MakerFarm 8" i3v Prusa build by Printbus

[printbus]

Notes and observations from my i3v build are captured here. My assembly goals included seeing what I could do to improve the appearance of the completed printer. The i3v is expected to be my only 3D printer for a long time, and I want it to look good whether in use or on the shelf. Primary areas of emphasis were in gluing some of the wood components, filling the post and slot wood joints, painting, and a major effort on cable dressing and routing. Various mechanical tweaks were incorporated as I saw a need for them during the assembly. Whether these extra efforts were necessary or not is irrelevant. It's just part of how I approach things and part of the reason why I bought a kit instead of an assembled printer. I admit that I'm unusually nitpicky about things, but some of my observations and suggestions may still be of value to others.

Subassembly notes and pictures are provided in the same sequence of the MakerFarm i3v build guide. All notes here are with respect to the 8-inch i3v kit, build guide, and build videos as they were around May 2014. Note that in my case I had glued various wood components together in an initial assembly pass prior to painting. Info that follows is mostly derived from final assembly after painting.

FOLLOWUP COMMENT: Readers need to note that the bulk of the build thread is based on the 8-inch printer, and based on the 8-inch printer as it was in early 2014. While some concepts will apply to newer 8-inch kits and the newer, larger printers, MakerFarm has been making changes to the printer designs. All mods and improvements discussed in this thread should be assessed for suitability on the updated kits before they are attempted.

The thread includes a lot of detail on purpose. Feel free to skip it if you're expecting a quick read.

Also note that as of April 2015, 3DPrintBoard was having problems properly displaying images and dealing with other attachments. Printbus posts in the thread have been revised to now link to images and attachments stored offsite from 3DPrintBoard.

THREAD TABLE OF CONTENTS
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
X MOTOR SUBASSEMBLY
X IDLER SUBASSEMBLY
Y IDLER SUBASSEMBLY
Y BED SUBASSEMBLY
X CARRIAGE SUBASSEMBLY
Y MOTOR SUBASSEMBLY
FRAME, X AXIS SUBASSEMBLY, and X AXIS INSTALLATION
X AXIS ALIGNMENT
Y AXIS
LCD INTERFACE AND LCD INSTALLATION
Z MOTOR
THERMISTOR BUILD
HEAT BED INSTALLATION
ENDSTOP INSTALLATION
EXTRUDER AND HEXAGON HOT END
POWER SUPPLY and RAMPS MOUNTING
WIRE ROUTING (Part One)
WIRE ROUTING (Part Two)
MOTOR TESTING and ENDSTOP ADJUSTMENT
BED LEVELING
GARBAGE DATA ON LCD DISPLAY
HEAT BED CLIPS
WRAPUP COMMENTS ON THE INITIAL BUILD
SIX WEEK STATUS UPDATE
Y MOTOR COOLING FAN
IMPROVED KILL SWITCH
NOISE AND VIBRATION REDUCTIONS
MINOR FIRMWARE PERSONALIZATION
EXTRUDER REBUILD AND NEW PRINT COOLER (Part 1 of 2)
EXTRUDER REBUILD AND NEW PRINT COOLER (Part 2 of 2)
DISABLING POWER FROM USB
TWEAKS TO THE COUPLERS ON THE Z-AXIS RODS
RAMPS STEPPER MOTOR DRIVER COOLING FAN
NOV 2014 BENCHMARKS USING MAKE: 2015 TEST MODELS
RUNNING SUMMARY OF CONFIGURATION SETTINGS
DISPLAY BEZEL
REPURPOSED SPOOL MOUNT
NEW MOTORS AND MORE
POWER MODIFICATIONS
NEW APPROACH FOR THE HEXAGON HOT END SHROUD
SMOOTHIEBOARD AND OTHER UPGRADES
DECEMBER 2016 STATUS UPDATE
PRINT BED REVAMP
FEBRUARY 2019 STATUS UPDATE
RASPBERRY PI AND OCTOPRINT
Z-AXIS LEAD SCREW UPGRADE
X-CARRIAGE AND EXTRUDER REPLACEMENT
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