Prusa Needs to establish service depots  

You can get that level of support

You can get that level of support from Ultimaker and others. They cost a tad more.

service depot

Posted by: @focus-research

Perhaps these printers  are just toys for some people, but I purchased two units for serious engineering work ( prototype parts).  At the price, these printers cost the same as some tools I buy from companies such as HP. Mitutoyo, S, nap-ON, etc.  There is no established(as far as I can determine)  repair depots where a printer can be sent for repair, calibration, etc.    That is the difference between a real tool company and a want-to-be.  Service after the sale  is the mark  of a professional.

 

I hope someone from Prusa reads this and takes it to heart

It would be nice, but probably not gonna happen.  

The Prusa technician project is not stopped, it would offer what you need. Let’s wait.

Technician project?

Posted by: @adesir

The Prusa technician project is not stopped, it would offer what you need. Let’s wait.

What is the Service Technician project?

Posted by: @cwbullet

 

Posted by: @adesir

The Prusa technician project is not stopped, it would offer what you need. Let’s wait.

What is the Service Technician project?

IIRC, it was mentioned somewhere here (blog?) once and kind of disappeared from any spotlight it once had.

Are there any official notices on this?  Certification process?  Application process?

CERT

I am very interested in becoming certified.  I would like to spend my military retirement doing something I love and this might help fund my hobbies.  

No depot

What I find amazing about the I3 design is that mechanically it’s not all that complex. All the parts are either practically indestructible, self printable or easily sourced. The extruder assembly is the biggest PITA to work on, but you could easily prep a spare replacement. Properly prepared you would be able to recover from any failure within a day.

When I was selling cameras, there were some brands that strictly for professionals, others that were strictly for consumers. We also had what we called “prosumer” models — those that were suitable for both. Well, really models for high-end consumers and well… frugal… pros. The Prusa is definitely a very high end consumer printer, which Prusa’s own print farm proves can also serve for professional use. They’re not a wanna-be; they’re in their zone.

There's really nothing stopping anyone from opening up an independent 3d printer service facility.

However, as you say, most of the people using the Prusa I3 series (and most everything else in the RepRap lineage) are handy enough to do their own preventive and corrective maintenance, plus there are very few parts which cannot be easily sourced

Many walk-in service facilities are around which specialize in smartphones, tablets, and laptops.  They obviously do enough business to stay in business.  However, cell phones and laptops are far more common than 3d printers.

I honestly do not know anyone in my immediate area who offers service on 3d printers.

There are some independent 3d printer repair shops.

A quick internet search will uncover a few 3d printer repair shop.  I sent my Mini to Fargo  3D Printer Repair in Fargo South Dakota and they did a good job.  Of course I spent a lot of $$ having to ship the printer to them and back, but that would always be the case unless I was nearby a repair center.  I think Prusa could also see some  extra income by having "local" authorized repair centers that carry Prusa Filament  And maybe complete printers.  If there were regional centers, perhaps they would sell more filament, because the price to the customer would be much lower due to shipping.  Living in the South-east USA as I do, shipping a couple of spools or even a printert from Atlanta instead of Czechoslovakia,would be quite a savings, and be a real inducement for me to buy more.

suggestion

Posted by: @focus-research

A quick internet search will uncover a few 3d printer repair shop.  I sent my Mini to Fargo  3D Printer Repair in Fargo South Dakota and they did a good job.  Of course I spent a lot of $$ having to ship the printer to them and back, but that would always be the case unless I was nearby a repair center.  I think Prusa could also see some  extra income by having "local" authorized repair centers that carry Prusa Filament  And maybe complete printers.  If there were regional centers, perhaps they would sell more filament, because the price to the customer would be much lower due to shipping.  Living in the South-east USA as I do, shipping a couple of spools or even a printert from Atlanta instead of Czechoslovakia,would be quite a savings, and be a real inducement for me to buy more.

If you think it is a good idea, send Prusa an email suggestion.  The forum is hit or miss for suggestions.  

I think, except for warranty repairs, having service depots would only make a printer owner "feel better" and nothing more. Let me explain...
Here where I live, one hour technician work is about 50€. And we all know how much repair work on 3D printer can be done in one hour only -not much. Prusa Mini is 400€ and the question is: who would be ready to pay, say, 200€ for repair +spare parts? Mini is a hobby tool and in that sense it's expected it will be repaired by owner. Even MK3 is double the price, it comes down to the same -and being more robust, there's even less need for servicing.
I can understand, that many experienced 3D printer owners would wish to have a "licence" (as a side income). But I just don's see the clients here. And we should also keep in mind (I'm talking from experience) that repairing is not only taking money: it's also BIG responsibility.

Just sharing my thoughts..

depots

Posted by: @bogdanh

I think, except for warranty repairs, having service depots would only make a printer owner "feel better" and nothing more. Let me explain...
Here where I live, one hour technician work is about 50€. And we all know how much repair work on 3D printer can be done in one hour only -not much. Prusa Mini is 400€ and the question is: who would be ready to pay, say, 200€ for repair +spare parts? Mini is a hobby tool and in that sense it's expected it will be repaired by owner. Even MK3 is double the price, it comes down to the same -and being more robust, there's even less need for servicing.
I can understand, that many experienced 3D printer owners would wish to have a "licence" (as a side income). But I just don's see the clients here. And we should also keep in mind (I'm talking from experience) that repairing is not only taking money: it's also BIG responsibility.

Just sharing my thoughts..

I personally have thought about opening an eStore to sell Original parts in the US.  I am retiring in 18 months.  I have the knowledge and land but I am not sure the investment would be worth it.  

.

It's a nice idea. And maybe in some future we will have such things.

But as of today Prusa is still a pretty small company which can barely keep up with the demand of producing and shipping their printers. And because they try to keep as much as possible in-house, they grow naturally but slow.

The most important requirement for licensed repair shops is a demand. Shipping of this heavy things costs a lot and you never know what damage is done during shipping. So you want to have local high demand in order to make your local shop running worth. I don't see we're there yet.

x

USA users have offered to establish in-country reseller partnerships many times in the past and Prusa has not yet shown any interest.

I think they are running at max capacity (over capacity probably) and the extra energy to establish one has not been worth it for them.  Seems like they are happy enough with just using international shipping.

As for repair, I have personally had to disassemble my hot-end area and tinker then reassemble more than a few ties when I was diagnosing my filament sensor woes.  After doing it two or three times I could get my times down significantly.  So, repairing with experience is much much quicker than a first time repair.

But.....   I can't see making more than beer money from it.

The community will just set up a series of video help guides and knock you out of business.  Like already mentioned, most users prefer to just fix things themselves.

usa

Very true.  We need a US-based support network.  

Maintenance Technician Program

I'd like to see a Prusa certified maintenance technician program, first of all so that I can maintain my own print farm, & eventually so I can hire & train others to maintain it as the business grows.

RE: Prusa Needs to establish service depots

Perhaps a "Zoom" technician service is the way to go. This can be done 24/7 anywhere in the world cheaply. 

RE: Prusa Needs to establish service depots

I could see the Zoom-based service being very frustrating for the tech.

“I need you to make sure that screw is nice and tight, but not too tight” <snap> “That’s too tight, now you’re f**ked.”

RE: Prusa Needs to establish service depots

- I am sure, that if you ask here on other forum with more of your nearby folks, you can get a professional service.

- There is not a level of need of some pro repair, there is just a treshold of experience and, well, self trust.

When I started with linux, I thought it's sooo hard, but in a few months it served me much better than windows 95/98. Since then I gradually learned and if that system didn't employ all the hazy mess during the years, I'd understand everything there today.

When I started servicing sewing machines, it was hard and under pressure as our servician was ill, the other one already proven himself destructive, so I simply had to try or call factory serviceman for insane travel cost. So I tried and yeah, after twenty hour battle I won...I did a thing that is easy to do in 10 minutes! Hurray! But I understood most of the principles during the process which become repetitive - setting distance between needles on dual needle beast. After a year, I did it under 5 minutes and didn't have to even try if it works after the task. I knew it will and it always did. Since that time I met many other industrial sewing machines, I can do nearly everything on lockstitch or interlock without hesitation. Now I know I can.

When I ordered my MK3S+ I already knew a lot, so I made it in a few hours to nearly ideal state - it does not differ from embroidery machine too much 🙂

If I used only technicians on my way, I'd still be dumb, dunno if I would setup my Prusa together well or even whether I would order it. So It's up to you what you want, what you want to save and what you want to spend. I prefer spending my time and getting bonus experience for it to just spending money for the same result. + I have all services the same day on site - try to afford such warranty 🙂