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Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer

blog.prusaprinters.org

111–120 of 156 posts

Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer

#111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These threads are always a strange and uncomfortable bridge between valid criticism (many products made in China are cheap and break easily, the Chinese government uncomfortably authoritarian) and actual racism ("the Chinese" only make cheap shit, Chinese don't care about freedom).

...your "valid criticism" will never escape the constraints of orientalism. racism is not a phenomenon of the individual, it's a class phenomenon owing its modern form to imperialism. racism is the crystallization of chauvinism among those classes who benefit from imperialist policy. words like "authoritarian" are taken for granted even though they have a priori definitions and they absolutely come out of the hegemon…

Damn I never thought I would run into a tankie on HN. Neat.

Your criticism isn't totally invalid (if unreadable), but not everything is reducible to class. Stop reading weird blogs about how socialist China is and get outside and do some real activism. Sitting around hoping Xie is going to magically do socialism by 2035 isn't praxis.

Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer

#112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> While it is something Reddit endlessly complains about (despite having no software engineering experience) While I agree Reddit's obsession with weird technical details is annoying, this is a pretty arrogant position. I've written motion control code for both 8-bit and 32-bit designs, and the difference is bigger than "read a string and pulse an IO a few times". The Atmega has been outdated for the past 10 years, t…

Sure, but now they are a small company that has to maintain two separate codebases. Even big companies like Google can't keep their Android and iOS apps at feature parity, so something has to give and it's the early adopters with old hardware that is just not going to get any new features. Or they are going to have twice the software engineering overhead. I get why you would start from scratch with an M4. I don't get…

> Sure, but now they are a small company that has to maintain two separate codebases. Even big companies like Google can't keep their Android and iOS apps at feature parity, so something has to give and it's the early adopters with old hardware that is just not going to get any new features. Or they are going to have twice the software engineering overhead.

I mean sure, it's not going to be a perfectly smooth transition, but I think you're underestimating how bad it was on the Atmega. There is _no_ code space left on those chips, which makes adding features nearly impossible. They'll probably just maintain the old version for as long as they can, while switching new products over to the new one.

The codebase is also probably simpler than you realize. These microcontrollers don't have the code space for programs of any significant size. Porting the peripheral interfaces over to the new controller is not that hard.

> (As for the motion control aspect, at the feedrates of 3D printers, I don't think you get anything from a faster processor. Motion control is not what's limiting print speed or accuracy.)

This is actually a real problem. It's not the basic motion control, but doing things like intelligent look-ahead or vibration compensation.

I think the technology is further ahead than you realize. It's not an Atmega running your microwave we're talking about. Those chips _are_ seriously limited, in material ways, even if you haven't run into it yourself.

Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer

#113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...your "valid criticism" will never escape the constraints of orientalism. racism is not a phenomenon of the individual, it's a class phenomenon owing its modern form to imperialism. racism is the crystallization of chauvinism among those classes who benefit from imperialist policy. words like "authoritarian" are taken for granted even though they have a priori definitions and they absolutely come out of the hegemon…

Damn I never thought I would run into a tankie on HN. Neat. Your criticism isn't totally invalid (if unreadable), but not everything is reducible to class. Stop reading weird blogs about how socialist China is and get outside and do some real activism. Sitting around hoping Xie is going to magically do socialism by 2035 isn't praxis.

it doesn't matter if china is socialist or not. no one here actually cares about that. posting anonymously on the internet is clinical for me just like it's clinical for you.

Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer

#114
post #8

I'm glad that prusa has stayed true to his open hardware pledge all these years, while continuing to push the reprap ideals. Everybody is complaining about the price, but c'mon this thing is designed printed and assembled in Prague, the EU. It creates local jobs for people with fair wages, social security and good quality of life, we should strive to have more of our stuff produced in the west. Happy to see him desig…

The price is great for what it does. I've had a Wanhao for years and love it, but all the features of the new Prusa aren't to be laughed at. I would love automatic bed leveling, because leveling is annoying enough that I would pay to have it done. All the rest is great too, mainly built-in wifi (though I'd probably run Octoprint anyway).

All in all, I consider this a solid contender.

Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer

#115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Damn I never thought I would run into a tankie on HN. Neat. Your criticism isn't totally invalid (if unreadable), but not everything is reducible to class. Stop reading weird blogs about how socialist China is and get outside and do some real activism. Sitting around hoping Xie is going to magically do socialism by 2035 isn't praxis.

it doesn't matter if china is socialist or not. no one here actually cares about that. posting anonymously on the internet is clinical for me just like it's clinical for you.

Why do you think I have imperial interests? Is it because you think everyone does? If everyone does, does that mean you do? In that case, what is the answer? Do we just wait around until China somehow out-imperials the US and not be critical of anything? Then, do you think that will really be better?

Go outside.

Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer

#116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it doesn't matter if china is socialist or not. no one here actually cares about that. posting anonymously on the internet is clinical for me just like it's clinical for you.

Why do you think I have imperial interests? Is it because you think everyone does? If everyone does, does that mean you do? In that case, what is the answer? Do we just wait around until China somehow out-imperials the US and not be critical of anything? Then, do you think that will really be better? Go outside.

i come here occasionally to discover the ideological tendencies of programmers (particularly those in the first world proper) because i am objectively part of that globally privileged class. i'm trying to see if this helps me to navigate the day-to-day contradictions between trying to lead a reasonably comfortable life with my family while also working to sincerely study political economy and perhaps also protect those within arm's reach who are endangered by the US. if i post it's because i'm working something out with myself and just playing around with ideas. not a single person will be persuaded by me. but provoking people like you may be instructional, i'm not sure. like i said this is clinical

how about you? why are you spending your weekend telling anonymous tankies to go outside?

Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer

#117
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Note: former EE. I’ve taken it and the provided power supply to bits before I even fired it up. 1. They’re IRLR3103PBF operated within their SOA. They’re fine. Most MOSFETs fail short due to the construction of the MOSFET. I’ve actually got a few scars on my arms from the buggers exploding on me misusing them on purpose as RF PA’s as a ham. I’ve seen them blow up in various bits of expensive US made kit too (tektroni…

This sort of attitude ignores the fact that a lot of people would rather spend time designing things and prototyping, rather than fix their printer. I had the experience of getting and assembling a Prusa MK3 kit for myself, and getting access to a cheap Chinese printer at roughly the same time. The Prusa cost more than twice as much and I've already made upgrades. Worked correctly right after assembly. I've already g…

I think I’ve spent less time debugging it and having software issues than my HP 3636 inkjet though. I care about the result more than the fettling and it does me well.

Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer

#118
post #8

I'm glad that prusa has stayed true to his open hardware pledge all these years, while continuing to push the reprap ideals. Everybody is complaining about the price, but c'mon this thing is designed printed and assembled in Prague, the EU. It creates local jobs for people with fair wages, social security and good quality of life, we should strive to have more of our stuff produced in the west. Happy to see him desig…

> we should strive to have more of our stuff produced in the west

Why exactly is it preferable to favor "the west" over other places? These types of statements read a lot like "us vs them" to me. What makes "the west" an intrinsically morally better source for products?

Re: Prusa MINI: Smart and compact 3D printer

#119
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

people in Prague deserve jobs more than people elsewhere? Neither Prague nor China have a connection for me so I’ll take the cheapest, please. I don’t really feel that way but your argument just isn’t sound.

You aren't just providing jobs, you are also providing tax revenues. So I guess if you don't see any issue giving money to the Chinese government, then choose the cheapest.

Should chinese entrepreneurs and workers be penalized for being born and being stuck under the wrong regime?
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