3D Upfitters Prusa i3 MK2 User manual
Prusa i3 MK2/3/3S
Enclosure Kit
Installation Manual 4.0
October, 2020
Copyright 2020 3DUPfitters LLC
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Copyright 2020 3DUPfitters LLC
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You Really Do Want to Read the Directions
Hey, we get it. You just got your new enclosure kit and want to start using it as fast as possible.
How hard can assembling a few plastic panels possibly be? It’s not really that hard, assuming
you’re following the directions, but try to use brute force and you’ll end up working through
your vocabulary of swear words. While the acrylic pieces in the kit are strong and difficult to
harm if handled correctly, they are still plastic and will break if bent far enough. The ghosts of
the broken panels that have gone before you have become much stronger than you could ever
imagine and are whispering into your ear, “just be a little careful”. "
Before you Start
Is This Manual for Your Kit?
This installation manual covers the R3 enclosure design for the Prusa i3 MK2/MK2S/MK3/
MK3S enclosure. If you have the Prusa MMU or Prusa Mini enclosures this is NOT the right
manual."
Is your Prusa Customized?
#
If your printer is stock then no customization is needed. If you have customized the printer,
you should examine any modifications to make sure they don't block the panels. If part of one
of the panels is blocked, you can use a laser or drill to customize one or more panels. This
should be done before removing the plastic or paper covers on the acrylic panels.
Cutting acrylic requires great care as the plastic is prone to crack if mishandled.
Preparing the Printer!
1. Remove any filament from the hot end (will require heating the hot end) and remove the
filament spool from the spool holder."
2. Turn the printer offand unplug the power cable from the printer’s power supply. "
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Don’t Panic If You See This!!
If you can’t see through the plastic, please don’t
panic! What you’re seeing is just the plastic or paper
protective covering. You, dear customer, are way too
smart to think the plastic is flawed and then call and
email us over and over again leaving increasingly irate
messages. "
You see, when plastic sheets are manufactured they are
covered by either a paper (brown colored) or plastic
(white) covering to protect against scratches. Follow the
directions below to remove the cover and discover the beautiful plastic underneath. But if, in
some rare instance, the plastic arrives with a crack or scratch, either from manufacturing or
shipping, we’ll of course replace it for free. "
To remove the covering from an acrylic panel, lay the
panel flat on a table. Then peel up a corner of the
covering and CAREFULLY and SLOWLY pull
horizontally to the sheet to reduce the lateral forces
that would bend the acrylic. Watch the Video!"
https://www.3dupfitters.com/blogs/news/acrylic. %
Copyright 2020 3DUPfitters LLC
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How to Remove Protective Covering from Acrylic Video
Everything You Wanted to Know About Screwing But
Were Afraid to Ask
Probably the most confusing thing about assembling this enclosure will be which fastener or
screw to use. Luckily it's pretty easy to figure out once you know the system. While the exact
screw to use will be detailed in each section of the manual, you probably won't need to refer to
it once you know the secrets."
The most common screw is the 12mm hex cap head screws. The 12mm screws are long
enough to attach things to the acrylic front, top, sides and back. "
Each section will describe exactly which screw to use, to read carefully and use the specified
screw for the best results. "
The actual length of the "long" screws to attach the fan and or filter will vary depending on the
depth of the particular shipment of fans we happen to get that month. They won't be hard to
spot since they'll be the longest thing in the bags."
Finally, and we can’t stress this enough:"
D O N ’T O V E R T I G H T E N T H E S C R E W S!
D O N’ T U S E A P O W E R S C R E W D R I V E R
Leave the screws a little loose until the end adjustment phase. During that process you’ll be
hand-tightening until the screws are snug, but you can easily use so much force the plastic
pieces or the acrylic crack. Please don’t be that guy. %
Screw
Tool Needed
Usage
Relative Size
30-50mm
Hex Cap
Head
3mm Hex Wrench
Attach fan/filter, attach large
front latch mounts
12mm Hex
Cap Head
3mm Hex Wrench
Connectors, hinges
16mm Hex
Cap Head
3mm Hex Wrench
Knobs, small latch mounts on
some models
#6 3/4” Wood
Screw
Philips Head
Screwdriver
Attach magnetic latch to mount
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Assemble Panels
1. The Front Door
Each of the corners on the enclosure will be held together by the connectors pictured
below. There are only two versions L and R, which can be identified by the letters
stamped on the inside. The diagonally opposite connectors are identical, i.e. Bottom
Right is the same as Top Left. In all cases the surface of the connector with the cutout
pattern faces front or back. Note the two pictures below show the inside of the front
panel.
If the holes don’t seem to line up please check out this video!
https://www.3dupfitters.com/blogs/news/how-to-attach-corner-connectors
R-Connector From Inside
Top Left (L)
Top Right (R)
Bottom Left (Labeled R)
Bottom Right (Labeled L)
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View from Outside the Front
The front door is designed so that the latch is on the left.
Attach the corner connectors on the inside of the door
frame using the provided cap head 12mm screws. The
top of the connector should be flush with the top of the
acrylic. Adjust the screws snugly, but not tight as you’ll
adjust them later. "
There is also a mid-panel corner connector to attach on the
right side. Use a 12mm M4 screws. "
#
"
Locate the magnetic latches and use the wood screws to
attach them to the latch mounts. Hand tighten and make
sure they’re secure, but do not over tighten or they may
strip. The magnetic latch can be later adjusted front-to-
back to make sure the door is flush with the door frame. "
Each latch mount is attached via three screws. Two M4
12mm cap heads are used to attach the latch mount to
the side, while a 30mm cap head secures the latch mount to the door frame."
Attach the hinges to the outside of the door and door frame using M4 12mm screws
and nuts. There will be some play in the hole size so that you can adjust the door to
swing freely."
Attach the door knob by first inserting the square M4 nut
into the slot. Use a 16mm cap head screw to attach the
door."
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"
Now that the latches are mounted it is time to
connect the strike plates. Each plate comes with a
squishy adhesive covering the same size of the
plate. Carefully attach the adhesive side to the
acrylic at the location of each latch. Then, adjust
the width of the metal strike plate so that it is held
on by the pressure of the two sides of the plate.
The adhesive covering will keep the strike plate
from scratching the acrylic. "
You can adjust the way the door swings by using the magnetic latch to hold the left
side of the door in place, and then placing the front on its side so the hinges are at the
top and the latch at the bottom. Loosen the screws and adjust the position of the
hinges so that there’s an even gap on all sides of the door. The door should open and
close freely."
When the front is finished it will look like the image to the right."
2. Attach Left Side
#
The left panel is distinguishable by its small hole
for a cable grommet, in addition to having “left
side” written on it. Insert the grommet as
pictured before attaching the front of the left-side
to the door frame. This is for connecting a USB
cable to the motherboard or to pass wires from
LEDs to a power strip."
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3. Assemble Back
The four corner connectors are mirror images
of the front. "
On each side are “mid panel corner
connectors”, which are basically simple L-
shapes for added strength."
The large 60mm hole is either for the included fan by itself, an air filter (purchased
separately)/fan combo, or it can be covered up by a plastic disk depending on how
much air flow you want."
Note that the fan, either by itself or paired with a
filter or vent is necessary to draw air over the power
supply. This both heats up the air inside the
enclosure AND cools down the power supply,
which extends its life. Only use the circular disk
(not included) to cover up the hole if you have
moved the power supply outside of the enclosure,
or if you simply don’t care about power supply
longevity."
Confirm the direction of the fan’s air filter by
plugging it into a USB power supply before attaching to the filter and back of the
enclosure. The fan should be oriented to pull air OUT of the enclosure. Use the
long screws included in the fan packet to attach the fan. The length of the screws may
change depending on the depth of this particular
shipment of fans."
The U-shaped hole is for the cable grommet and
holder. This will allow you to remove the enclosure
without having to unplug the cables! "
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The back should look like the illustration to the right
when you’re finished."
4. Attach Right Side
The purpose of the vent on the right side is to bring
cooler air to the power supply to increase its longevity
under heavy use. With the fan and/or carbon filter in
place cold air will be drawn in through the power supply,
both cooling the power supply and heating the air as it
enters. Even without a fan, the power supply is still
cooler this way because one side is exposed to colder
air."
The right side panel is a little tricky to configure because
Prusa now has used two different sizes of power supply.
The default layout is for silver power supply they’ve used
for years. Just make sure the cutout in the vent is on the
bottom half to fit around the small bump at the bottom
1/3 of the supply."
If, however, your power supply is black, you’ve got one
of the new ones. In that case you’ll want to run its
power supply cord through the black grommet in the
back of the enclosure. "
You’ll also notice a gap between the bottom of the power supply and the vent. This
can be plugged with a “Prusa gap filler” piece, shown in white, which is included in the
kit. "
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5. Attach Top
Before you tackle the top, now is a good time to
install the cross beam that adds support to the top
in case you want to put the spool holder on top.
(See beam circled in red in the illustration to the
right.) It should just slide into the slots as shown
before you attach the top. If you don’t see slots at
the top one of the sides is probably on upside
down."
Note that until the top is connected security the
beam may fall out of place. That’s fine, just put it
back before tightening the mid-corner connectors."
With the beam in place, it’s time to remove the
plastic. First lay the top on a flat surface as
shown in the instruction video.
https://www.3dupfitters.com/blogs/news/acrylic"
Be careful, as the area around the filament slit
will crack if handled roughly.
"
The top has a front, back, and left to right. This is
because it overhangs the front which is twice as
thick. The right side of the filament slit is closer to
the right edge than the left. Use access through the
doors to attach the top of the enclosure using M4
12mm screws. "
If you attach the top and there’s overhang in the
back, then it's attached backwards.
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"
6. Sealing Gaps
Once the enclosure is completely put together, it is time to make sure that each of the
panels is held tightly to each adjoining panel. The connectors are designed with a
small amount of play that allows you to make small adjustments for the perfect fit. "
1. Loosen screws on the panel to move."
2. Push that panel into place. You may need a friend to hold it tightly in the right spot."
3. Re-tighten the screws to hold the panel. Only tighten enough to hold the pieces
snuggly. DO NOT OVER-TIGHTEN! These parts are sturdy, but they’re still all
made out of plastic. "
Repeat the process, going around the enclosure looking to make sure all of the panels
are flush to each other."
Once the gaps are sealed, you can then position
the enclosure. The biggest thing with the power
supply is to get the vent in the right place. If you
are using the silver power supply there isn’t much
tolerance in the placement of the off/on switch
and power cable plug, so you’ll have to get it
close. This will make it easier to turn offand on
and provide the best seal so that heat won’t
escape. "
Note: The image to the right is for the silver PSU.
If you have a black PSU refer to the section on
the Right Panel assembly. "
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7. Plugging Things In
"
There are a couple of things to plug in: the
Prusa itself and the fan. The old style silver
Power Supply Unit just plugs in through the
vent."
If, instead, you are using the newer black
power supply then the power cable goes
through the grommet in back."
"
We recommend getting a combination USB
power supply strip, available just about
anywhere. That way you can power both the
printer and accessories from the same strip,
AND turn everything offand on from outside the
enclosure."
8. Spool Holder
Instructions for assembling the spool holder are
available online. You can simply sit the spool
holder on the top of the enclosure where the
filament can fit into the slit. Of course, you are free
to use whatever type of freestanding spool holder
you wish; there are hundreds of designs available
on Thingiverse. "
Copyright 2020 3DUPfitters LLC
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9. Thermometer
The optional thermometer will let you know
approximately what temperature it is inside
the enclosure. It attaches to the left side of
the door piece using the same hole as the
top-most corner connector as shown. It
comes with a longer screw to fit through
everything."
10. Managing Enclosure Temperatures
There's not much to a 3D printer enclosure. Although ours look fancy, functionally they're not
much different than putting a cardboard box over the printers since both designs are passively
heated by the beds. How complicated can they be? This section will explain a little about how
they work, and how to manage the temperatures to get quality prints while protecting your
lungs."
We generally get two types of customers:"
1. Those interested mostly in air quality."
2. Those interested mostly in print quality."
Think Airflow, Not Fishtank
The problem is those two goals use two different techniques in terms of airflow. For the best
air quality, we use the same design as industrial equipment, which uses airflow to manage air
quality. Because of physics, the amount of air moving into the enclosure has to be equal to the
air moving out of the enclosure. When the air moves out of the enclosure carrying volatile
organic compounds it can then be vented to the outside or run through an air filter. "
People often ask us if the enclosures are airtight and have a bottom. If your main concern is air
quality then being airtight doesn't buy you anything since the particles will just float out when
you open the door. It's only by maintaining a negative air pressure that the particles are reliably
kept away from human operators, which means having openings for air to both enter and exit
the enclosure."
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If the maximum internal temperature is the goal, then being airtight also doesn't help since the
main cause of heat loss is through conduction through the sides of the enclosure, not through
small amounts of air loss. A bottom doesn't help either since while heat doesn't rise, hot air
does, and thus almost all of the heat of an enclosure is at the top. A bottom is helpful,
however, if your table is too small for the enclosure."
Since airflow is key, all of our enclosures come with fans chosen for CFM ratings to match the
cubic size of the enclosures. This ensures that for cool-loving filament types like PLA there's
enough airflow to keep the temperatures in the safe zone. "
Room Temperature
Passively heated enclosures are completely dependent on the room temperature as a starting
point. If you're trying to print ABS in an unheated garage in the winter the temperature inside
the enclosure is never going to get hot enough. The reason is the bed heater has only enough
energy to increase temps from the baseline. If that baseline is 22C, then you've got a good
chance of getting into the sweet spot. If the baseline is 13C, then you'll be lucky to warm the
interior of the enclosure hot enough to print materials such as ABS. "
ABS and Nylon
You want the internal temperatures higher for filaments like ABS, which happens naturally
because the recommended bed temperatures are much higher. With the fans turned on we
shoot for internal temps between 35C and 40C for 3D printers that use E3D hot ends because
E3D recommends that temp range to avoid clogging. Keeping the temperatures in that range it
puts the least stress on the equipment and follows the manufacturer's guidelines."
This works great for people either interested mostly in air quality or those who are risk-averse
and don't want to take a chance of clogging their hot ends or decreasing the useful life of their
printers."
More experienced 3D printer owners though, those for whom a clogged nozzle is a known risk,
might want to run the temperatures higher for less chance warping of ABS parts or to print
nylon. In those cases, you can turn offthe fans or even print one of the vent covers and just
not vent at all. For our internal print farm, we do the later on a couple of machines where the
temperature when printing ABS gets as high as 46C. They've been running like that for years
with no filament clogging. Even with no venting of the power supplies, we've never had a
power supply fail either. Obviously, your mileage may vary, as it depends on a lot of variables
such as filament quality and the quality of the power supply in that particular printer."
If you're looking for the highest temperature's possible, try turning the bed heater on for an
hour before you print. "
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Perfect Enclosure Printing with PLA
Since PLA is perfectly happy at room temperature, the only reason to enclose it is for improved
indoor air quality. PLA typically prints with a bed temperature of 60C, so it's going to heat the
enclosure less than ABS right offthe bat. Always make sure to print with an enclosure fan and
monitor the internal temperature, which ideally should be in the 30-35C range or lower if you
can get it. "
If you'd like to lower the temperature further you can always buy a more powerful fan, but the
easiest thing to do is just crack the front door a little to increase airflow. But won't that let out
all of the volatile organic compounds coming offthe hot end? The key is the negative pressure
combined with the fact that the particles are extremely small and light. "
As you can see, the fan keeps the air flowing in and the harmful particles flowing into the vent
or filter. "
3D Printer Design Matters
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The other part of the equation is the printer design. Those printers where the hot end is at the
top of the enclosure make it easier to achieve higher temperatures because the hot air rises to
the top, and the vertical hot end position is fixed. Those printers with the hot ends at the
bottom are always going to have more problems managing temperature simply because the
temperature is more likely to vary as the hot end goes from the bottom to the top of the
enclosure."
Let Us Help
If you're looking to achieve a particular temperature with your enclosure, let us know and we'll
give some advice on how to manage, but it's really not that hard: "
Lower Temperature = More Cold Air"
Higher Temperature = Less Cold Air"
Pro Tip: measure your current temperatures before attempting to make any changes. We get
support calls saying "my enclosure is too hot" or "too cold" but they didn't actually measure
the temperature. Without measurements, it's impossible to say if a printing problem is
temperature related or not."
"
11. DIY Tool Holder
Our favorite customization is to add magnetic tool
holders to the side. One end can be attached via the
same hole as the corner connectors, but the other
end will require drilling a single hole. "
You can find magnetic strips like this all over Amazon
or your local hardware store."
12. MK2/S Height Adjustment
The enclosure height is designed to fit the MK3/S be default. If you happen to own an
older model MK2/S then you will notice the power supply duct opening is at the wrong
height. This is because the MK2 didn’t come with feet. Luckily, with a little extra
effort you can make it line up just right. "
Copyright 2020 3DUPfitters LLC
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