In Part-1 of the Prusa i3 MKS3S 3D printer kit build, I gave a brief overview of my build experience. In Part-2, I provided more details of putting the printer together. Here in Part-3, I finish up describing the challenges I had during the assembly process.

NOTE: Remember, the below steps are just highlights of my assembly experience. They do not match the assembly steps in the manual.

Step-7 – Installing the X and Y belts. As the build continued, the number of parts to physically work around as you assemble components increases. I found the section on belt installation challenging. The toothed belts are provided flat – not a continuous loop. You have to bend a belt end tightly around a bolt on the belt tensioners, and run them around pulleys.

Impression-7 – This part of the assembly took way longer than it should. It was very difficult to determine how to set the correct tension. This caused me great pain later in the assembly. I would say the belts mechanisms are one of the most important parts of a 3D printer.

Step-8 – Assembling the PSU. You may recall in Step-5, I assembled the PSU mounting bolts on the wrong side of the rail. Now that the printer was 75% assembled, it came to haunt me. When I went to mount the PSU, the screws were on the wrong side.

Impression-8 – The manual was very predictive. “Incorrect placement of the PSU holders will lead to issues later,” is the ground truth. I had to disassemble a lot of parts to correct this issue.

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In Part-1 of the Prusa i3 MKS3S 3D printer kit build, I gave a brief overview of my build experience. In Part-2, I provide more details of putting the printer together.

First – some free advise. Take your time building this kit. It is a big assembly project. Trust me on this. In my case it took a full weekend to get it to work.

NOTE: Remember, the below steps are just highlights of my assembly experience. They do not match the assembly steps in the manual.

Step-1 – Pull the “Assembly Instructions” manual out of the big parts box, and then put the box away. Spend an hour or more going through the assembly manual. READ IT. Mark it up with notes. Get familiar with every step of assembly. All of it. Consume this manual if you want to be successful in your build.

Impression-1 – The documentation is excellent. As good as it is, I was tripped up in a couple of places that really sent me down some rabbit-holes. Details follow.

Step-2 – Inventory the parts in the boxes. There are a lot of parts in this kit. Again, the packaging of the parts is terrific. All in their own box, all well marked. This will save you a lot of time.

Impression-2 – The kit comes with a box of “extra” parts. Whoah! Does it ever. The box of extra parts is enormous. At one point I was beginning to believe I could build a second printer with the number of extra parts. I understand why they do this. Sending a missing or broken part to the US takes time and money.

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I finally got around to assembling my Prusa i3 MK3S 3D printer kit. And it was quite an adventure. In the next couple of blog entries, I will walk through the experience.

The short version?

1. I made the right choice buying this printer.
2. The design, quality, and documentation are first-rate.
3. The kit is not for beginners.
4. It takes a long time to put it together.
5. It did not work out of the box.
6. 3D printing is a whole new world if you are a maker.
7. 3D printing requires endless patience because it take time to make things.

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