RE:
I plan to “upgrade” a box of parts I got from a buddy. But I plan to leave my working Mk3S+ alone at least for now. It’s pretty reliable. I may upgrade it later depending on how the other build goes. I do like the idea of having both printers on my network. Not a “must have” but nice.
RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy
Honestly its better to get the kit instead of the upgrade but for me I dont want to deal with selling (scams, meeting a starnger and my time) I also dont have the room for 2 printers. I print for fun for my family and friends when they need stuff. I like the new features so its the upgrade for me. What bothers me is they are calling it a full upgrade and being told its the same when it not. For the upgrade price they can easily have included the frame. Feels like they squeezing more profit. This will be my 3rd upgrade from the orginal MK3. Then in then other hand I cant complain becouse they've keeped my original relevant.
I use my printer for the same 'hobby-grade' type of stuff as you do. I will also be purchasing the MK4 kit, but like you, have no need for 2 printers! Selling is a hassle, but something I'll most likely see through.
--> MK4 - MK4S - MINI+ - Accelerometer Guide <--
RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy
I also just noticed the 3D printed parts are not included for the $579. I am just curious has anyone done pricing for the BOM on the full upgrade?
Prusa should make a profit on this, yay capitalism! But when you buy the full kit you get all the 3D printed parts, when you buy the upgrade you should also get all the printed parts, especially for the price they are charging. Pricing may be reasonable when you think of their engineering costs.
If you choose to buy the upgrade make sure you print out the upgrade parts before you start your upgrade. 🤣
RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy
I also just noticed the 3D printed parts are not included for the $579. I am just curious has anyone done pricing for the BOM on the full upgrade?
Prusa should make a profit on this, yay capitalism! But when you buy the full kit you get all the 3D printed parts, when you buy the upgrade you should also get all the printed parts, especially for the price they are charging. Pricing may be reasonable when you think of their engineering costs.If you choose to buy the upgrade make sure you print out the upgrade parts before you start your upgrade. 🤣
I think they have worked out that they simply cannot produce enough 3D printed parts in time for the upgrades as well as all the kits and built units. The filament is included in the upgrade kit. The built units and kit versions of the printers are their priority as you cannot assume the person making the purchase has a 3D printer.
RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy
I also just noticed the 3D printed parts are not included for the $579. I am just curious has anyone done pricing for the BOM on the full upgrade?
Prusa should make a profit on this, yay capitalism! But when you buy the full kit you get all the 3D printed parts, when you buy the upgrade you should also get all the printed parts, especially for the price they are charging. Pricing may be reasonable when you think of their engineering costs.If you choose to buy the upgrade make sure you print out the upgrade parts before you start your upgrade. 🤣
I think they have worked out that they simply cannot produce enough 3D printed parts in time for the upgrades as well as all the kits and built units. The filament is included in the upgrade kit. The built units and kit versions of the printers are their priority as you cannot assume the person making the purchase has a 3D printer.
Hmm, well that’s an idea. Don’t know if it would save money or not. But if it’s parts availability, I’d take an MK4 kit (what I’m waiting on) with no 3D printed parts. I’ll print the parts with my MINI+, build the MK4, and then sell the MINI.
Heck, I may do this anyway, because those printers where someone does a custom color scheme are nice. But I didn’t feel like taking my MINI apart to do that. But if I’m getting the MK4 as a kit already…
RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy
I was asking not to source myself and build cheaper but to further understand Prusa's pricing and margins. I think it's very important for Prusa to make a profit to finance their development, quality control, and support. I was just curious to know how much. Even if I could build their kit for 50% less I would still buy Prusa. Before I bought my MK3S+ I saw knock-offs for less than half the price, but I chose Prusa, and I am really glad I did. That said I think their upgrade kit should include all 3D printed parts. I also feel that Prusa should give an accurate speed comparison. I still think for the new bed leveling technology, the nicer screen and the ability to swap out the nozzle/hotend assembly and all the other features the full kit printer is well worth the money, at least on paper. One interesting thing they could do is sell a cheaper version of the kit with absolutely no printed parts. I understand the desire to save money. But in my experience cheaper components, bad product documentation and bad support support all lead to additional incalculable costs. My enjoyment does not come from maintaining my printer but from creating my visions. I want something I can rely on.
RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy
I have built a few clones. They are ok, but I will stick to ones that have a warrantee.
I was asking not to source myself and build cheaper but to further understand Prusa's pricing and margins. I think it's very important for Prusa to make a profit to finance their development, quality control, and support. I was just curious to know how much. Even if I could build their kit for 50% less I would still buy Prusa. Before I bought my MK3S+ I saw knock-offs for less than half the price, but I chose Prusa, and I am really glad I did. That said I think their upgrade kit should include all 3D printed parts. I also feel that Prusa should give an accurate speed comparison. I still think for the new bed leveling technology, the nicer screen and the ability to swap out the nozzle/hotend assembly and all the other features the full kit printer is well worth the money, at least on paper. One interesting thing they could do is sell a cheaper version of the kit with absolutely no printed parts. I understand the desire to save money. But in my experience cheaper components, bad product documentation and bad support support all lead to additional incalculable costs. My enjoyment does not come from maintaining my printer but from creating my visions. I want something I can rely on.
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Chuck H
3D Printer Review Blog
RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy
The MK4 is singularly the most disappointing printer I have seen from Prusa. While evolutionary, it doesn't really push the bed slinger design further - the parts I produce at the MK2.5S/MK3 level will match this printer except for possibly the speed.
Save your money - if you have a MK2.5+ you're really not getting much more...
Here's to hoping that this is a lesson for Prusa. They are about to be shadowed by CoreXY printers, they need to fix their upgrade kit strategy, and they need to become market leaders. If you haven't owned a MK2.5+ then this absolutely makes sense to buy, but anyone looking at "upgrading" should consider saving your money.
RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy
Pretty strong opinion for having not used the improved printer yet.....
I predict you will change your opinion.
RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy
I'm kinda dreaming that our local makerspace will get one (XL and/or Mk4), so I could try one out, but their latest acquisitions have been the Makerbot Replicator and the Ender 5.
RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy
You may be right.
Disappointment does not mean that this printer or the upgrade do not have a place. But I am posting what many others are saying and thinking.
I have always been a Prusa enthusiast. I get the incremental improvement. At every release that Josef published I had genuine excitement. This release has none of that for me.
You can always tell when a company begins to struggle - this may very well be the turning point. Then again, maybe I'm out of touch with the market, but we shall see
RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy
You mentioned, "the parts I produce at the MK2.5S/MK3 level will match this printer except for possibly the speed." The speed is a huge deal for a lot of users. Besides the speed, there are a bunch of quality of life items which may not contribute anything to print quality or speed, but they do bring the printer closer to "press button, spits out part" than what we had before.
RE:
I‘m curious what you expected. I can‘t see a compelling case for the CoreXY format at this size. For a larger machine? Sure. It makes sense for larger machines like the XL. But if the Mk4 works as advertised, the CoreXY format offers no advantage at this size. We‘ll see. For me, the higher print speed and auto first layer calibration with Prusa reliability is worth the upgrade. The fact that their stock sold out in minutes and lead time is now up to 6-8 weeks suggests I‘m not the only one that feels that way.
You may be right.
Disappointment does not mean that this printer or the upgrade do not have a place. But I am posting what many others are saying and thinking.
I have always been a Prusa enthusiast. I get the incremental improvement. At every release that Josef published I had genuine excitement. This release has none of that for me.
You can always tell when a company begins to struggle - this may very well be the turning point. Then again, maybe I'm out of touch with the market, but we shall see
RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy
I know this is a crappy answer but if you're going to pay for the full MK3 to MK4 "upgrade", just get a new MK4 and sell your MK3. You win.
RE:
I‘m curious what you expected. I can‘t see a compelling case for the CoreXY format at this size. For a larger machine? Sure. It makes sense for larger machines like the XL. But if the Mk4 works as advertised, the CoreXY format offers no advantage at this size. We‘ll see. For me, the higher print speed and auto first layer calibration with Prusa reliability is worth the upgrade. The fact that their stock sold out in minutes and lead time is now up to 6-8 weeks suggests I‘m not the only one that feels that way.
You may be right.
Disappointment does not mean that this printer or the upgrade do not have a place. But I am posting what many others are saying and thinking.
I have always been a Prusa enthusiast. I get the incremental improvement. At every release that Josef published I had genuine excitement. This release has none of that for me.
You can always tell when a company begins to struggle - this may very well be the turning point. Then again, maybe I'm out of touch with the market, but we shall see
There's quite a few advantages going CoreXY, even at that size. Printers are smaller. Printing tall objects is much easier, and they can be very easy to enclose. CoreXY also enables some nifty things like (easy) auxiliary fans.
The main issue with going CoreXY is that it's usually a bit more expensive. Longer belts, more idlers, more framing required, sometimes more motors if running an autolevelling bed.
Having said that, if I had to choose between the Mk4 and it's CoreXY nearest competitor (Bambu), I'd choose the Mk4. There's more to a printer than just the motion system.
RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy
I was asking not to source myself and build cheaper but to further understand Prusa's pricing and margins. I think it's very important for Prusa to make a profit to finance their development, quality control, and support. I was just curious to know how much. Even if I could build their kit for 50% less I would still buy Prusa. Before I bought my MK3S+ I saw knock-offs for less than half the price, but I chose Prusa, and I am really glad I did. That said I think their upgrade kit should include all 3D printed parts. I also feel that Prusa should give an accurate speed comparison. I still think for the new bed leveling technology, the nicer screen and the ability to swap out the nozzle/hotend assembly and all the other features the full kit printer is well worth the money, at least on paper. One interesting thing they could do is sell a cheaper version of the kit with absolutely no printed parts. I understand the desire to save money. But in my experience cheaper components, bad product documentation and bad support support all lead to additional incalculable costs. My enjoyment does not come from maintaining my printer but from creating my visions. I want something I can rely on.
Ah, just my thought process when I ordered my MK3s+ recently (got my voucher today). Prusa was recommended to me and I almost ordered an XL but delivery dates and cost for my first personal printer put me off. I searched about Prusa and came across a YouTube video showing a clone and how much it would cost to get it as good as a Prusa. The total cost was about US$100 less than the Prusa kit, not including shipping costs. Didn't see the need to go through the headache of upgrading a printer.
I have been printing with my MK3S+ just for over a week and, yes it is not super fast or the latest or greatest but from my experience, it is a great printer, even as a kit. I have had stuff printed at work with high end commercial printers that didn't meet the quality of my first prints and in one case, didn't even last the hold in my hand test. I have had one print failure and that was my own stupidity by putting the thin part of the print on the build plate. There are low cost upgrades that can be made to the MK3s+ to make it faster that I have watched on YouTube which will meet my needs for now.
Would I do an upgrade. NO. I would go for the XL and the true multi-material. I ordered the MMU2s when I ordered my printer but as a person that loves problem solving, this is something to look forward too. My next printer will have to be multiple heads for true multiple materials and build size.
RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy
Small quality improvements, much better controller (something reviewers always moan about) and being able to switch print plates over without doing any menu diving. The last one does seem like much but if you have two plates and when the print is finished you can swap over to another empty one then that's a big plus for throughput. At the moment you have to swap the plate in the menu and have both calibrated.
RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy
I'm embarrassed that I didn't think about this. I just received the $200 voucher and could use it to reduce the cost of the MK4. If i ordered the kit I could have an MK4 for $600. I'm not sure how difficult it is to put the kit together, I'll need further investigation of that. I'm retired, so I have the time. I'm not an electrical engineer, but I've assembled stuff in the past. I'm married so I'm also used to following instructions!
The genius here is that this would allow me to have two printers!
Is there going to be a "sympathy kit" for those of us who finished building their MK3S+ on Monday, only to get hit with the MK4 on Wednesday? 🤣 / 😫
That said, for the pricing involved, I can't see it making much sense to buy the "full" upgrade kit. Having two printers is worth an extra $200, especially when the upgraded one wouldn't be 100% the MK4. The more interesting question will be if any of the partial upgrade kits prove to be good bang for the buck.
Did you buy it in the last 30 days? If so, you'll get a $150 USD voucher by email to cover the difference in price, as the MK3+ kit price dropped by $150 when the MK4 came out. You could use that to buy an MK4 kit for $650 instead of the normal $800.
RE: Mk3 to Mk4 its not a full upgrade. Not happy
The autocalibration is a huge deal for me. That includes the ability to switch plates quickly, without having to calibrate each one. You can, of course, creat individual plates to select from, each with its own calibration, but the security of knowing the printer will ensure the correct z-height for each first layer is a genuine upgrade in my book. Maybe it isn;t to some folks, but it is to me.
Small quality improvements, much better controller (something reviewers always moan about) and being able to switch print plates over without doing any menu diving. The last one does seem like much but if you have two plates and when the print is finished you can swap over to another empty one then that's a big plus for throughput. At the moment you have to swap the plate in the menu and have both calibrated.
RE:
FYI, previous upgrade kits haven't included the printed parts either (except for the odd high-temp material piece). I printed all the PETG parts for my Mk3 to Mk3S+ upgrade. The filament was provided with the upgrade kit.
I also just noticed the 3D printed parts are not included for the $579. I am just curious has anyone done pricing for the BOM on the full upgrade?
Prusa should make a profit on this, yay capitalism! But when you buy the full kit you get all the 3D printed parts, when you buy the upgrade you should also get all the printed parts, especially for the price they are charging. Pricing may be reasonable when you think of their engineering costs.If you choose to buy the upgrade make sure you print out the upgrade parts before you start your upgrade. 🤣