Prusa i3v on the way!

Just bought in to the Prusa i3v as recommended by a few forum goers, the overall price, and colin's amazing, blazingly fast customer support for my q&a's.
I've been trying to read up all I can about any build issues, tweaks, etc... however there are a few things that maybe some of you can assist me with (first time 3d printer buyer):

1. I've read that it would be beneficial to get couplings for this printer, but no mention of what kind / where to buy?

2. What kind of lubricant should I get, and should I get different kinds (for the rails and other?)

3. I really would like to build myself an enclosure for this, since I have a lot of draft and it will be in my room where I sleep (no toxic ABS fumes, please!). Does anyone have pics of successful enclosure builds for this printer? My thought was to mount it on a wood base, and build a box around it. Is there a better way? Preferrably I would like to make it look as part of the printer, and not just "in a box" sort of enclosure...

4. Heat bed: Aluminum yay or nay? I've read many places that an aluminum plate has helped for heat transfer and distribution. Also, how does the wood platform hold up to temp from the heat plate? Should I consider investing in aluminum Y-axis platform?

5. Extruders: Should I look into getting an aluminum version of Greg's Extruder (or other?) Also has anyone successfully done dual extruder heads on this? Also where can I find that tape I so often see on the hot end on many 3d Printers (I'm assuming it's some sort of heat protection/burn protection?)

Thanks everyone! I plan to paint my black. Any tips on that as well? Pics once I'm all setup!

Just got my i3v today! And now I'm about to leave town for all of next week. Grrr. Responding where I can...

1. The couplers need to join 5mm shafts on the stepper motors to the 5mm threaded rods. I bought couplers from MakerFarm with the printer - maybe they can still add some to your order. I've read of people with issues getting a good set-screw grip on the threaded rods. I'm going to try filing a bit of a flat on one side of the threaded rods, and also wrap wire in the threads of the rods as required to improve the fit in the couplers.

4. How good the wood platform holds up probably depends how good of an insulator you have between the wood and the heat plate. Colin uses cardboard in his assembly video. Some Prusas have used cork, like that from square tiles. I bought a Norpro 8" x 8" square silicone pot-holder/trivet off eBay to try, although it's a bit thick and I might have to increase the spacing between the heat plate and the wood platform a small amount to use it.

5. The i3v kit comes with a roll of 5mm wide kapton tape.

I'm going to paint mine as well. Another build thread recommended spray painting the wood sheets before they are broken down. I'm taking a bit of different tack and gluing much of mine together first, removing the fasteners and painting, then reinstalling the fasteners and completing the assembly. Of course this will take me more time and I'm not following the build videos 100% to do this. I figure this should give me a pretty solid machine. Along with time spent dressing up the wiring, it should also look pretty good.

EDIT: Added response to #5. Also, let me clarify my painting approach. I'm initially only assembling the wood pieces that are basically attached permanently - pieces without adjustments and with little reason the parts will have to come apart again. Joints between those pieces of wood get glued. I'll then prep and paint all the wood, and then go back through the assembly process to install the rest of the components. This will require some assembly procedures that differ from what Colin does in the videos. The two areas that are not getting glued up front include the LCD holder and the spool holder. The LCD card can't be installed if the LCD holder is fixed to the frame, and I'm not sure I like the spool holder and may not even use it.

2. Lubricant: I suggest a spray-on silicone type of lubricant. As long as the lubricant dries so it is not sticky, it should be OK. Going against this suggestion, I dabbed some wheel bearing grease on the extruder gears, just to make sure that they stayed lubricated. I've had no problems.

4. Aluminium Heat bed. Nah - the heated bed actually stands off the wooden Y-axis platform, so getting an aluminium one is a waste of time and money. The cork tile stuck to the underside of the heated bed is the way to go. I also put some aluminium kitchen foil beterrn the upper side of the heated bed and the print glass. The other trick is to install a 5Amp auto horn relay between the power supply and the heated bed. The switching circuit for the relay is the D8 connection on the RAMPS board.

5 Extruder: The ABS printed extruder works well. Don't forget to fit a small fan to blow on the extruder. One of the first prints you should do is to print out the components of the Greg's Extruder, just in case.

Painting: Colour is your own choice. I suggest using a can of spray paint, and painting things before assembly. That way you don't get overspray on rods and motors. Painting before assembly will only increase your build time by an hour or so. If you are smart, you will spray everything just before you go to bed, and then things will be ready to go when you wake up.

Tape: The tape is called Kapon Tape. It is used on the hot end just to keep the thermistor in its hole. The hot end will still burn you, so DON'T TOUCH!

Old Man Emu

Agreed with the cork recommendation from OME.

I too bought the 5mm-5mm couplers, and the threaded shaft was too small. I cut a strip of aluminum foil and coiled it around the base of the threaded rod until it created enough of a compression joint to work well. No problems. Pic to follow.

Here's a pic of the aluminum foil wrap on the 5mm-5mm coupler.

Attachment 1284

So jealous, mine shipped May 8th, is still in route.

cjalas, I'll put some amazon links for the items you were asking about that I ordered for my printer:

1. Rod couplers - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I haven't installed these yet but i think they will fit.

2. Lubricant - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I like this lubricant because it's CHEAP and its a little thicker so it won't run down your rods and make a huge mess. I cut a C shape in the end to allow more smooth application to the threaded rods. This is the only part that needs lubrication. You can put a few drops on your ABS extruder gears, I've had good results from doing this.

3. I started a thread about building an enclosure for the i3V - http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...-i3v-Enclosure

4. No I don't think this is necessary, I insulated my heat bed with a single layer of this cork sheet - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

5. Depending on how much it would cost, it would be pretty cool to have aluminum versions of gregs extruder. I would say hold off on it for now because you never know if you want to switch to a different extruder system such as the bowden extruder. If you do decide to get an aluminum version you might want to post on here first because often times at machine shops, if you get a higher quantity you may save some money per unit and others may be interested in jumping in on an order. I know I might!

I would also recommend using loctite blue when assembling your printer to make sure things don't rattle loose over time. Just use it on structural parts you wont have to tweak or adjust later. Don't use it on the adjustable delrin idler or heat bed adjustment screws.

Enjoy the build and take your time! :D
gmay3

Here is a picture of the couplers I used:

Attachment 1290

These ones have four screws. If you look at the coupler on the motor you can see two screws which squeeze the coupler tight. On the unfitted coupler you can see two grub screws which lock the coupler to the shaft and rod individually. These couplers don't move on the shafts.

OME

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gmay3

...I would also recommend using loctite blue when assembling your printer to make sure things don't rattle loose over time. Just use it on structural parts you wont have to tweak or adjust later. Don't use it on the adjustable delrin idler or heat bed adjustment screws.

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Definitely. I've been surprised that use of a threadlocker isn't mentioned more often. To clarify, you don't need threadlocker on any screws with the nylon locknuts. You also don't WANT it on those since nearly all threadlocker compounds degrade many types of plastic. To be safe, don't use it on the nyloc nuts and keep it off the roller wheels and anything else plastic.

EDIT: It should be obvious, but keep the threadlocker out of the bearings, too!

Yes thank you for clarifying that! No need for loctite on the nylon lock nuts.

Thanks everyone so much for your replies, this community definitely is very helpful! :)

I've purchased four of the 5x5mm couplers (off of ebay, cheaper than amazon), is that enough or do I need more? And I definitely plan to use threadlocker for the metal screws and bolts where necessary; has anyone also used wood glue when fitting together the printer? Or is that not ideal? I'm thinking about the heat (especially if I build an enclosure) and possible expansion/contraction of the glue.

Also I did go with an aluminum heat bed plate that mounts on top of the heat bed itself, so I'll let you all know how that goes. Probably will use cork underneath as everyone suggested for some insulation too.

So excited, my package arrives this coming Monday, practically refreshing the UPS page every few hours haha.



@gmay3 -- I definitely would like an aluminum extruder, Gregs' if I have to. I'm not too informed about extruder assemblies though. Eventually my goal was to have dual extrusion capabilities on my printer (I originally was eyeing the Ez3D Phoenix printer because of this, but 10-12wk lead time...), so I'll probably hold off on changing extruders (or adding another magma?) until I assemble and learn more. IF I go the aluminum route for Greg's, I'll let you all know about ordering so we can get a lower discount price :).

@old man emu -- I definitely don't want to / can't use the spool holder as shown in the pics (I think it sits above?) due to space constraints. Ideally my printer height would be as short as possible. I'm thinking to create a holder in the rear, like I have seen on many other 'box' type 3d printers out there, and run the filament through the top back.


I just had a thought, how awesome would it be to have everything painted black (or some color), and utilize anodized aluminum screws where possible (thinking bright blue), then get some LED strip lighting for the inside of my enclosure to light everything up. Pimped out i3v! ;)

You only need 2 couplers for the Z axis threaded rods. They will attach on the each zstepper motor shaft and then will be coupled to the threaded rod. Just like in OME's picture.

I would stay away from the wood glue, the kit is actually very rigid, much more than I thought it would be. The main reason I would stay away from the glue is to allow you to easily take something apart if you need to access, adjust, or replace any parts.

I definitely could be wrong but the aluminum on the heat bed might make it take very long to heat up. I guess this could hold in the heat longer once it's heated up but essentially, it sounds like an aluminum plate above the heat bed and below the glass would act as a heatsink during the initial heat.

FYI on the screws - In case it factors into what you're going to do for paint or hardware, the kits are currently shipping with all black screws (the videos show a mixture of black and plain steel). Washers and nuts included in the kit are plain steel or stainless steel, not black. If you want to replace the screws, you're looking at a lot of hardware to buy - for example, there are over 50 places where M3x16 screws are used.

As gmay3 already suggested, you'd want to be careful what you glue so that you can still make necessary adjustments. I had two focus areas in where I used glue. One was the motor mounts - Even though the parts fit together pretty good, I wanted to do what I could to ensure it stayed that way over time. The second area was to simply improve how the i3v looks when it's done. Gluing the major frame components, for example, allowed me to fill (I used epoxy based wood filler) and sand over the visible joints that remind me of snap-together plywood dinosaur kits that our kids have put together. I figured it is unlikely that I'll need to take the frame apart or remove motor mounts, and that if the glue softens with temperature, the mechanical fasteners are still there to do their job. Should you decide to glue, note that the laser cut edges are glazed, and you'll want to sand this before trying to glue. I found some of the straight-line cuts where multiple parts butted up together in the plywood layout needed some cleanup work anyway. Again, only because I'm particular about how the i3v is going to look when it's done.

EDIT: Added pic showing the front of the finished y-idler plate and how the glued joints for the idler pulley brackets have been filled in.