My Experience with Prusa so far  

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

I don't disagree with your conclusion. The printer is amazing, but you need to enjoy building a kit to make a kit worthwhile. I went with pre-assembled, and I'm very glad that I did as I got much more experience under my belt without worrying that it had something to do with my build. Everybody has their own perspective though. Bummer that you struggled so much with the kit, but I don't think your experience is typical. Keep on support and hopefully they'll get you straightened out. Touch base with them again. Their support is very good, but there are limits to the warranty you get with a kit.

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

Yes, a shame that it was a struggle. I've built a few now but don't have any specific reason as to why. Aside from the negative of being time consuming I like the idea that you see exactly how the manufacturer designed the kit. And when (if) it comes time to mod it then you are already a step ahead.

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

Purchasing a new 3d printer in kit form is a learning experience. I see a lot folks offering them for sale on Craigslist and eBay. It is a testimate that a purchase is not for the weak at heart.

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

They do kinda suck when a kit gets effed-up. Mine had a wrong part and a failed PSU, and it took them a couple tries to make it right.

But the point is, they did make it right.

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

Yes, I had a few bits missing from one kit and they dispatched the replacements in record time. Literally had it within a few days. If only everything else ....

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

different experience here.

The box was waiting on my doorstep when I got home at 1530. By 2230 I was plugged in, running the self-test.

ACCCH!!! X-axis error. Wait until next day - real job intrudes on my hobbies - Look closely. Stupid ty-raps were in the way of full travel. Fixed that. Self-test passed.

Adjust Z per instructions. first print - not flawless, but very close.

Bought a second one. Even better experience.

Hot end fan error after a couple of days' printing. Much cussing. Got ready to swap fan for a new Noctua, and in the first steps of removing the supposedly bad fan, saw a bit of stray plastic from a past print. Pulled it, re-ran the self-test, passed.

I have a few 3D printers besides my Prusas, but if a Prusa messes up a print it's because **I** messed up - didn't clean the bed, didn't change the filament in the slicing program, that sort of thing.

I still like to play with other printers, but my Prusas are my standard for reliability.

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

It would be interesting to hear back at which steps have you spent so much time? Where did you get stuck? Where are the difficulties?

More information about your personal experience on the actual building process might help other people to make a decision kit or assembled.

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

Yeah, I'm not buying it. On his web page he says he spent...

$20 for a PC power cable
$30 for a vise
$30 for a Multimeter

I can pick up a cable for $5 and a cheap multimeter for $6 good enough for the testing needed. Not entirely sure why anyone would use a vise to put this together, just asking for broken parts.

He has only made 2 posts here, one about Linux and Slic3r and the other pointing to his site. Never a post asking for any kind of help.

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

I didn't read the op screed.
I bought kit and had great experience.
Can't say enough good things about it.
Did I just get lucky?

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

I didn't read the op screed.
I bought kit and had great experience.
Can't say enough good things about it.
Did I just get lucky?

Nope. No issues here either, everything went together fine.

Remember that for every upset person that complains about something online, there are a larger number of satisfied people that you'll never hear from.

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

Richard I assumed that support would be more useful than posting help, and honestly after such frustration is totally insulting that you would say I'm lying.

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

Richard I assumed that support would be more useful than posting help, and honestly after such frustration is totally insulting that you would say I'm lying.

He never said you were. I read his post as that he doesn't buy your verdict/reasoning on whether or not to buy a kit.

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

And I thought I was slow at ~20 hours 😀

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

shit... imagine he bought an Mk2..... the mk3's frame is much faster and fool proof to assemble than a threaded rod Y axis... add buying calipers and a ruler to the list of items to buy... lol.

not sure why you need a vice... how would that even work?

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

Does anyone think that the adapter he bought for the plug is defective and keeps frying the main board?

If you take your time, and follow directions very very closely, zoom in on pics when confused, and have an IQ of 120 or more, you should be able to assemble this kit into a great printer.

Troubleshooting is part of the fun.

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

Does anyone think that the adapter he bought for the plug is defective and keeps frying the main board?

If you take your time, and follow directions very very closely, zoom in on pics when confused, and have an IQ of 120 or more, you should be able to assemble this kit into a great printer.

Troubleshooting is part of the fun.

My guess is he didn't switch the voltage from 240 to 120 if he had a euro PSU and fried the board both times. Or the board isn't fried and just was getting incorrect power.

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

1st post here.

I did read his link and I'd say after reading it he is not really mech inclined.

I have just ordered one of these 3s printers last week and I didn't buy it un-assembled to save but to put it together myself.

Figure that will one up me for future upgrades and when something is broken or not functioning right.

In order to assemble any "kit" you 1st must have certain abilities like the ability to read complex instructions or blue prints.
Tools to assemble, seems the OP had to buy standard items most any maker would have lying around.

I to do not buy the this printer is not worth it.

BUT I will let you know in a week or so when it arrives.

I purposely bought this printer for it's reputation and support.

Yes I wanted a bigger print bed but at the mid range price this was the logical option.

This will be my 1st 3d printer but I own a fabrication shop so assembly should be a breeze.

I'm more worried about problems that are 3d printing specific then I am assembling.

I've been trying to cure that by spending the last week and a 1/2 reading my printer does this or that type threads so I have a idea of where to start and to save time and reposting questions that have already been answered or beat to death.

Rich

Re: My Experience with Prusa so far

1st post here.

I did read his link and I'd say after reading it he is not really mech inclined.

I have just ordered one of these 3s printers last week and I didn't buy it un-assembled to save but to put it together myself.

Figure that will one up me for future upgrades and when something is broken or not functioning right.

In order to assemble any "kit" you 1st must have certain abilities like the ability to read complex instructions or blue prints.
Tools to assemble, seems the OP had to buy standard items most any maker would have lying around.

I to do not buy the this printer is not worth it.

BUT I will let you know in a week or so when it arrives.

I purposely bought this printer for it's reputation and support.

Yes I wanted a bigger print bed but at the mid range price this was the logical option.

This will be my 1st 3d printer but I own a fabrication shop so assembly should be a breeze.

I'm more worried about problems that are 3d printing specific then I am assembling.

I've been trying to cure that by spending the last week and a 1/2 reading my printer does this or that type threads so I have a idea of where to start and to save time and reposting questions that have already been answered or beat to death.

Rich

(Preemptive - not directed at OP, just a general observation)

I agree - it takes a certain kind of person to build a kit. I know people that quite literally throw away LEGO instructions (or refuse to look at them) and then complain that building a model is too hard.
So you definitely need some manual dexterity and technical aptitude. "Tighten until you hear a crack, then back half a turn" won't fly. What's more, I'd also add that it needs a good degree of analytical thinking and troubleshooting skills; If someone encounters a problem and the first thing done is post "IS BROKE, HALP, WAT NAO".. again, a kit is not for them. You have to want to learn and take some initiative on your own. Many common problems are already in the docs or very often discussed here and so a search will find you an answer very quickly. But some people just want to be spoon fed an answer and learn nothing in the process. Best those folks shell out a little more and get an assembled kit with end-to-end support.

In contrast:
I had a fantastic experience with my kit. I like building things, and working with my hands. I know I have the skills to start troubleshooting problems. (It's a shift from a very mentally-involved day job at a computer that gives my mind time to wander some) Kit assembly went smoothly for me and I ended up with a skew of 0.02 degrees first go. I'd definitely do it again as a kit; it helps when you need to disassemble for service or cleaning to know how it went together.

That last part is a common argument for getting a kit over a fully assembled one. But, you have to want to learn that or it's just a means to an end (printing) and you've gained little from the experience.

So, my own take is - if you consider yourself a tinkerer, can solve problems, and have built some kind of kit in the past - then the kit is for you.
If you just want to save some money and don't have any of those skills, you're better off with a pre-assembled kit and the hand-in-hand support.
If you don't have the skills and want to learn... maybe start with a cheaper far-east printer or something else to build them up first; while a Mk3 kit is fantastically documented... it's probably still a bit complex and parts are finicky to make it your first project. Jumping in headfirst will only set you up for a world of hurt.

RE: My Experience with Prusa so far

my experience to this day the best prusa is MK2S, it would be better with new bed magnet, 7x7 calibration and new sensor filament but prusa no soport, the new block extruder MK25 and MK3, continuous jams with filament no PLA a horror and loss of time with continuous prueba, mk2s print everything and now with the new slic3r pe impeccable finish. the best in mk3, structure, silent motors, and leveling the first layer, filament sensor and current cut protection and print PLA. ingeo 850 even doing  tests,pet,abs wood, flexible not tested