Holding off on a 3D printer is painful but most have the comments associated with them concerning...

[G+_Rud Dog]

Holding off on a 3D printer is painful but most have the comments associated with them concerning the operation and the need for electronic and printing skills to keep them functioning.

While roaming the web found one that was touted as the one to get if you want to print and not fuss with the failures of 3D printing.

Now would like to hear what the community has to say about this printer.

 

https://www.prusaprinters.org/prusa-i3/

https://www.prusaprinters.org/prusa-i3/

[G+_Joe Valasko]

You can't go wrong with a fully assembled Prusa i3 Mark 3 ($999.00 US). Out of the box they print well and have all the latest features such as power failure recovery, filament run-out sensor, auto bed leveling, and a great removable print bed.

[G+_Jeff Gros]

1000% recommended. Not a typo. 1000%.

 

I had the MK2S for about a year and recently upgraded to the MK3, which I've had for a few months now. As I write this, I'm currently printing on my MK3 for a mother's day project.

 

If you can stand the lead time, get a MK3 Kit.

 

Why get a Prusa?

 

1. It is probably the least likely printer to burn down your house. See recent Thomas Sanlanderer videos on youtube about 3d printer fires and fire safety. (

,

)

2. Print quality is excellent.

3. Great support from the manufacturer. They stand by their products and will replace defective parts. You'll usually get a response to a question within a couple of days.

4. Large community means you get good community support, and lots of printable accessories.

5. Fully opensource. Opensource software. Opensource hardware. No proprietary slicer format. Everything is open.

6. Genuine parts (E3Dv6 extruder, Rambo board, etc). No Chinese knockoffs.

7. A heated bed and extruder that get hot enough to allow you to print the large majority of filaments.

8. Build volume is pretty decent. I've never really needed anything bigger.

9. Prusa focuses on quality, consistency and user experience. See below for features that really make the user experience great.

 

User experience:

1. Kits are easy to put together. All required tools are included in the kit. Baggies of parts are separated by build section, with real size pictures of screws and whatnot so you can match them to the pictures if you aren't mechanically oriented. Build directions included in the kit in a color booklet. Better directions available online. Also includes a 3d printing guide, which is very useful for new users.

2. Prusa has done a lot of work in software support. They developed their own slicer called PrusaControl to make it easy for new users to slice STL files. They also develop Slic3r Prusa Edition (based on normal open source Slic3r). Both have Prusa profiles ready to go for common filament types.

3. Mesh bed leveling. You'll never have to fiddle with screws to level your bed again. It just works. On the MK2 you had to be careful during kit construction to get the axis perpendicular to ensure the auto leveling worked. The MK3 has an extruded aluminium frame, which means your axis will be perpendicular, so this will be just about foolproof.

4. MK3 (or MK2.5 upgrade) has a removable bed! It is by far the best feature. I remove the springsteel sheet from the heated PCB, and FLEX the sheet. Parts snap off. No more scraping with a spatula (or ifixit jimmy pry tool in my case). I take the sheet to the sink to wash off gluestick, dry it off, and snap it back on (magnets).

5. MK3 is unbelievably quiet. MK2, like all other printers, was loud. I can sleep with the MK3 about 20 feet away, and with a ceiling fan on, I cannot hear it printing.

6. MK3 has filament detection. The auto loading is nice, but that's not even the main reason this is cool. Imagine you a 1 kg spool. You print a 600 g print, you have 400 g left. But your next print is also 600 g. What to do? Print the 600 g print using the 400 g spool. It will detect when the spool runs out, you change the spool and keep printing. No artifacts in the print.

7. MK3 has 24V power. Bed heats up quickly and temperature doesn't dip with large thermal mass.

 

Check out youtube, and you'll see that Prusa is currently the "Apple" of 3D printing. If you can afford a Prusa, get one.

 

See reviews:

- Thomas Sanlanderer

- Makers Muse

- 3D Maker Noob

 

The above youtubers have a lot of 3D printing tips, but don't forget prusa's blog: https://www.prusaprinters.org/

[G+_Jeff Gros]

Oh. And Prusa is called Prusa Research for a reason. They are constantly making improvements to the software/firmware and their designs. And the improvements are all open source, unlike many of the other vendors. No GPL violations here.

[G+_K Branch jr]

Wow I'm going to check this Printer out , the DIY kit are kit I've been building kit all my Life I was almost born in the body mechanic shop ,

 

So if you like building and have some time and a lot of researching time.. go with a 3D kit, but out of the box is the way to go .

 

For me , I would take it apart any way .

[G+_Brent Vrieze]

One of the mentors of our FIRST Robotics team bought one. Seams to work good not that I'm an expert. He did have a meltdown at the print head one night that took him a week to gets parts for though.

[G+_K Branch jr]

Hey it been over a month ,, but the day is the day my Firestarter is alive , ok first think first as a Know how member for a long time.

 

All the safety upgrades are out the window we love blue smoke . right

 

Well

Ok I did upgrade the power and wiring issues first

 

But for only $190 and I get to build it. This was fun . I'm getting another one