Remove powder coat of frame pieces
Hey there!
I'm planning on change the asesthetics of my Prusa i3 MK3S+, along with a new enclosure. This enclosure is made from stainless steel, and powder coating is not that expensive, but I'm also planning on build a dedicated piece of metal forniture to the enclosure, filaments, tools... Which means that for match colors I will also need to powder coat the legs, shelfs... Phew!
So I thought maybe the way to go is turn the prusa metal-silver instead of black powder coat everything around it.
I have access to an industrial grade sand blaster (On the low spec, but industrial after all), but I am wondering if this will be enough to remove the black powder coat on the frame pieces, but most importantly, if this will affect to the overall dimensions of the printer. I've mesaured all pieces (4.2mm thick for back and front plates and 6.2mm for frame) and I'm guessing that 0.2 mm extra to the standarized thickness came from the coating.
Cheers!
RE: Remove powder coat of frame pieces
Well, I'd say that if you remove material from the frame parts it will definitely change their dimensions, so it will change the dimensions of the printer too.
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RE: Remove powder coat of frame pieces
Well, I'd say that if you remove material from the frame parts it will definitely change their dimensions, so it will change the dimensions of the printer too.
Maybe I should be more concise.
OFC removing material from the frame will change the overall dimensions 🤣 but what I really meant is if this will affect that much to the printer construction.
For example de Y-Rods, would be shorten by approx. 0.4 mm (0.2 of the frame, and 0.1 of both back and front plate) I do not know if the tolerances on dimensions could assume that change.
Cheers!
RE: Remove powder coat of frame pieces
Not all powder coating is created equal, but in general removing powder coat can be a real chore. The most effective way I have found is to use a gas torch and burn it off, which is probably a really bad idea with parts where you want to maintain precise dimensions. Especially don't try that on aluminum parts. Depending on the sandblaster, the air supply, and the blast media used, blasting can be an option, but it is usually an exercise in frustration. I have used chemical strippers at times and they are nasty with dangerous fumes and make a mess. Chemical stripper followed by media blast can work OK but it's time consuming.
RE: Remove powder coat of frame pieces
Not all powder coating is created equal, but in general removing powder coat can be a real chore. The most effective way I have found is to use a gas torch and burn it off, which is probably a really bad idea with parts where you want to maintain precise dimensions. Especially don't try that on aluminum parts. Depending on the sandblaster, the air supply, and the blast media used, blasting can be an option, but it is usually an exercise in frustration. I have used chemical strippers at times and they are nasty with dangerous fumes and make a mess. Chemical stripper followed by media blast can work OK but it's time consuming.
Wow, so it will be more difficult than I thought!
Another option is just made fresh new pieces in a local supplier since the blueprint is public, but after a few searchs online I found out that only the frame laser-cutted will cost around 80-90€. I think that the Original frame here in Prusa Shop is around 75€, so I do not think 90€ for one-off piece is pricy, but what I'm going to do with two frames only for aesthetic reasons 😓
Maybe I'm running a test with the external face of the front plate and the sand blaster, since this access will be a favour and I'm constraint to the specs they're currently using. I do not know the precise specs of the abrassive or pressure they are using, even if I knew it I won't know if it will be enough or overkill 🤣
RE: Remove powder coat of frame pieces
Like I said, powder coating is not all created equal. Some is difficult to remove, and some gives up easily. But if I am understanding you correctly, you are wanting to change color of the metal parts of your Prusa frame, in which case you are probably dealing with anodized aluminum and not powder coating. I would personally not mess with it since yeah media blast can take that coating right off (and keep right on going into the aluminum), but it's going to look like crap and re-coating it is problematic. You could paint it but getting into all the nooks and crannies of the extrusions is probably not going to happen and the thickness of the coating may affect how the pieces go together. Same issues with having it powder coated plus the curing temperatures can affect temper (and therefore strength) of some aluminum alloys.
But if you are willing to get a new frame anyway, then ditch the Prusa parts entirely and go with the Bear Upgrade. The Bear frame kits by LDO motors are available in a bunch of different colors including silver. You'll need to print new printed parts before starting the upgrade but again that's an opportunity to get exactly the color scheme you want.