Does MK3S -> MK4 worth it vs. MK4 kit ?  

RE: Does MK3S -> MK4 worth it vs. MK4 kit ?

I have just spent a day doing this very upgrade - printer is up and running and it is a huge improvement on the stock MK3s. The speed and quality improvement are well worth it (I went for the full MK4 upgrade).  To answer your question - I now have a box of MK3S bits and am in a bit of a quandary as to what to do with it all - as you say there is a hell of a lot replaced in the upgrade.  The frame question - not noticed any noise/quality/vibration using the original frame.  I don’t know what the resale market is like for MK3S printers - I will probably just have a box of bits and sell some as and when people ask for them. 

RE: Does MK3S -> MK4 worth it vs. MK4 kit ?

I echo the fact that its a rather sizable upgrade. 

I was in the same boat - didn't need two printers etc. I ended up selling my MK3S+ as a whole, then purchased the MK4 kit. This way it didn't cost me too much extra and I ended up with a 'complete' MK4 from scratch. Otherwise I felt I would end up with a lot of parts that I would do nothing with, and wouldn't be too easy to sell either considering they were for an 'older' model. 

Saying that, I'm considering selling my MK4 as well - I simply no longer use a 3D printer very much any more!

RE: Does MK3S -> MK4 worth it vs. MK4 kit ?

I was in the same boat with a MK3S+ and I bought the MK4 upgrade. While this is a bit costly, I did not need a second printer and since I modded the MK3S+ considerably, I also did not want to sell it. I am also left with a box of unused parts now, but certainly the stepper motors might come in handy with other projects.

RE: Does MK3S -> MK4 worth it vs. MK4 kit ?

I originally ordered the upgrade kit to MK4 for my MK3S+ but after receiving my XL, I decided it wasn't such a good idea. I opted instead for the MK3.5 upgrade. It's far less invasive, less expensive, and does enough to keep the MK3 relevant.

RE:

I'd say that buying an upgrade at the end comes more than buying a new MK4 kit and selling old MK3S. As guys already figured it out you end up with a bunch of "spare parts" which are useless and will sooner or later end up in trash.

As MK3s vs MK4 goes: it's a huge upgrade. Faster printing, and, what's very important (to me at least): auto leveling when you change sheets. No more damaged sheets or bad prints due to forgetting to change sheet type in a menu. Just change sheet and hit print. 
Not to mention built-in ethernet. I used to have Pi and octoprint on MK3, but now i don't have to.

RE: Does MK3S -> MK4 worth it vs. MK4 kit ?

Agree with you - I am very happy with the upgrade and enjoy the build process. A bunch of spares in a box that probably will never get used is fine with me. 

RE: Does MK3S -> MK4 worth it vs. MK4 kit ?

I think financially you are probably better off buying a Mk4 kit and selling your Mk3 but I didn't want the hassle of trying to sell my Mk3 so I bought the upgrade and will probably just end up trashing the left-over parts.

The good news is the upgrade process was well documented by Prusa and my printer passed all tests first time and has been happy printing for a couple of days now. I haven't noticed any difference between this upgraded printer and my factory assembled Mk4.

RE:

I did the upgrade from mk3s+ to mk4.

At the end, when I´ve seen the remaining parts I decided to build another printer with these parts, so I ordered a bear frame, rods, bearings, a heatbed and the carrier for the heatbed and a power supply.

So now I have a mk4 and a mk3-bear.

Altogether I would say, the upgrade does not make sense. It´s better to sell the mk3 or just use both printers further on.

RE: Does MK3S -> MK4 worth it vs. MK4 kit ?

I decided to just purchase the MK4 kit and keep the MK3S+ as a spare. To me this was the best solution.  I have found that I can have two printers running at the same time if necessary rather than have a box of parts sitting around.  Also, I belive in redundancy and if for some reason the MK4 goes down for whatever reason, I still have a useful, backup printer, not a box of old, spare parts. 

RE: Does MK3S -> MK4 worth it vs. MK4 kit ?

Hi everybody

Thank you for your answers.

I finally decided to try to sell my Mk3s before to buy the MK4.

Julien

RE: Does MK3S -> MK4 worth it vs. MK4 kit ?

The frames are the same thickness.   The MK3 frame is cut from aluminum stock.  The MK4 frame is die cast and has pockets to reduce weight/material used.    No functional difference, that is why it isn't replaced in the full upgrade. 

RE: Does MK3S -> MK4 worth it vs. MK4 kit ?

I was thinking of the same thing. Recently got my XL up and running, I have an enclosure that I haven’t built yet. I would like to do the 3.5 and enclosure at the same time. Do you have the 3.5 up and running?

Posted by: @eastmemphis

I originally ordered the upgrade kit to MK4 for my MK3S+ but after receiving my XL, I decided it wasn't such a good idea. I opted instead for the MK3.5 upgrade. It's far less invasive, less expensive, and does enough to keep the MK3 relevant.

RE: Does MK3S -> MK4 worth it vs. MK4 kit ?

The 3.5 upgrade box is sitting next to my 2-5 tool upgrade. I'll tackle them soon.

Posted by: @razor

I was thinking of the same thing. Recently got my XL up and running, I have an enclosure that I haven’t built yet. I would like to do the 3.5 and enclosure at the same time. Do you have the 3.5 up and running?

Posted by: @eastmemphis

I originally ordered the upgrade kit to MK4 for my MK3S+ but after receiving my XL, I decided it wasn't such a good idea. I opted instead for the MK3.5 upgrade. It's far less invasive, less expensive, and does enough to keep the MK3 relevant.

 

RE: Does MK3S -> MK4 worth it vs. MK4 kit ?

Good choice. That is what I did. Someone got a good deal on my MK3S, and I'm super happy with my new MK4.  It's so much better than the MK3S.