Taurus hard feet for Prusa MK3 and MK3s by jltx

Last crawled date: 3 years, 1 month ago

I updated these and rebranded to Taurus to complement the rest of that line. Even Prusa agrees you want your printer planted!
increased surface area 50%
wider stance
strengthen frame connection with new slot-lock system
I left the old feet available for those who prefer.
Print with 20% honeycomb infill. PETG recommended.
To use the slot-lock system, insert hex nut into wedge and fit into clip. Insert M3x12mm through clip and screw into nut. Push wedge out back out of clip using screw so there is a gap allowing clip to flex. Insert into extrusion slot and press clip until it snaps into place, also pressing screw to keep the wedge out of the clip. Now remove screw.Alternatively, you can snap in the clip to the frame by itself first without the wedge. I find it easiest to squeeze from both ends against the frame extrusion. The you slide the wedge in from the slot behind the clip. It's a little trickier to fish it in and then align the screw hole, but works.
Clip should slide easily in slot but not come out. Slide up against frame and slide foot over the clip with the two pods against the frame. Should be snug. Now insert screw back through horn and screw down. Should lock in place with no play in any direction, including twisting. Do not over-tighten. Once it doesn't slide, maybe another 1/4 turn. I tried to design it so you can't over-tighten it, but I have learned the people will find a way. ;-)
Note the hole in the back is for removal, to facilitate sliding off the slot-lock; use small hex wrench to keep clip in place.
For concrete/stone base: designed for 3/4" (19 mm) heavy duty furniture pads, 3 per foot. Shave off as much felt as possible, down to where the adhesive starts. Gives you super stable, grippy pad with minimal give. See photo for example.
For smooth base (granite/marble): I found some thin 3/4” vinyl pads at HD that may work if they are grippy enough. They are for glass tables.
For older set:
The stock rubber feet allow for some resonance on high accelerations. Some folks have seen better results with hard feet, helping reduce the prominence of ringing and vertical banding. I had good luck with the old MK2 feet that used felt since I use a paver stone as a base. So I made these to twist into the MK3 extrusions and accept 1" furniture felt pads.
Print as is with normal settings, 0.2 mm layer. Print 4 at once for ease.
The two pieces snap together. Add M3x10 and nut and fully tighten, then back off 3/4 of a turn. Insert into extrusion and twist 90 degrees into position, slide up against frame and tighten down screw for ultimate stability (see photo). You could attach other adhesive feet like sorbothane.
For felt pads, drill 1/8" hole in center before attaching so you can access screw. I could not find thin enough pads, so after attaching, I used a razor blade to shave down to about 2mm thickness. This provides maximum grip with minimum flex.
BTW, the t-nut here is handy for other projects where you want to attach something to the 30mm extrusion. The hex coupler is inscribed 6.92mm and 2mm deep.
More parts
see Taurus line of upgrades for best performance.
I have many parts for MK3. I like them all, but here is what I recommend to tighten things up and improve reliability and print quality. This is based on my own experience using these parts and from others using the same or similar upgrades. YMMV.Z mounts - fix alignment, sturdierY endstop - fix layer shift, long term reliabilityhard feet - reduce vibrationsstable pulley - stabilize belt, longevityrunner - offload frame, poor man's reverse-bowden