Do You Power Off Your Machine?

I rarely turn the machine off (my disability makes it difficult for me to reach the switch myself so I have to ask someone to do it) but I'm wondering if I really should begin turning it off when not using it. Maybe I can use a power bar and place it where I can reach the switch.

Will leaving it on all the time significantly shorten the life of the PSU and other electronics? What do the rest of you do?

Turning it off won't make much difference to the PSU life. Component life is a function of temperature and it should run cool when the heaters and motors are off. The fan bearings are probably the only thing that is purely on-time related.

I tend to power off the 12V via the RPI to save electricity and only turn the mains off when leaving the house for an extended period.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

I turn mine off. I also cover the whole machine with a large bin-liner bag to prevent dust accumulation. There... my dirty little secret is out!

Regards,
Neil Darlow

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I try to write with consideration for all nationalities. Please let me know if something is unclear.
Printing with Mendel90 from fedora 25 using Cura, FreeCAD, MeshLab, OpenSCAD, Skeinforge and Slic3r tools.

@nophead .. Thank you. I'm wondering too about the Melzi? Is it fine being powered continuously, or does it go into a sleep/rest state when not running so the chips etc. stay cooler?

@neildarlow .. We got a new little black fuzzy kitty and after he's grown for some months I can't believe the amount of tiny little hairs that stick to the oily smooth rods. They must be floating it the air and land on - and stick to - the printer. Aside from wiping the rods clean I hope the seal keep them out of the bearings. I might have to adopt your trick!

Hi Garry,

If you have turned-off all heaters and motors the Melzi will be in it's lowest power mode of operation. I am not aware that Marlin actually puts the processor into idle.

Statistically, electronic equipment is more likely to fail at power-on. At one company I used to work for, as a Design Engineer, we did not fit power switches to our products and users were advised not to switch the equipment off.

Regards,
Neil Darlow

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I try to write with consideration for all nationalities. Please let me know if something is unclear.
Printing with Mendel90 from fedora 25 using Cura, FreeCAD, MeshLab, OpenSCAD, Skeinforge and Slic3r tools.

Thanks Neil,

It is reassuring to hear from someone with industry background. I also never turn off my desktop machine. I made this decision years ago after researching the issue. While there is likely a case to be made for either side I chose to believe the argument that repeated power on/power off cycles and thus heating and cooling of components led to shorter life than leaving the computer run continually. I guess I will leave the Mendel90 on and not fret about it.

One thing to be careful if one does turn it off - if your hotend uses a colling fan and you turn it off straight after a print is finished then heat can travel up and melt plastic cauing a jam. I turn mine off at night or for extended periods of absence but only after the hotend is cool.