3D Printers can bring to reality any design that you can imagine. Keep yours running at peak performance with these essential maintenance tips:
5 Essential 3D Printer Maintenance Tips
Keep Your 3D Printer Lubricated
Most 3D printers won’t need to be lubricated until they’ve been used for more than 300 hours of 3D Printing. A good rule of thumb is that external lubricant is only needed if you find that your 3D printer’s rods are dry, otherwise it’s not recommended that you add lubricant. Check the recommended lubrication guidelines of your 3D Printer’s manual for the specific details of your device.
Use grease for leadscrews (except if your leadscrew nut is plastic as it’ll deteriorate it) and oil for rods. In order to do so, move the printer to its minimum levels, add the lubricant and then move the printer to its maximum levels, repeat as needed.
Sweep Dust of the Printer’s Components Regularly
All 3D printers accumulate dust with usage. While a dusty 3D printer won’t affect your designs, it can lead to malfunction or slowdown of your printer’s fans, which will eventually make it stop working.
The recommendation is dusting off your 3d printer once a month using a microfiber cloth and canned air for hard to reach places.
Tighten up Loose Nuts and Bolts
While most people set screws once and forget about them until one of them falls off, in a 3D Printer loose screws can begin affecting your designs, it’s better to add this step to your monthly 3D Printer maintenance routine.
Tidy up 3D Printing Debris
Anyone who has used 3D Printers is familiar with the debris left after printing a design. The recommendation is to be diligent with its cleaning after every attempt so that accumulation of debris doesn’t become a problem later down the road. This good habit will keep your printer running healthy for years.
Look out for Overheated Parts
When a component of your device made of plastic is exposed to heat repeatedly, it’ll deform and eventually will need replacing. In a 3D Printer, the main parts to look out for are: bed-holders, belt tensioners, spool holders, motor mounts and hotend mounts, The recommendation here is to make an inspection every 3 months and see if any of the parts needs replacing.