z-axis drives are better suited to precisely lift the mass for the overhead gantry with continued reliability. I'm happy with the design.

My CNC plasma table:

Rob

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

To build the kit, you are OK just with the tools provided. You can use electric screwdriver, but be very careful with the torque! 😉

Apart from this you need some space for all the components and flat surface to check the frame geometry.

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

For the initial build, you don't need anything extra as mentioned above...

For use/maintenance/upgrades:

1) Zipties, there are plenty extra zipties, but I've used all of them and more from upgrades/failed upgrades/bed replacement on my mk2 for PEI sheet change, etc
2) I use the needle nose pliers that came with the mk2, but using a nice set of wire cutters is a plus for cutting the filament at an angle before loading in the machine.
3) 7mm Socket and ratchet for nozzle replacement (and 17mm wrench since that's probably not included in the mk3 since the frame is different). The hotend comes pre-assembled and you won't need to touch it for a while. If you want to try abrasives in the future, you'll need to change out the brass nozzle with hardened steel/olssen ruby nozzle. You need a 17mm wrench to grasp the hotend (or pliers, make sure the machine is hot, bit switched off so you don't short the heating element... ask me how I know), and the 7mm socket for the nozzle to remove and screw back onto the heater block.
4) Flush cut pliers are helpful for removing support material.
5) Isopropyl Alcohol/lint free wipes (I use paper towels, but it does leave little fibers on the bed). This is also very useful for removing flex material items. I soak them on the bed in alcohol and they detach nicely in 1 piece and with little effort.

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

One very needful thing I’ve noticed missing is the patience required to wait for delivery!

Estimate for me is February! I need some extra patience!

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

oh I have the patience required to wait for delivery. I just want to be shore that I have everything I need to assemble the printer. you see when my printer comes my plan is to lock myself in a room and not come out till its done 😀 .

Re: things needed to assemble the i3 MK3

Optional Tuning:
* Concrete slab to place printer on (really quiets down the beast)

Other accessories to get:
* IKEA Lack table as a base or for buliding an enclosure.

Just curious... Do these go together? The concrete on the Lack? how big is your concrete slab? I'd be worried about jumping over the max load of the Lack.