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monoprice_mp_select_mini

Monoprice MP Select Mini 3D Printer

Name MP Select Mini
Owner Sam Harmon
Location Storage
Training needed yes
Hackable yes
Model Model Number
Serial Serial Number
Arrival Date October 2016
Working no
Contact Sam Harmon

(This is the V1 mini. The V2 is a separate printer) Current Status: It's a mess. Currently in a box on a shelf. Rehab at your leisure?

Status: Broken. Needs lots of Fixing

At some point in 2018, this printer experienced multiple failures (Display board failed, and then while troubleshooting, a voltage regulator on the main control board released the magic smoke. The main board has been replaced by a RAMPS, and the display by a low-cost LCD controller. Hotend was replaced by an E3D clone. Still needs a lot of calibration to get 100% right- last time I attempted to use it it errored out with a thermal runaway condition?

A brief guide on usage:

  • Maximum build area is 120mm x 120mm x 120mm
  • This printer theoretically can print ABS, but we have not yet done so. PLA works great, though.
    • If printing ABS, there's a special fan duct cover we've printed that will help that stops the fan from cooling the part unnecessarily.
  • Get your design into .STL format (Thingiverse downloads come this way normally, or export the file via whatever CAD program you choose to use)
  • The easiest & quickest slicer program I've found is Cura. Download that onto your computer (we should probably get it on the main machine in the space as well…)
  • Configure the printer with a build envelope of 120x120x120, layer height of .175mm (multiples of .04375 correspond to the step height on the Z-axis of this printer, so they're somewhat optimal)
  • If you're using the gray PLA filament currently on the printer, it really wants an extruder temperature of 220 degrees C, and build platform temperature of 50-60 degrees C. If using some other filament, it may take some trial and error to get the temperatures right. The Lego keychain is a good test example, as it takes about 10 minutes to print.
  • Save your sliced Gcode file onto a microSD card, and put the card into the printer's microSD card slot.
  • Turn the printer on, select “Print”, and select your .gcode file.
  • While the build platform is heating up, I usually set the extruder temperature to whatever it needs to be (to speed things along) and set the build speed to 2.0.
  • If printing something for personal use, please Donate a couple of dollars ($1/hour for PLA? $2/hour for TPE) to cover filament usage and other expendable parts (hot end, etc.), especially if it's a big print.

Additional Considerations:

  • TPE - in May 2017, we got a spool of Inland TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer) - It does work with the MP Select Mini, but you do need to be very careful or your print will be very easily ruined. Suggestions:
    • Run the Extruder fairly hot (235?)
    • Put some heat on the bed, but not too much (40 seems good, 60 was too much, and the part lifted off the tape)
    • SLOW. SUPER SLOW. I'm currently running a job at somewhere around 8 mm/s (original gcode set at 20 mm/s, and running with the MP speed set at 0.4). Any faster and the filament will kink up in the cold end of the extruder. A Lego keychain took about 71 minutes to print, versus the usual 9-10 minutes with PLA. Expect to be patient.

Potential Hacks/Improvements:

  • Extruder (cold end) upgrade: A set of Metal extruder parts has been procured. Don't replace until necessary.
  • Other modifications: See Here for many other improvements.
monoprice_mp_select_mini.txt · Last modified: 2022/10/26 10:54 by sdh7

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