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Original Prusa MK4

prusa3d.com

31–40 of 277 posts

Re: Original Prusa MK4

#31
Having messed with 3D printers since before the iPhone came out, I can confidently say My MK3 is the best printer I've owned in terms of value. I can only imagine that they've improved upon this story with the MK4.

Re: Original Prusa MK4

#32
post #11

Has anyone figured out remote slicing? I’d love to just click print on a thingiverse page and have my printer start going.

You can get kinda close to that with OctoPrint running on a RaspberryPi. You'll still have to slice it manually, but you can upload the gcode and start the print from another browser tab.

If you have OctoPrint, you can make it even easier by setting up remote printing directly from PrusaSlicer, so you can upload and print with a single click. This is how I have my mini setup and it works well.

https://forum.prusa3d.com/forum/prusaslicer/guide-config-pru...

Re: Original Prusa MK4

#34
post #25

From outsider perspective (fdm) 3d printers plateaued relatively quickly; while the speed improvement is undoubtedly nice for heavy users, even at 3x speed I don't know if it is really transformative. Meanwhile the print quality hasn't changed really that much afaik? Of course being more reliable and less fiddly are certainly good improvements but I don't see them being transformative or making 3d printing conquer ne…

If you are designing something, being able to rapidly iterate is great. The difference is 4-5 prints a working day vs 1-2 prints a day.

Re: Original Prusa MK4

#35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Box around the printer with a vent/fan blowing outside. It'll be negative pressure in the box, so everything should just vent out. Even if you can just crack a window and get the airflow going out the window... you can push a flexible tube far out onto your balcony...

This is the best way. Inline duct fan and a flex hose running out of your window (you can print an adapter/connector to fit perfectly). It works very well even if your enclosure is not airtight (and it shouldn't be when printing PLA since you want a constant stream of air getting inside for cooling) - just let negative pressure do its thing.

It may seem super silly or I'm just somehow dumb, but the "run a hose to your balcony" is the difficult part for me. That means having a door open for 10+ hours at a time, which is a climate control challenge for the room.

That's why I figured: Why not put the entire enclosure on the balcony, and then heat-humidity control the inside of it? Sure, more complex system and higher power draw, ... but maybe there's whole kits for this? Like, for keeping a 3D printer in a windy shed?

Re: Original Prusa MK4

#36
post #8

So I would really like to get into 3D printing, but I struggle with discomfort over the health implications. I live in a small rented apartment and can't easily work out space or, much more importantly, external venilation. Yes, I've looked into PLA vs. ABS, I've looked into enclosures with carbon/HEPA filters, etc., but I still don't want to have it in my living space without a vent to the outdoors. Here's the best…

If you can shell out a little more, you might be able to print a Nevermore filter[1] and use activated carbon to filter VOCs, provided your printer is enclosed.

You could also buy a Bambu Labs P1P, which is fully enclosed, or build a Voron. There's also the Creality Sermoon V1, but with chinese printers you always have to replace / upgrade the parts, so they're really not that cheap in the long run.

1: https://github.com/nevermore3d/Nevermore_Micro

Re: Original Prusa MK4

#37
post #25

From outsider perspective (fdm) 3d printers plateaued relatively quickly; while the speed improvement is undoubtedly nice for heavy users, even at 3x speed I don't know if it is really transformative. Meanwhile the print quality hasn't changed really that much afaik? Of course being more reliable and less fiddly are certainly good improvements but I don't see them being transformative or making 3d printing conquer ne…

One of the things you can do with higher speeds is use a smaller nozzle, which translates directly to higher visual quality.

There’s also constant improvements to the algorithms; what can be printed in the first place. To name one, it used to be that anything above a 25 degree overhang would cause problems…

These days 60 degrees isn’t too bad, and there are experimental algorithms that can handle 90. Support algorithms have also improved dramatically lately, so we’re pretty close to the point where any and all geometries will just work.

Re: Original Prusa MK4

#38

Nice - but it's been over a year and a half since preorders for the Prusa XL began and it still has not shipped!!! It is clear now that people who preordered the Prusa XL had availability sacrificed for the MK4. It just sucks if you've been waiting more than 18 months for that, only for the MK4 to get day-one availability before your long-awaited preorder.

They are drowning in cash but only hiring cheap, mediocre engineers. When they manage to hire enthusiasts, they either burn them out or leave them to their own devices without unifying vision or structure - as long as the owners like them. The culture is pure nepotism.

Also, people who manufacture the printers are paid peanuts and are managed super strictly.

Also, XL was announced because they were "feeling like they were not releasing for too long". Not because they felt inspired. Then they literally slept on it for a year.

Don't expect anything special from them.

Source: know people inside and from the relevant social circle.

Re: Original Prusa MK4

#39
post #14
post #6

Would someone explain what is notable about this? I'm not familiar enough with the 3D printer space to know what new features and capabilities are developing.

Its more just a brand thing, Prusa was one of the early big names in (hobbyist) 3d printing scene. I don't think this printer coming from any other brand would have reached the front page

This is the truth. Prusa used to be in front of the line a couple of years ago, but since then they've dropped the ball and other manufacturers have caught up. And with much better open-source alternatives like Voron printers, very few people are ready to shell out money for Prusa printers. Plus, there's a big fanboy community around this brand, a lot of which might just be genuine shills (maybe not here on HN, but they do exist on reddit).

Re: Original Prusa MK4

#40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. I always thought they deferred the launch of any new model after X1C in order to take the true "just works" crown back (with the hopes of it would be something like Intel/AMD feuds where the monopoly had finally came to an end and customers can finally see some real competition). But apparently it is just a classic Prusa printer with better parts but still a very very high price to usability ratio (compared t…

It's a proprietary versus open source argument. You can build a mk4 clone for much less than the price of a Prusa-branded one, as everything is open source. The higher price tag is like a donation to open source. Prusa also makes the open source XL if you want an CoreXY model, or you could go with a Voron which is also open source.

> It's a proprietary versus open source argument. You can build a mk4 clone for much less than the price of a Prusa-branded one, as everything is open source. The higher price tag is like a donation to open source.

I would say the higher price tag is more like "Prusa" using its name as a quality assurance system where if you want to get something working without much hassle (since nearly every other mk4/mk3s clone that has been out there really really sucks except the ones from Prusa) you have to pay the premium.

This is not to say they are necesarrily doing a bad job on open sourcing or abusing, but just a mark that "open source hardware" doesn't necessarily benefit the customer as much as "real world features".

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