What is your MK upgrade path?  

RE: What is your MK upgrade path?

Just so everyone is tracking - the x or X is a wild card for what every you have - MK3, MK3S, MK3S+, Mk2......

RE: What is your MK upgrade path?

I see no need to upgrade mine works fine

RE: What is your MK upgrade path?

None of the above.  Both of my 3S+ units are upgraded to the Bear frame with Bear Exxa.  If I decide to upgrade further, it will probably be to install Klipper, and possibly go to V2.0 of the Bear extruder after Greg releases the final version (beta currently available to his patrons).

Not that I have anything against the Mk4 or the various intermediate level upgrades.  In particular I see the Mk3.5 as an attractive option for a Mk3 owner whose Einsy has died.

RE: What is your MK upgrade path?

That is more of a cross grade.  I have a bear, but the goal is move to automatic leveling.  I might go with the Mk4 and just sell me bear and MK3Ss.  

Posted by: @netpackrat

None of the above.  Both of my 3S+ units are upgraded to the Bear frame with Bear Exxa.  If I decide to upgrade further, it will probably be to install Klipper, and possibly go to V2.0 of the Bear extruder after Greg releases the final version (beta currently available to his patrons).

Not that I have anything against the Mk4 or the various intermediate level upgrades.  In particular I see the Mk3.5 as an attractive option for a Mk3 owner whose Einsy has died.

RE: What is your MK upgrade path?

I ‘upgraded’ my MK3S+ replacing the stock extruder and hotend with a Bondtech LGX and a Slice Eng. Mosquito.

Not interested on MK3.9/MK4 kits because I’d loose the Bondtech extruder and the Mosquito hotend. The only upgrade to consider would be a Mk3.5, which would allow me to keep my present setup. On second thoughts, I don’t think it’s worthwhile to pay the price of  a MK3.5 only for getting 32 bit electronics board and a better screen. The venerable Einsy board still does OK. Besides, to keep my LGX extruder needs that Bondtech releases a firmware for the new Prusa 32 bit board and that, if it ever happens,  may take a very long time.

RE:

I think you have to understand the benefits of the 32 bit.  To me that would be input shaping.  I have not decided but once I saw it on my MK4, the Mk3.5 upgrade made sense.  

For my two Bondtechs, I am waiting on news on the firmware from them.  If they support the new 3.5, I will upgrade them also.  

Posted by: @artur5

I ‘upgraded’ my MK3S+ replacing the stock extruder and hotend with a Bondtech LGX and a Slice Eng. Mosquito.

Not interested on MK3.9/MK4 kits because I’d loose the Bondtech extruder and the Mosquito hotend. The only upgrade to consider would be a Mk3.5, which would allow me to keep my present setup. On second thoughts, I don’t think it’s worthwhile to pay the price of  a MK3.5 only for getting 32 bit electronics board and a better screen. The venerable Einsy board still does OK. Besides, to keep my LGX extruder needs that Bondtech releases a firmware for the new Prusa 32 bit board and that, if it ever happens,  may take a very long time.

RE:

Posted by: @cwbullet

That is more of a cross grade.  I have a bear, but the goal is move to automatic leveling.  I might go with the Mk4 and just sell me bear and MK3Ss.  

I disagree.  Klipper will allow the use of input shaping, and I can install it on my existing electronics (Pi + Einsy).  Bear Exxa 2.0 is a geared extruder, so similar gains as the planetary gearing in Nextruder.  It's also going to be lighter than the current Bear or 3S+ extruders.  At that point the biggest thing Mk4 has going for it is the auto bed leveling, which would be convenient, but it's far from the only criteria for whether something is an upgrade.

If you were referring to my current upgrades as cross-grades, I still disagree.  Whether the stiffer Bear frame can translate into better prints is debatable, but to my thinking the real benefit of it is ease of mounting accessories on the 2040 extrusion frame compared to the Prusa frame, along with nice touches like the easier belt adjustment, better cable management, etc.  Bear Exxa 1.0 has some benefits over the Mk3S+ extruder...  One of which I personally observed running them side by side for a year is far better hot end cooling.  And the X-axis itself has some quality of life improvements.

Also, there's currently an effort to adapt the Mk4 to the Bear frame, with early versions successfully running.

RE: What is your MK upgrade path?

Posted by: @artur5

On second thoughts, I don’t think it’s worthwhile to pay the price of  a MK3.5 only for getting 32 bit electronics board and a better screen. The venerable Einsy board still does OK.

As a replacement part for a Mk3 with a dead Einsy, I think the 3.5 upgrade makes a lot of sense.  The Einsy still works fine, as long as it works.  I don't see a lot of reason to buy a new one now, given how expensive it is for what you get.

RE: What is your MK upgrade path?

the real question is if it will work with the bear.  

Posted by: @netpackrat

 

Posted by: @artur5

On second thoughts, I don’t think it’s worthwhile to pay the price of  a MK3.5 only for getting 32 bit electronics board and a better screen. The venerable Einsy board still does OK.

As a replacement part for a Mk3 with a dead Einsy, I think the 3.5 upgrade makes a lot of sense.  The Einsy still works fine, as long as it works.  I don't see a lot of reason to buy a new one now, given how expensive it is for what you get.

RE: What is your MK upgrade path?

There's no reason why the 3.5 shouldn't be able to work with the bear frame.  Bear Exxa could be another story since the nozzle height of the extruder is different, but since the 3.5 is being marketed as the upgrade for people who want to keep their modified or aftermarket extruders, I would be surprised if the two are not compatible.  I think it's entirely likely that the Einsy board will wind up being discontinued at some point in the not too far future.  It's already expensive, and with Mk3 production down, and nearing the end of its run, the loss of economies of scale argue against its continuation as a viable product.  The 3.5 upgrade will give Prusa a way to support repair of its older printers even after that happens.

Posted by: @cwbullet

the real question is if it will work with the bear.  

Posted by: @netpackrat

 

Posted by: @artur5

On second thoughts, I don’t think it’s worthwhile to pay the price of  a MK3.5 only for getting 32 bit electronics board and a better screen. The venerable Einsy board still does OK.

As a replacement part for a Mk3 with a dead Einsy, I think the 3.5 upgrade makes a lot of sense.  The Einsy still works fine, as long as it works.  I don't see a lot of reason to buy a new one now, given how expensive it is for what you get.