LCD Hex Knob Prusa Style Mini, MK4, MK3, MK2, MK1

Ah, the saga of my black Prusa printer! When I finally got around to mounting it, I was bummed to see that the LCD knob was black on black. And trust me, printing it in full Prusa orange wasn't the jaw-dropping solution either. So, I embarked on a journey of iterations, trying to make it work with the round-ailed knob that came with it. But alas, no luck. Then it hit me! The hexagon, a symbol of the Prusa universe. I gave it a shot, and voila! The answer was a dual-color print with a sleek black knob sporting snazzy orange accents. I put in some serious effort because I wanted this bad boy to serve multiple purposes. It had to be practical, user-friendly, and, of course, easy on the eyes. None of that gaudy, tasteless stuff for me. In a nutshell, something that could get a nod of approval from the Prusa design team in an alternate dimension, maybe. Oh, and let's not forget, the icing on the cake: it should be a breeze to print for weekend warriors with a single nozzle printer.

DIRECTIONS:
Alright, folks, buckle up because I've got the scoop on how to nail that print like a boss! We've got a model in two parts, not one, but two corresponding on the two colours! And guess what? There's not just one, but two versions depending on which printer the knob goes on. The orange part (or accent part, if you're feeling feisty) works with any body version. Now, pay attention, we've got two versions of the black body. One for the classic Prusa I3 printers: MK3S+ and earlier models. And the other, oh, the other is for the new generation Prusa printers like the MK4, XL, and MINI, which have a fancy colour LCD screen (at least at the time I'm dishing out these directions). If there are any changes in future versions, you better give me a shout!

Now, here's the key to perfect alignment, my friends. Make sure there are no mechanical hazards by pushing that print bed all the way to its back limit and that printhead hugging the left limit (on the XL, get that print head cozy with the XY limits close to its origin). Do this before you even think about hitting that print button, every time, alright? We want flawless superposition here!

Start off by printing that tantalizing orange part, and then move on to the black body. Oh, and listen up, for both colors, head over to your slicer settings and make sure to set that Retraction: Lift Z (AKA Z-Hop) parameter to a smooth 0.6mm. No dragging on previous filament deposits, my friends. Trust me on this one. Now, when you slice that orange part, go ahead and increase the prime skirt by a cheeky 2mm. We don't want any overlap when we switch to that second color, now do we? But hey, when you slice that black body, set that skirt distance back to its original value. Let's keep things neat and tidy, shall we?

Oh, and here's the inside scoop for ya. No problemo if you've got a printer with a probe (XL, MINI, MK3S+ and earlier) to probe that bed leveling with the first color already cozy on the print bed. But my friends with the MK4, listen closely. I recommend disabling the mesh bed leveling for that black body print (find it in the start gcode under the Printer settings tab). And hey, you advanced users out there, feel free to merge those two gcodes with a filament change in between if you're feeling extra fancy.

Alright, my fellow makers, I wish you the best on this wild journey. Enjoy the ride, and remember, there's always an adventure waiting just around the corner!

EDITs :
2024-06-12 Sounds like some MK4 owners are feeling too close from their knob, eh? No worries, I've got you covered! Added a "long shaft" version to bridge that gap and bring you closer to the action. Voilà!