This is an advertisement and I don't think there is anything exceptional here.
Prusa makes the best open source 3D printers. This makes it cheaper. No different than when RaspPi announces a new board.
Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer
11–20 of 156 posts
Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer
#12I think the market for this one will be difficult, just because you can get a 3D printer (read: Ender) for basically half the price... ...with this being said, though - I'm happy to see a "entry-level" Prusa. One thing that lags the cheap printers are security measurements. I guess no one is keen on burning down their house, just because this giant hotglue on rails went rogue. On their website, they state that they a…
The Ender is a great printer if you're cool with it catching fire. In several of the 3d printing groups I'm in, the most common question is "what's the best printer around $300" I can get. The most common answer is something like "try not to scrimp and get the Prusa instead." That's a fairly tone deaf answer to someone truly budget constrained, though if the price is double their budget. But for an extra fifty bucks-…
> I have never seen a report of a fire with a Prusa.
Tbf, that really depends on the market share. In the interwebs, I've read a total of 3 - 5 reports of printers catching fire. Now, if 20% of the 3D printers are Prusas, then the rest are chinese ones, which come all with the same bad components. There is not much surprise here, at least for me.
Despite from that, the groups I know usually go like "Yeah, get a CoreXY printer instead. Moving the printbed constantly in XY direction isn't a good idea."
Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Ender is a great printer if you're cool with it catching fire. In several of the 3d printing groups I'm in, the most common question is "what's the best printer around $300" I can get. The most common answer is something like "try not to scrimp and get the Prusa instead." That's a fairly tone deaf answer to someone truly budget constrained, though if the price is double their budget. But for an extra fifty bucks-…
> I have never seen a report of a fire with a Prusa. Tbf, that really depends on the market share. In the interwebs, I've read a total of 3 - 5 reports of printers catching fire. Now, if 20% of the 3D printers are Prusas, then the rest are chinese ones, which come all with the same bad components. There is not much surprise here, at least for me. Despite from that, the groups I know usually go like "Yeah, get a CoreX…
I think, but cannot prove, that Prusa's got a fairly high percent of this broader segment of the market.
Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer
#14I guess switching to a bowden extruder let them cut a ton of costs. Can't wait to see how it prints compared to the mk3. The real test will be comparing it to the Ender 3, which seems to be the form factor/market the mini is trying to go after. Even if the mini is 150 bucks more than the Ender 3, if it prints even slightly as reliably as the MK3 then the Ender 3 may be done for. With low cost printers like the Ender…
Switching to the Bowden extruder may have been more about reducing print head mass because of the cantilevered design.
I'd avoid printers like the Ender for fire risk as much as the hidden cost of maintenance and upgrades. The Prusa Mini will be a much better entry option than the cheap Chinese knockoffs.
Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Ender is a great printer if you're cool with it catching fire. In several of the 3d printing groups I'm in, the most common question is "what's the best printer around $300" I can get. The most common answer is something like "try not to scrimp and get the Prusa instead." That's a fairly tone deaf answer to someone truly budget constrained, though if the price is double their budget. But for an extra fifty bucks-…
> I have never seen a report of a fire with a Prusa. Tbf, that really depends on the market share. In the interwebs, I've read a total of 3 - 5 reports of printers catching fire. Now, if 20% of the 3D printers are Prusas, then the rest are chinese ones, which come all with the same bad components. There is not much surprise here, at least for me. Despite from that, the groups I know usually go like "Yeah, get a CoreX…
I agree it is hard to judge based on anecdotes, but we know Enders have had specific issues that increase fire risk. E.g. thermal runaway protection disabled by default, XT60 connectors with bad connections, defective MOSFETs.
Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer
#16I guess switching to a bowden extruder let them cut a ton of costs. Can't wait to see how it prints compared to the mk3. The real test will be comparing it to the Ender 3, which seems to be the form factor/market the mini is trying to go after. Even if the mini is 150 bucks more than the Ender 3, if it prints even slightly as reliably as the MK3 then the Ender 3 may be done for. With low cost printers like the Ender…
Do you have a view on the Trinamic drivers? Are they important to have?
Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer
#17Why does everyone need a 3d printer? Maybe this statement would sound as ludicrous looking back as asking why does everyone need a PC in the 1980s. However, I still don't understand why would a regular person need a 3d printer? Mass marketed goods are always cheaper due to economies of scale. And would you really want to put in the effort to make your own chair, etc?
Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer
#18Why does everyone need a 3d printer? Maybe this statement would sound as ludicrous looking back as asking why does everyone need a PC in the 1980s. However, I still don't understand why would a regular person need a 3d printer? Mass marketed goods are always cheaper due to economies of scale. And would you really want to put in the effort to make your own chair, etc?
Not everyone needs a printer - but an easy to use, reliable and relatively affordable printer is more suitable for "everyone", not just people that enjoy "fiddling with my 3D printer" as a side-hobby or can/want to afford expensive ones. I interpret the article as meaning it that way.
E.g. a 3D printer can be great for all kinds of creative hobbies.
Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer
#19Why does everyone need a 3d printer? Maybe this statement would sound as ludicrous looking back as asking why does everyone need a PC in the 1980s. However, I still don't understand why would a regular person need a 3d printer? Mass marketed goods are always cheaper due to economies of scale. And would you really want to put in the effort to make your own chair, etc?
I make a lot of stuff from scratch and a 3D printer is an excellent way to quickly test if something is going to work or not in practice. Also: musical instrument parts, prototype machinery, replacement bits for old gear that you can't buy anymore. It's the sort of thing that you use more and more the longer you have it because you see applications that you never dreamed off before getting it.
You won't be using it make your own chair (or at least, you probably shouldn't) and you won't be mass marketing anything 3D printed nor will you compete in the marketplace with anything that can be injection molded or stamped.
But for a quick one-off part if beats whittling out of a piece of wood by quite a distance.
On another note: soldering irons and hammers are also not for everybody, some people will never get the hang of fabrication. But once you are in the group that likes to make stuff 3D printers are just one more option in the tool arsenal.
Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer
#20Why does everyone need a 3d printer? Maybe this statement would sound as ludicrous looking back as asking why does everyone need a PC in the 1980s. However, I still don't understand why would a regular person need a 3d printer? Mass marketed goods are always cheaper due to economies of scale. And would you really want to put in the effort to make your own chair, etc?
Most people won't need it, but most people don't need woodworking tools either.