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This guide will take you through the maintenance of your printer. Most of the steps are shown on the model MK3S but can be used at almost any Original Prusa i3 printer.
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For the following steps, please prepare:
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Prusa lubricant or similar*
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Several paper towels or cloths
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Move the extruder head all the way to the left. This way you will expose most of the smooth rod.
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Clean the entire exposed rod and focus on the edge, where most of the dust is accumulated.
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Use a paper towel or any soft fabric cloth. Apply IPA or similar degreaser to remove any unwanted grease.
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Return to the extruder (first picture) and move it to the other side of the axis. Repeat the cleaning procedure and again focus on the edge of the axis.
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Continue in the next step(s) with the lubrication.
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Ensure the extruder is moved all the way to the side.
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Apply a small drop of the lubricant on both smooth rods. Using your finger or the towel spread the paste around the diameter of each rod. Don't apply too much of the paste, it will have the opposite effect.
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Move the extruder all the way to the other side.
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Apply an even smaller drop on the parts of the rods, which were previously covered with the extruder and move the extruder all the way back.
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You should create a very thin layer of the lubricant on both rods, check for any significant excess of the paste and clean it, as it will catch a lot of dust over time.
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Ensure the heatbed is moved all the way to the side.
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Apply a small drop of the lubricant on both smooth rods. Using your finger or the towel spread the paste around the diameter of each rod. Don't apply too much of the paste, it will have the opposite effect.
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Move the heatbed all the way to the other side. Then back and forth several times.
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You should create a very thin layer of the lubricant on both rods, check for any significant excess of the paste and clean it, as it will catch a lot of dust over time.
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Turn the printer on and using the printer's menu (press and hold the knob button, then rotate it) move the Z-axis, all the way down. Make sure won't damage the heatbed!
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Apply a small drop of the lubricant on both smooth rods. Using your finger or the towel spread the paste around the diameter of each rod. Don't apply too much of the paste, it will have the opposite effect.
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Move the Z-axis all the way up. Use again the menu.
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Apply an even smaller drop on the parts of the rods, which were previously covered with the X-ends and move the Z-axis all the way down.
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You should create a very thin layer of the lubricant on both rods, check for any significant excess of the paste and clean it, as it will catch a lot of dust over time.
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4 Comments
When you say:
“Apply a small drop of the lubricant on both smooth rods. Using your finger or the towel spread the paste around the diameter of each rod.”
You mean to spread it around the smooth rod only where the drop of lubricant was added and not on the length of the rod. Correct?
I suggest you also create a video for this as I could not find any.
Kind regards,
Marius
Hi Marius,
Yes, spread it only around the diameter of the rod where you applied the drop of lubricant. The rest of the rod will get lubricated during the movement of the bearing :)
After how many hours of printing is this required?
Is there an automated service interval display / indicator - like a modern car has?
KR, Gregor
Hello Gregor,
If the printer works as it should, I recommend doing this every 15 print days (360 print hours) or so. But that’just an estimate, it depends on how dusty is the place where you have the printer, on what do you print… There is no service interval indicator, but I like this idea, I will suggest it to our firmware devs.
