Is It REALLY GENUINELY - Out of Box - Hands Off  

There are hundreds of thousands of Mk3's in the wild and at any time just a dozen or so users with issues - so we can probably fix it.

Please give your print sheet a thorough clean then run the built-in first layer calibration routine with PLA and show us the result *on the print sheet*.

This will give us a good idea of the root of your issues.

Cheerio,

RE: Is It REALLY GENUINELY - Out of Box - Hands Off

3d printing is not for you.  About the best 'out the box' as you define it at the consumer level is probably the Bambu printers.  Their software and setup wizard is designed for idiots.  They have more sensors than you can shake a stick at.
However you still have to adjust things from time to time and you WILL still have print failures.  From which YOU will have to do stuff to recover from and clean up.  Nozzles still clog, filament still can be out of spec etc.

Hence my initial comment of 3d printing is not for you.  

RE: Is It REALLY GENUINELY - Out of Box - Hands Off

I have only seen one 3d printer that comes close to the 'You press the button, it does the rest' in simplicity! This is the (now retired) U-Print which was at our local makerspace.

It used proprietary (ex$pen$ive) filament and disposable build surfaces (which you could re-use if the prints did not coincide much). It also cost well into 5 figures!

Do your MK3S machines actually fail to do the simple test prints such as the X-Y-Z test cube? If things like that are failing, there's probably something simple causing it, particularly if you have two machines failing to print it in exactly the same way.

If your prints refuse to stick, have you tried using an adhesion booster, such as Layerneer, Magigoo, glue stick, or even hair spray? If the straightforward prints fail to stick to a Prusa PEI build plate coated with one of the above, something is most definitely wrong and most definitely can be fixed.

If this is the case, my guess is that it's either a Z calibration issue and/or wonky filament.

I would suggest saying {f-bomb} the videos and do a basic Z calibration as outlined here ...

https://help.prusa3d.com/article/live-adjust-z_112427

... paying VERY close attention to detail and following the instructions EXACTLY and using known-good filament that is verified to be of the proper type.

Yes, there are TONS of 'My print will not stick no matter what I do' postings here, and it seems like most of them have to do with a dirty build plate, bad Z calibration, wonky filament (don't overlook a possible spool mislabeled with the wrong type) or combinations of those three issues.

As you calibrate the Z, if ANYTHING appears off or does not work as intended, STOP there and figure out why.

All of the common filaments (PLA, ABS, PETg, etc.) WILL stick to clean and dry PEI.  That has been proven over and over.

As has been stated here, 3d printing takes patience and attention to detail!

There is a chance that you have something wrong with (both) machines.  Unlikely but possible.  Bad temperature of the nozzle (most likely) or the heatbed can cause adhesion issues.  A circuit board timebase issue could cause printing speeds to be off, which can affect adhesion as well.

Have you sanity checked your slicer and the computer on which the slicer runs?  It might be worth it to install PS (or whatever) on a clean computer which has never had PS installed on it and see if there is any difference.  Another thing that's related and a good sanity check, try a different slicer, such as Cura, and see if it's better, worse, or about the same.

RE:

The solution is easy. Switch to PETG. It will stick to your existing PEI surface with no farting around, and the finished print will happily pop off by itself. Clean the surface every single print with isopropyl alcohol, because no filament will stick to oil. These steps are easy. You will have months of easy, trouble-free printing.

As everyone said, do a Z axis calibration. Not more difficult than learning iTunes. You can do it.

Your iPhone analogy is mistaken. Nobody on earth has ever taken the iPhone out of the box and started talking with no setup. There is a learning curve with IOS, same as with any tech.

The MK3S solution is not difficult. PETG. Alcohol wipe. Z axis calibration.  Happiness.

Tom

RE: Is It REALLY GENUINELY - Out of Box - Hands Off

I'll be honest, I also disliked the MK3s. That Z axis calibration was a pain. But once dialed in I was fine - before that I did have some prints come loose from the bed and I wanted to give up with it. 

The MK4 was a godsend. Honestly, for me anyways, it just worked straight after being built. It made a huge difference to me, and I was finally, for the first time, confident with a 3D printer. Never had any adhesion issues, nothing - I was confident enough to let it print without supervision. 

The MK4s is just as good as the MK4, and I'm just as confident in using it unsupervised. I know I can send a print job across, pop in once or twice for a quick quick (more curiosity then anything else) and expect a high quality print at the end of it. 

I also have a Bambu Lab A1, and that has been just as good out of the box. The adhesion is also excellent. I just let the print cool at the end and it pops right off the plate.

Honestly, these companies have their printers dialed in nowadays and they are much more reliable and easier to use. If you want absolute beginner friendly out of the box easy as possible, them BambuLab may be the way to go. If you want something that works, but still want to tinker and refine as your confidence grows, as well as keep your options open with regards to upgrades and advancements, then Prusa is it. Although BambuLab printers are easy to get up and running, you're locked in to that model for good. Whereas with Prusa I know I can stay relatively up to date thanks to their fantastic upgrade paths. Put your MK3s concerns aside though, because I found the newer generations much more reliable from my [limited] experience. 

RE: Is It REALLY GENUINELY - Out of Box - Hands Off

I am very pleased with my MK4 -> MK4s upgraded printer.  It has worked very well.  However, I must say that the satin sheet was a game changer for me. The original smooth sheet was inconsistent and required cleaning constantly.  After reading many posts here, and other people's experiences I purchased a satin sheet.  The quality and consistency of my printer improved dramatically.  The satin sheet is the only way to go, at least for me.

RE: Is It REALLY GENUINELY - Out of Box - Hands Off

3D printing is not a fire & forget system yet, you still need to know how to maintain it, otherwise you want to get super expensive solution, or just seek for someone that provides printing as a service.

I recently bought textured sheet from Prusa for my Mini, and it was really problematic to have anything to stick to it. After 15 minutes of a good scrubbing with a dish sponge (the hard side) with a dish soap and hot water I started to see that the water started to flow differently over it. In a certain moment it was covering all the surface (and not creating pearls), and since then no adhesion issue.

Now it's my favorite sheet.

RE:

3D printing just can’t be compared to driving a car.. It is a manufacturing process that has been made easier.. but the user still needs to understand the basic tenets this field.. what too low a Z looks like and many other things so that you can fix stuff when it goes wrong.. And it always goes wrong. Just like making espresso, you can try to get an All-in-one and hope it works fine.. but when things go wrong, if you don’t understand about grind size, puck resistance, water temperature you are hopeless to fix the issue.  And why so many espresso makers eventually just give up on auto machines and use a manual lever for their espresso, which is cheap, works forever with no maintenance and gives great results. 

I really like brass nozzles, as the Prusa profiles work really well with them.. but they wear .. you need to learn how to measure the ozing plastic to determine if your nozzle is now 0.5, from 0.4, because then it will string.. and it isn’t because of moist filament.. Which leads to another issue.. If you are in a humid environment, you need dry boxes, dessicant and filament dryers.. even for PLA. In my by-the-sea environment, even PLA that is shipped to me is too moist and I have to dry. Plastic wrapping keeps out air, but not all moisture.. I didn’t realize that before. 

To the PETG suggestion, PLA is always easier to print with.. standard PLA, not silk, nor speckled (galaxy), nor plus. Your print will not stick if your build plate is dirty or your Z is too high, or you have a warped bed. Cleaning PLA is best with soap & water, not alcohol. Use an undamaged, smooth, PEI sheet. You just need to put in the learning time to know what a good “Z” looks like and how to tell when it is too high or too low, as you can adjust on the fly. Your best bet is to get some in-person tutoring who can likely get your MK3s up and working in no time, or tell you what the issue is.. (assuming you get the right tutor).

Really this hobby is also  limiting unless you really learn a good 3D modeling program.. like Fusion 360. Daunting at first.. but you can take on-line course from Udemy and others but really worth your time. Learning, unfortunately, takes time.. and just printing pre-existing models is very limiting. You want to fix some issue around the house.. easy.. but you have to create the model. 

I’m not one who want the printer to become the hobby.. I just want it to work ..  but I just had to invest time in all the above.. tutors or local night courses might be available to help and learning from people is often really efficient. 

When buying equipment, there is, what I call, the rule of 3..  The 3rd release is golden and initial releases all have issues. The 3D print industry is actually worse than many others I’ve been involved with in this regard. The X1C (bambu) had warped beds, the MK4 had poor network connectivity, the XL uses a 0.6 nozzle which many people could not get to work. 

I think the Bambu A1 or MK4S are likely a good starting point for someone who knows they’ll stay in the field.. a Mini of each, if you aren’t sure. 

Grin.. just my 2Cents.

RE: Is It REALLY GENUINELY - Out of Box - Hands Off

I will agree that PETg, in general, tends to stick to PEI somewhat better than PLA.

However, it tends to be oozy and stringy, compared to PLA, plus PLA tends to produce more finely-detailed prints than does PETg.  I would not recommend PETg for a person new and unfamiliar to 3d printing as a 'first' filament.

PLA >>WILL<< stick to the Prusa PEI build plates and will do so quite well.  The three most common 'It will not stick' causes seem to be a dirty build plate, bad Z calibration, or wonky filament or two or more of the above.

Posted by: @tdk408

The solution is easy. Switch to PETG. It will stick to your existing PEI surface with no farting around, and the finished print will happily pop off by itself. Clean the surface every single print with isopropyl alcohol, because no filament will stick to oil. These steps are easy. You will have months of easy, trouble-free printing.

 

This post sounds fishy to me

Yes, I fell for this troll-bait post. Why didn't I see the obvious signs?

@akerezy enrolled in this forum in 2019, but no posts since then? Zero? Such struggles, yet didn't ask for help in five years? Too fishy.

Another tip off:  if the MK3S is such crap, why buy a second one? Also, why keep them for five years "gathering dust" -- but then complain about the cost? Not credible.

His Apple comments are do not ring true. I have owned a dozen Apple products, and they all needed setup, learning, comprehension, and effort.

The title itself is overt troll bait. Saying "really", "genuinely" and "honestly" over and over lacks sincerity.

Finally, this part is false: "... where I don't have to learn or understand ANYTHING."  There is no technology on earth like that.

Respectfully, Tom

RE: Is It REALLY GENUINELY - Out of Box - Hands Off

There are a lot of folks who do expect 3d printers to be plug and play and are disappointed when they realize that there is a learning curve, often steep, when it comes to producing consistent quality prints.

I also recently purchased my first Apple machine, after using microcomputers from the late 1970s.  (Needed it for some special projects.)  It was definitely not a plug-and-play situation.  I had to get some apple jocks from our computer user group (yeah, those still exist) to give me some hints and make some tweaks.

RE: Is It REALLY GENUINELY - Out of Box - Hands Off

@tdk408 it doesn't have to be a troll, just a person that bought some hardware and failed in the first place so the items went back to the shed, then due to life circumstances the person did not have time to look at the issue.

Now after few years later,they could have some spare time, discovered devices, tried again, failed and came to the forums to vent 😉

RE: Is It REALLY GENUINELY - Out of Box - Hands Off

I mainly print just PLA and have never had issues with the default smooth PEI sheet that came with the printer - I just try never to touch the surface at all, and the odd clean with IPA every now and then. Saying that, I'm still being drawn towards the Satin sheet too.....thinking of picking one up.......

I use a textured with my BambuLab printer, which gives the surface finish I'm after, but also have the Supertack sheets for it as well. Haven't used them yet but thought it would have handy for prints with larger surface areas to minimise any warping. I don't think Prusa have anything similar, hence why I may pick up the Satin instead - or just try a BambuLab sheet on the Prusa - it may overhang very slightly but should work OK......

Posted by: @bowtie6

I am very pleased with my MK4 -> MK4s upgraded printer.  It has worked very well.  However, I must say that the satin sheet was a game changer for me. The original smooth sheet was inconsistent and required cleaning constantly.  After reading many posts here, and other people's experiences I purchased a satin sheet.  The quality and consistency of my printer improved dramatically.  The satin sheet is the only way to go, at least for me.

RE: Is It REALLY GENUINELY - Out of Box - Hands Off

Just get an MK4.  No more futzing with Z axis calibration.  It almost prints right out of the box.  Of course, there is some maintenance and learning curve required, just like anything else.