Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy  

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

Posted by: @ben-4

Dont be unhappy....it is going to be awesome either way!

Besides, you will probably be able to buy a new Mk4 frame at some point and then you can switch it out.  I predict it makes no discernible improvement over stock for 98.2% of prints.

 

 

On the live chat they stated it was developed due to material shortages. I believe it must use less material as it has a structure that is injection moulded (yes, not just plastic can be injection moulded). But if you don't have vibration damping feet on your printer (I use the squash ball ones) then that it worth doing now, it certainly reduces noise and probably improves print quality too.

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

Posted by: @ben-4

Dont be unhappy....it is going to be awesome either way!

Besides, you will probably be able to buy a new Mk4 frame at some point and then you can switch it out.  I predict it makes no discernible improvement over stock for 98.2% of prints.

 

 

Agreed but they should remove this statement, that is false advertising

"we decided to give you a full MK4 upgrade as well. 🙂 "

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

Agreed they should not advertise it as a full MK4 upgrade. Or if they do it needs to have an asterisk by it MK4*.

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

If it performs as well and they continue to upgrade it, I have an issue with the Mk4 name.  I think we need to assess the performance before we react.  

Posted by: @steve457

Agreed they should not advertise it as a full MK4 upgrade. Or if they do it needs to have an asterisk by it MK4*.

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

No just expecting to get what they say they are selling you, an upgrade to an MK4. That means with the upgrade kit installed it will be an MK4, otherwise they should market it as an 'Almost MK4 Upgrade Kit'.

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

If it performs as well as an Mk4, who cares.  

Posted by: @paul-hodara

No just expecting to get what they say they are selling you, an upgrade to an MK4. That means with the upgrade kit installed it will be an MK4, otherwise they should market it as an 'Almost MK4 Upgrade Kit'.

  

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

Obviously it will not perform as well, if it would, then Prusa would not upgrade those additional components  

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

Not all improvements are for print performance I would guess.  As someone said, perhaps new frame is more economical or more ecological, etc.  But it is more fun to say it is a performance improvement!  

Is the new frame cast/injected aluminum/magnesium?  I know this is done regularly now for notebook computer frames, but it seems pricey for this application.  If it is plastic, I would rather have the aluminum slab I have now.

I do agree that Prusa should not claim it as a full Mk4 upgrade, or maybe they should provide the anti-vibration feet to make it equivalent? 

I'm going to love this new Mk4...the wifi and faster print alone make it desirable, the mmu3 will be the real cherry....if it works well!

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

If it performed as well, why would Prusa add 10% more cost on an upgrade?  I think you need to look at this as cost savings.  Why would they upgrade 10% more and increase the cost of an upgrade if it did not significantly increase quality?  

Right now, it is all assumptions.  I would calm down till the upgrade is in someone's hands.  

Posted by: @paul-hodara

Obviously it will not perform as well, if it would, then Prusa would not upgrade those additional components  

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

We will definitely have to wait to see if it performance the same. Either way, its misleading. One hand they tell you getting full upgrade, we know it not, support tells you no difference, and video says new stiffer frame, vibration dampening. Lol

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

I would think the term upgrade refers to improvement which could be, performance, quality, capabilities/features, longevity, reliability or aesthetics (I don't think fashionable printers are a big selling point).   Their could also be improvements on the manufacturers side, lower cost, lighter(lower shipping charges), components with more reliable suppliers, less support issues.

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

I think something else people need to keep in mind is that with patience there will be other upgrade options besides the ones Prusa is offering.  It's only a matter of time before somebody comes up with the mod to install Nextruder, etc. on the Bear frame, which is much stiffer than the factory Mk3 frame.  There's already a mod for the Bear for 10mm Z rods (I used it on mine), and while the spacing would have to be exactly the same for the Mk4 X axis to just drop on, somebody will eventually come up with an X carriage for the Bear X-axis to accept the Nextruder.

RE:

I asked on the live chat: both mk3.9 and mk4 upgrades will have the new 10 mm rods; the new frame instead is not included in any of the upgrades. But I do not think the frame alone can do a noticeable difference in printing quality: we have smoother and more silent electronics, a better extruder, thicker z rods, better stepper motors. The only difference with a non upgraded brand new mk4 is the frame. Do you really think the frame alone can do such difference with all the upgrades above? There's always room to change things, but to consider an upgraded printer "not an mk4" just for the frame seems to me unnecessary worry. I've ordered an mk4 upgrade and I can't be happier.

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

I agree but dont call the 4 upgrade a full upgrade in there website. Full should = the same if you bought a new mk4 

RE:

Well they always improve things: even the printed parts sometimes are changed (and without warning: you realize only if you print a spare part by downloading the file). If an improvement is not relevant for printing quality or printer functions I think you can call the printer with the same name. Incidentally, the upgrade with "all" but the new stepper motors is called "3.9" but to be honest the difference is very subtle, given the pictures published for comparison.

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

What is an improvement that is not for print quality or printer functions? Isn't that the definition of an improvement in this context?

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

Not necessarily. They mentioned in the stream that moving to the injection molded frame helps with some supply chain issues. I haven’t  gone back to check the exact language, but a more secure supply chain would be an “improvement” that wouldn’t affect print quality. They have said the frame is slightly stiffer, and that’s great, but with input shaping, it seems likely to me that’s in the noise. Heck they even point out that the improvement you get from the new motors is really slight. If you just gotta have the new frame, get the full kit. 

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

Yeah that's what I was saying further up the thread.  There can be improvements to the consumer (speed, quality, reliability) and or improvements to the manufacturer (supply chain availability, cheaper cost, reliability). It would be pretty misleading to tell the consumer there are 'improvements' if it only benefits the manufacturer.  In there video they compared print speed between the MK3 and the MK4 but noted the MK4 speed listed was in draft mode. This is really not an accurate comparison.

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

But then again…why does the mk4 full upgrade state that the print height is 10mm more then either the original mk3(s(+)), the 3.5 or 3.9…so I recon the frame is upgraded with the mk4 upgrade…but we’ll see

RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy

It's not. You get those 10mm because the extruder is smaller in the back. So, you get some way before the collision.

Posted by: @chris-p-4

But then again…why does the mk4 full upgrade state that the print height is 10mm more then either the original mk3(s(+)), the 3.5 or 3.9…so I recon the frame is upgraded with the mk4 upgrade…but we’ll see