{"id":944,"date":"2020-10-30T15:01:54","date_gmt":"2020-10-30T22:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ismellsmoke.net\/?p=944"},"modified":"2020-10-30T15:04:23","modified_gmt":"2020-10-30T22:04:23","slug":"prusa-i3-mk3s-3d-printer-kit-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ismellsmoke.net\/?p=944","title":{"rendered":"Prusa i3 MK3S 3D Printer Kit (Part-4)"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the final entry in the 4-Part blog posts re. my Prusa i3 MK3S printer. The previous posts can be found here: Part-1<\/a>, Part-2<\/a>, Part-3<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Once I completed assembly of my printer, I followed the instructions to do a self-test and calibration. The self-test failed while performing the “Loose belt pulley test” on the X-axis. The manual said to be sure the motor pulleys are not loose, and to be sure the screws are tightened against the flat part of the pulley shaft.<\/p>\n

First, I checked all the pulleys and they were not loose. This was puzzling to me, because I could not get rid of the error. I finally decided to re-tighten the X-Y belts. This fixed the problem. I was quite surprised how tight the belts had to be in order to pass the self-test. If you run in to this same situation, check your belt tension.<\/p>\n

The next challenge I had was getting the print head depth calibrated correctly. I followed the instructions using the ‘sheet of paper’ method, but the hard part for me was getting the “first layer<\/em>” calibration correct. This involves getting the perfect Z-axis height at the beginning of the print. The instructions really did not provide a lot of help – they simply describe, in general, what the thickness of the print layer should be.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After much trial and error, I was able to get this right. As with all things 3D, patience and trial-n-error are the keys. Once I was able to print the tree-frog flawlessly, I knew my printer was up and running.<\/p>\n

As I review the entire build test, and calibrate experience, I have a few thoughts:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. This was a very fun kit to put together. Beware though – it is not for beginners. I have a lot of technical chops and have built a lot of things from kits. This one was a challenge, and it took a lot longer to assemble then I thought it would. There are a lot of parts and assembly procedures.<\/li>\n
  2. The quality and capabilities of this printer are top-shelf. It is also very quiet. I would definitely buy another Prusa printer.<\/li>\n
  3. I am not a big fan of the Prusa filament that came in the kit. Some people swear by it. I found the other popular brands to make better prints.<\/li>\n
  4. 3D printing is a slow process and you will learn how to be patient if you are lacking this skill. Printing large objects take a very long time.<\/li>\n
  5. You will constantly be fiddling with your printer. That is the nature of the business.<\/li>\n
  6. Once you learn the basics, you will use your printer in ways you never thought possible. I was not sure I would use it a lot. Turns our I use it all the time.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    This is the final entry in the 4-Part blog posts re. my Prusa i3 MK3S printer. The previous posts can be found here: Part-1, Part-2, Part-3. Once I completed assembly of my printer, I followed the instructions to do a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,5,6,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-3d-printing","category-general","category-how-to","category-kits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ismellsmoke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ismellsmoke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ismellsmoke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ismellsmoke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ismellsmoke.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=944"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ismellsmoke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":948,"href":"https:\/\/ismellsmoke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944\/revisions\/948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ismellsmoke.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ismellsmoke.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ismellsmoke.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}