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Original Prusa MK4

prusa3d.com

271–277 of 277 posts

Re: Original Prusa MK4

#271
post #239

For that price tag I would add a couple of hundred dollars and go with the SnapMaker 2. The nice thing is, that it is capable to do also laser engravings and simple CNC milling. Only made good experience so far. https://eu.snapmaker.com/de

Everything I've read about the snapmaker suggests it's a "jack of all trades" and not really great at anything.

Never really read anything about it online. However we are using it at our company and are quite happy with it. The thing is running 24/7 and the printing results are really good after a first calibration. Just sharing my experience...

Re: Original Prusa MK4

#272
post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also assumed the lidar is a complete placebo having owned the P1P and seeing how well it prints with PLA plus looking at available lidar sensors and their accuracy but maybe it does work? Would love to get a teardown on what components it uses but couldn't find anything online some months ago.

You don't need it if you print slowly, and you don't need it for reliable old PLA. If I squint, I think I can see a difference, but it's marginal. Thing is, the X1C isn't really for printing PLA. If you only want to do that, you'd get a V400 or a Voron. When I print PC Blend, though, it's... the difference is glaring. This isn't something that needs a lot of testing; with the lidar off, the corners look like semicirc…

Vorons are pretty terrible at PLA, not enough cooling and enclosure. They're great Abs printers though and PC blend.

Re: Original Prusa MK4

#273
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> Why not put the entire enclosure on the balcony, and then heat-humidity control the inside of it?

How flammable is the insulation on your balcony? If you DIY it, then the danger of burning down your house might be bigger than the health risks of occasionally printing PLA in the living room.

Another option could be a used incubator, but an incubator big enough for a printer will probably cost more than the printer...

Re: Original Prusa MK4

#274
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They also just published a blog post[0] discussing the hardware equivalent of SSPL if I get it correctly. 0: https://blog.prusa3d.com/the-state-of-open-source-in-3d-prin...

Prusa really needs a PR department. Getting your lunch absolutely eaten by some kickstarter printer in near silence, announcing the first few minutes of pre-orders for your already delayed printer will take months, near zero build up to the launch of the MK4... And they won't even let the win from that just sizzle a bit, they need to take all that heat and dump it into the murky depths of Open Source Licensing.

Apparently, they are searching for one if you’re interested haha https://www.indeed.com/m/viewjob?jk=1dc58167c527ddb8

Re: Original Prusa MK4

#275
post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't need it if you print slowly, and you don't need it for reliable old PLA. If I squint, I think I can see a difference, but it's marginal. Thing is, the X1C isn't really for printing PLA. If you only want to do that, you'd get a V400 or a Voron. When I print PC Blend, though, it's... the difference is glaring. This isn't something that needs a lot of testing; with the lidar off, the corners look like semicirc…

Vorons are pretty terrible at PLA, not enough cooling and enclosure. They're great Abs printers though and PC blend.

Good to know. The one Voron I've seen in real life didn't have an enclosure; I take it that isn't standard?

The X1 also prints ABS perfectly. I should remember to make a Nevermore filter one of these days, so I can take advantage...

Re: Original Prusa MK4

#276
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They also just published a blog post[0] discussing the hardware equivalent of SSPL if I get it correctly. 0: https://blog.prusa3d.com/the-state-of-open-source-in-3d-prin...

Several of those suggestions would violate the OSHW definition, a definition that was endorsed by Prusa himself: https://freedomdefined.org/OSHW

I believe people should be free to choose whatever license they think fits their project best, and tend to trust their judgement and goodwill.

That said, I think strongly copyleft licenses even in commercial hardware are underappreciated. Arduino is the great example: sure, it has got tons of clones. But that's kind of the point: that other people make it, and get more people using it (Arduino themselves focused on quality of their in-house produced, and also goodwill of customers). If you have it open source, people can actually copy and modify and improve it, that's the spirit -- although I'd agree it may be tough to secure enough funding from first party product sales to sustain development of the project. In that case, I'd suggest looking for a stable stream of sponsorships/donations, through platforms like patreon or liberapay. And of course, if you're a user, make sure to donate!

Re: Original Prusa MK4

#277
post #137

Could someone explain to me what you get from paying more for a 3D printer like this one instead of a "basic" model? I have a Ender 3 V2 with self-leveling bed (without self-leveling it's not that great) and I use it a lot, enough to justify buying a better $1k+ printer but it's not clear what I get from spending that much money on it. Is it printing speed, better materials, or something else entirely?

In 2023: not a ton. Maybe some better repeatability. You're likely to have fewer out-of-the-box problems; they spend a lot on quality control. If you're just interested in the hobby, the Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro is, for my money, a fantastic entrypoint that you can get for under $250. (I own the larger version, the Plus, which has a bigger bed and turns the fans off when not printing; it's sub-$350.) There's also the Sov…

What QC issues have there been so far? The YouTune reviews have been positive so curious to find out more before I decide to buy or not.
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