Found in MINI firmware resources...  

RE: Found in MINI firmware resources...

I was sure the MK4 will get a new board.

Thanks for confirmation.

RE: Found in MINI firmware resources...

Would be a quite costly upgrade then. New mainboard, new LCD assembly, couple bulky new plastic parts... if you look at the (ridiculously overpriced, but anyway) Mini replacement parts, we're looking at a 150-200 bucks upgrade.

They might well have high enough profit margins to perhaps offer a MK4 kit for the same price as before, but the price for upgrading an existing i3 is probably too high for me personally to consider doing it.

The old firmware is pretty mature by now and does work well. Sure, controlling it is clunky with that rotate-and-click knob, but that's not different with the new Mini with those new electronics. So what improvements do I really get... print file previews? Nicer-looking GUI? Octoprint functionality built-in instead of hooked to the USB? Those are all minor and not worth spending more than say 50 bucks for me personally.

I am however very interested in the XL's development progress.

RE: Found in MINI firmware resources...

@julianr

Well FDM hits to the limit of printing quality. But there is a lot of space to improve GUI, MBL, etc.

Ultimaker is overpriced, Prusa is not. You can't compare prices to the chinese printers/parts, where dev man hours are basically for free and no testing and quality control at all.

RE: Found in MINI firmware resources...

Posted by: @julianr

Would be a quite costly upgrade then. New mainboard, new LCD assembly, couple bulky new plastic parts... if you look at the (ridiculously overpriced, but anyway) Mini replacement parts, we're looking at a 150-200 bucks upgrade.

They might well have high enough profit margins to perhaps offer a MK4 kit for the same price as before, but the price for upgrading an existing i3 is probably too high for me personally to consider doing it.

The old firmware is pretty mature by now and does work well. Sure, controlling it is clunky with that rotate-and-click knob, but that's not different with the new Mini with those new electronics. So what improvements do I really get... print file previews? Nicer-looking GUI? Octoprint functionality built-in instead of hooked to the USB? Those are all minor and not worth spending more than say 50 bucks for me personally.

I am however very interested in the XL's development progress.

Well, the 32 bit board should be able to make some appreciable print quality improvements in that it should be possible to increase the  microstep resolution well above what the einsy is capable of. Maybe not as useful for most but definitely a boon for those of us with geared extruders and/or 0.9 degree steppers. But you make a valid point that many of the selling features you list are nice but not must-have.

RE: Found in MINI firmware resources...

Granted, I forgot about the higher resolution extruder stepping thanks to the new architecture (would probably come with the ~3:1 gearing too).

I'll stick to my overall standpoint though - the quality difference would be so minimal compared to the current MK3S, it wouldn't be worth that much to me.

Prusa's printers and printer kits have a fair price. But the replacement parts are massively overpriced.

Just check the shop... example: the MK3S trapezoid nut - 7.02€ for a damn run-of-the-mill piece of injection molded plastic!

For fun, I've summed up all the prices for currently available Mini replacement parts (no plastic printed parts, no filament sensor, only smooth PEI sheet, no heater cartridge/thermistor as they are included in the "assembled hotend" spare part).
Guess what? It comes down to €633.95.
And consider this: some replacement parts for the printer aren't even in the shop yet, e.g. the GT2 belts and a complete set of nuts/bolts, and of some other parts you need more than just one (bearings). Plus, the printed plastic parts aren't even included in that! Now compare that to the price of €379 for a new printer, complete with all parts needed.

RE: Found in MINI firmware resources...

Of course there are a number of other 32bit boards although I haven't seen any howto's for the Mk3,

RE: Found in MINI firmware resources...

@julianr

It's like with cars, manufacturers push subcontractors to lowest prices of components for assembled vehicles, then they rake up huge margins while sucking your wallet dry for original spare parts. I think cars may be even more extreme than trapezoidal nut for 7 Eur here.

RE: Found in MINI firmware resources...

Posted by: @julianr

[...] Prusa's printers and printer kits have a fair price. But the replacement parts are massively overpriced.

Just check the shop... example: the MK3S trapezoid nut - 7.02€ for a damn run-of-the-mill piece of injection molded plastic!

For fun, I've summed up all the prices for currently available Mini replacement parts (no plastic printed parts, no filament sensor, only smooth PEI sheet, no heater cartridge/thermistor as they are included in the "assembled hotend" spare part).
Guess what? It comes down to €633.95.

I'd be surprised if that's not intentional. I'm sure Prusa gets tired of people sourcing cheap parts elsewhere and only buying the unique components. Makes it harder to maintain stock for legitimate owners. Prusa will replace defective parts under warranty. They make spares available, but don't intend for anybody to build a full printer from individually-purchased (and packaged) parts.

RE: Found in MINI firmware resources...

First of all it would be interesting to see what kind of problem MK4 will solve. If it’s too close to MK3 and only 32bit then most likely the upgrade is not worth it. Last big milestone for me was magnetic/removable sheet. It’s kind of game changer I don’t want to miss on any of my future printers. On the other hand 32bit or 8bit, a slightly better print quality is kind of nice to have but is not a deal breaker for me. 

RE: Found in MINI firmware resources...

Posted by: @bobstro

 

I'd be surprised if that's not intentional. I'm sure Prusa gets tired of people sourcing cheap parts elsewhere and only buying the unique components. Makes it harder to maintain stock for legitimate owners. Prusa will replace defective parts under warranty. They make spares available, but don't intend for anybody to build a full printer from individually-purchased (and packaged) parts.

Well, Prusa has locked the spare parts category in the shop. You cannot even access it unless you have bought a printer or printer kit from them. Makes prohibitively high prices to deter private clone builders pretty much obsolete already.

RE: Found in MINI firmware resources...

@julianr

You could buy one printer to unlock the shop. Then source key parts from the shop and buy everything else cheaper somewhere else. I think Prusa checked all combinations where such an abuse would be possible and adjusted the prices for the parts.

On the down side I feel being pushed to buy the parts somewhere else after the warranty expires.