Prusa i3 Mk 3

GreatOldOne

R'lyeh Engineering Works
H-M Supporter Gold Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2014
Messages
418
Has arrived after a slow jaunt through continental Europe. Let the fun commence! :cool:
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Congratulations!

Are you going to document the assembly?
Even just a short write-up about how easily (or not) it goes together, and some info about your first prints would be very useful.

Thanks,
-brino
 
I had a mk3 kit ordered back in March but got frustrated with the delays and cancelled that and now I have two monoprice printers. One select plus and one mini! I have really been using both and I love to see a fusion 360 design come to life on the printer! Jim
 
Pics from tonight’s assembly session.

Frame assembled.
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Y-Axis assembled and installed:
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Then the X-Axis along with the Z-axis lift motors and screws:
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The extruder built and attached to the X-Axis. This took the bulk of the build time tonight, as there a lot of parts to put together, and cables to route.
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Cable management on the rear of the extruder.
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So far, the build has been a breeze, apart from some fiddly bits where M3 nuts have to be pressed into some deep holes. And the instruction book is amazing, you get a full colour printed book, and it’s in English, not some facsimile of the language. :)

Here’s the electronic version if you’re intersected.
https://manual.prusa3d.com/c/Original_Prusa_i3_MK3_kit_assembly

Tommorow I’m onto the electronics and power.
 
LCD and bed attached:
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Electronics enclosure and main board
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PSU - where it’s attached allows it to double up as a brace dor the frame:
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Cable management:
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Wiring connected up to the main board.
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Complete!
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First print.
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Ok, so I tried to print out a benchy as it’s what all the cool kids do. This is what I got:

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Not the best of results! :/

A quick call for help on the Prusa Facebook page, and I got a diagnosis - the belt pulleys where loose. This from several new friends - and - Jo Prusa himself!

After making the suggested tweaks (tighten the grub screws on X&Y axis, check the extruder filament tension, double check the initial layer height), here’s the result - ahoy there mateys!

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I’m blown away by the quality of the print, and the level of support.
 
My first “paying” gig... :p

These are some fasteners I designed for my friend, who in his spare time is the boatman at the local rowing club. He wanted some nuts making up to hold things in the racing boats (I forget what it’s for, but these are the same sort of 4 or 8 man boats you see at the Olympics and the Oxford V Cambridge race on the Thames). The crews have a tendency to do things up too tight, stripping fittings out the fragile boat shells and causing lots of grief and costs to the club. These are can only be done up by hand, and if they try and wail on them the nut will strip out of the plastic before it does any damage to the boat.

I’ve had the fusion 360 files sat on my laptop for ages, as I couldn’t get them to reliably print on my old delta printer. The MK3 romped through them.

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They’re M6 nuts pressed into the bottom, and the text reads “HAND TIGHT ONLY”, just so the crews don’t forget. ;)
 
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