Ultimate Prusa (MK4) Casing - Symmetrical Face Remix

prusaprinters

DescriptionThis is a remix of the awesome “Ultimate Prusa (MK4) casing” by Cal’sTechConcepts. I really liked the way his designed looked on the right LCD side, so I have mirrored that design over to the left for a symmetrical cupped look.This is my first remix upload, so I’ll do my best to provide a bunch of information from my own experience below while giving Cal’sTechConcepts all of the acknowledgement that he rightfully deserves. He is extremely helpful and has valuable information, pictures & links on his model’s page so pay it a visit and leave it a like as he did all the work to make his model available for the MK4.Parts Needed:Cal’sTechConcepts provided this list of materials and I found them to work perfectly, including the printed T-Nuts linked below! • 4x M3 channel or T-nuts (some available here T-Nut For 3030 Extrusion | T-Slot-Nut All Plastic by Extrutim)• 10x M3 x 12mm bolts• 2x M3 x 16mm• 2.5mm allen key with 75mm of shank minimum*NOTE: There are a couple bolts that sit down inside the honeycomb of the side pieces. Some of those honeycomb holes are a bit small and deep. Because of this I was not able to get a regular sized bent over allen key (too short) or socket head allen key (too big around) to work in them. To access these holes, you will have to have an allen key with a shank that’s 75mm minimum! I purchased a used a longer length T-handle set like Cal’sTechConcepts and it worked great. For the M3 bolts I bought a cheap set that was just M3 bolts in various lengths and they worked fine.Print Settings:I have uploaded all of my MK4 G-Code, Print Files (.3MF) and the .stls but I’m going to provide some notes here so you can slice your own with some insight to guide you. I made my own choices when slicing so I encourage you to you print the way you choose. Material: I used Overture PLA+, no problemsCenter: 0.3 Layer height (Draft mode), 3 perimeters with 20% cubic infill, 10mm brimLeft & Right Filler: 0.3 Layer height (Draft mode), 2 perimeters with 15% cubic infillLeft & Right Sides: 0.3 Layer height (Draft mode), 2 perimeters with range-based varied infill (varied infill was to save on filament while still providing support where I thought it needed) I really wanted my layer lines to match up for a clean visual. The sides were printed flat side down so the honeycomb was facing up. To match the grain for the filler pieces they were printed on their main flat side (easy) but to have the center piece match it has to be orientated vertically like a tower. It looks a little sketchy, but I used a brim and did not have any problems. I will note that I printed the sides and filler pieces fairly sparse as they aren’t going to be handled or experience any harsh conditions but I did break my first center piece during assembly, so I do recommend beefing that one up a bit more with additional perimeters (for the second print of it I did 3 perimeters with a 20% cubic infill with success). Oh, about that brim on the center, I’m sure the 10mm was overkill but it was a small price to pay for peace of mind when printing it straight up, so I went big.Assembly:The model is printed in 5 pieces and there is a little bit of an order to the assembly. The most important thing to know: the center piece that sits above the LCD and the two filler pieces that fit to either side of the LCD are designed to fit right next to the screen and extend behind it slightly. This provides stability to the front but also means that if you cannot first attach all three pieces together thinking you’ll be able to slide them in place as one unit (I learned this the hard way, haha). You have to start by attaching one of the sides to the center piece, putting those two in place and then add the other side to the group as it's all in position. If you’d like to work the rest out on your own, then you’re good to go! However, for those that would like some more detailed instructions I’m going to write out the step-by-step of how I assembled mine. This is not the only way to do it, just the way I did it. Hopefully this helps!Assembly Guide:1. Grab the center piece, the right filler piece and 1 - M3 x 12mm bolt. The tops will line up and you will see the hole where you can insert the first M3 x 12mm bolt to connect them. Tighten these parts together. It may be a tight fit but if you’ve printed your center piece with 3(+) perimeters like I did you should be fine. Set these parts to the side for now.2. You’re now going to attach the T-Nuts to the side piece. You will need: the right honeycomb side piece, 2 - T-nuts and 2 - M3 x 12mm bolts. The right honeycomb side piece has five holes in it for bolts. Three at the front to attach to the right filler piece and two along the side for the T-Nuts. Locate the holes for the T-Nuts and insert an M3 x 12mm bolt down through the honeycomb. Screw the T-Nut onto the end of the bolt. You can adjust the amount you thread it on later as needed but keep in mind that you need to leave enough room for the T-Nut to reach into the Printer’s frame. (more on this later)3. You are now going to attach the right honeycomb side piece to the right filler piece/center piece that you assembled in step 1. To do this you will need: 2 - M3 x 12mm bolts and 1 - M3 x 16mm bolt. Connect the pieces using the M3 x 12mm bolts in the two lower holes and the M3 x 16mm bolt in the remaining upper hole. You should now have one combined piece that is made up of the center piece, the right filler piece and the right honeycomb side piece. 4. This step is what I found to be the most difficult so just take it slow and breathe, haha. You are now going to attach the pieces you have combined to the frame. You need to start by leveling/lining up the T-Nuts so they will slide into the gap on the side of the Printers frame. Once you have done this you can slide the right honeycomb side piece and it’s attached parts forward into place. Make sure that the right honeycomb side piece can sit fully against the Printers frame and that the right filler piece/center piece are sitting in place around the LCD. If everything is positioned correctly then it’s time to tighten the T-Nuts. This is what I found tricky. While holding all the pieces in place as I just described, you need to get your allen wrench down into the honeycomb into the M3 x 12mm bolts that are attached to the T-Nuts and tighten them. Tightening those bolts will draw in the T-Nuts. What can make this frustrating is 1) getting your allen key down into the bolt head and tightening it while trying to keep everything in place and 2) the T-nut just pulls out of the frame rather than tightening. **If this happens, you probably need to adjust how tight you have the T-Nut on the bolt. The T-Nut needs to reach all the way in the frame so it can rotate and grip the frame as you tighten the bolt.** Once you have both of the bolts tightened (and the T-Nuts are holding properly) when you let go of the case it will be held tight in place.At this point you should have the right honeycomb side piece, the right filler piece and the center piece all attached to each other and secured to the frame. Make sure everything is lined up and held in position.5. You are now going to attach the left filler piece to the installed center piece. Line up the left filler piece like you did with the right filler piece in the beginning and use another M3 x 12mm bolt to attach them. Do your best to keep them lined up as you sinch down the bolt. After they’re tightened together there is a *tiny* bit of flex which will allow to straighten/tweak the pieces straight but you’ll want it to be as close as possible as you sinch the bolt down.  6. Next you will install the remaining T-Nuts in the left honeycomb side piece so grab the 2 - T-Nuts and 2 - M3 x 12mm bolts. Attach the T-Nuts the same as you did for the right side.  Last step is to install the left honeycomb side piece. The concept is the same here but the process will be slightly different since you’ll be installing it as it’s own piece instead of with the other pieces already attached. This time you will need to attach the left honeycomb side piece to the frame *and* to the left filler piece.7. Place the remaining 2 - M3 x 12mm bolts and 1 - M3 x 16mm bolt into their correct holes, the same as they were on right honeycomb side piece; the 12mm bolts in the lower holes with the 16mm bolt in the upper hole. 8. Place the left honeycomb side piece in position against the frame. As you slide T-Nuts into the gap in the frame, line up the M3 bolts in the left honeycomb side piece to their holes in the left filler piece. It helps to have the M3 bolts protruding just enough to see that the left honeycomb side piece is lined up with the holes in the left filler piece but *do not tighten them yet!* Once everything is aligned, tighten your T-Nuts first! If you end up needing to make any adjustments to the T-Nuts it is a lot easier to do without having to undo those M3 bolts. So line everything up first, make sure T-nuts are tightened properly and THEN tighten the remaining M3 bolts that attach to the left filler piece.Confirm that all of the parts are lined up, held tight in their position and that your print bed can still move back and forwards unobstructed. If so, then you’re done!