MK4 Review - Quick thoughts after 2 weeks.
I'm going to start with some harsh words about my new favourite printer after having it constantly printing for about 2 weeks: (Sorry I’m a bit of a rambler and don’t proofread…)
The Ethernet & WiFi network connectivity are an embarrassment to Prusa and have been my biggest letdown with the printer. For the last decade, or so, I expect to connect a new gizmo/printer/device to my home WiFi and never think about it again. MK4 has been different story.
First, speeds provided by these interfaces are slow enough that they are basically unusable for home network printing. Transfers measured in Kb/s ( slow like 1980) not Gb/s (fast like 2020). The popular Mini Octopus model (10MB) takes 2 minutes 21 seconds of waiting from clicking Upload & Print in Prusa Slicer to 100% complete. For comparison, using the PrusaLink WiFi add-on for my MK3S+ takes 1.8 seconds for the same print. It’s crazy. Numerous details on speeds people are experiencing if the Prusa Forum if you’re interested. But suffice it to say it’s bad and for anything larger that a benchy it is much faster to send the files to a usb drive, walk to the printer, insert the usb, wait for the thumbnail to load, and hit print.
Second, After sending a file to the printer from PrusaSlicer OVER THE NETWORK you have to walk to the printer anyway and click the PRINT button to have it start. You can’t actually send a print from PrusaSlicer directly to the printer over your home network and have it start printing. Crazy.
Last of the big cons, for me, is that there is no camera or way to connect one. Unless the printer is sitting beside you, which is something to be avoided unless you like to listen to your printer for hours on end, a cameras is an important way to monitor what is happening. 3d prints fail and need to be monitored occasionally as printer doesn’t know about all issues and just keeps making a mess unless you notice. Prusa has provided a janky but cool solution of using an old phone to take a snap shot of your printer ever 10 to 60 seconds and upload it to their Connect cloud platform so you can have a look from there. It works but involves making a stand to aim a phone camera at your printer and have it plugged in to a charger. Looks pretty hokey. Also means you have check via the Connect cloud interface see what’s up and be sending prints though Prusa Connect so you can see the other stats, which, with the speeds of sending files to local network printers, was not too appealing after a while.
As it stands now, I’ve attached a Raspberry Pi with OctoPrint to the MK4 with a usb cable so I can use it like a modern network device; upload files to it in a timely manner & monitor a video stream to check on it. This does mean the MK4 doesn’t have any of my prints so I can’t walk up to the printer and reprint something. Would really prefer to have this stuff provided by Prusa as an integrated system that just works. Suggestion: Update PrusaLink on a PiZero like the MK3S+ has. Availability on this is OK and improving now.
Last little gripe is that it is slow for a new 2023 not cheap printer.
Now on the good parts:
I’ve had the MK4 running almost non-stop for two weeks and have been printing PLA, PETG, TPU, and ASA on it with the satin and smooth sheets. I have not put it in an enclosure yet and have it sitting on a table with the stock top-mount spool holders and filament guide with handy holes to hold the loose tip of the unused spool.
Uncanny how perfect the first layers are. It is so great to not have to give it a second thought any longer. Of all my printers, my MK3S+ had always been the printer that just works. The MK4 first layers and the ability to swap between sheets without any other configuration changes is awesome, it has me confident this MK4 will be my go-to printer for just need a good print to come out.
Speed is slightly faster than the MK3S+ and the print quality has be on par or perhaps a little better in places. The initial marketing about fast benchy print and input shaper only to find out that neither are available for some time felt misleading and a little non-Prusa/Icky. Neither of these are things you can experience once you unbox it and are likely to be unavailable as released software for a few months. Hope to see this soon, how much this impacts both speed, quality, and reliability of prints remains to be seen but I’m optimistic.
Swing away cooling fan is nice for cleaning and I assume swapping nozzles once I get some.
The screen is nice to look at and easy to navigate...a little slow with the thumbnails.
I 've even had a power glitch and the print resumed successfully after. (before I moved to Octoprint and lost this ability)
New extruder is working well, seems to grip like crazy cooling seems dandy. So far so good. I have some different noises coming from it that I’m unsure of but suspect I just keep wanting it to sound like my MK3S+. No worries though as if it was anything, I have no doubt Prusa’s awesome support would get it sorted. No stealth mode for MK4 and mine is a little noisier than my MK3s+ but it’s a relatively quite printer.
Side note: I had a conversation with someone about a new 3d printer the other day, and as a bit of a Pursa fan, I noticed my bias had me making excuses for the Prusa MK4 over a Bambu. Interesting to me. With their needs it was came down to Prusa’s track record for reliability and support being the only things pulling against the Bambu for them. Personally I don’t love some of the business practices I’ve seen from Bambu so I’m not likely to get one, but I this had no value in their comparison.
Multi Material? Wish I know how the MMU3 will shake out. Fingers crossed.
In the end, I own an Ender 3, Prusa MK3S+, Voron V0.1, & Voron V2.4r2. Prior to the MK4, the MK3S+ was the printer I would keep if I could have only one. (Sorry 2.4) I have it mostly stock, and for the most part, it just works with a minimum of fuss or maintenance. I send a print and fully expect that it will complete the print successfully and with good quality. My Vorons complete prints very fast ,with high quality, and good reliability but they took some work to get to that state, and they do throw me the odd curve ball. The MK3S+ isn’t in the same league with speed but is a solid workhorse. The MK4 is shaping up to be the one printer that I would keep if I could only keep one.
I’m not sure what the future holds for the MK4, out of the box the box feels a bit dated on the specs and features. I feel Prusa will need to make rapid improvements with firmware, networking, camera(usb webcam?), & print speed to keep this machine relevant form many in the near-term. I hope resources are allocated to get some of this stuff done. Who knows what they have up their sleeves? They pulled the MK4 out of nowhere. It is a nice step forward from my MK3S+, not a leap, but a good step. I caulk it up to an awesome printer and a fingers crossed it gets some tlc on the software/firmware side in the near future.
How does that resonate with some of you other MK4 early owners?
RE: MK4 Review - Quick thoughts after 2 weeks.
Thanks for your review!
Sorry for my poor English. I try to do my best.
RE: MK4 Review - Quick thoughts after 2 weeks.
Excelent review. Thanks!
RE: MK4 Review - Quick thoughts after 2 weeks.
On Point.
Seems like Prusa could duck in and scribble some of those details down if they want to deliver what the users want natively, built right in, and able to purchase and plug right into the printer seamlessly integrated into the software and hardware.
The idea that we can't intentionally send a file over (when it finally gets there, it is a long round trip back to 1993 for the data sent) and the printer start immediately, is really disappointing.
All the extra clicks and scrolling could be omitted, by just having a "Print immediately" to MK4 Save Setting.
Even being able to preheat the machine in a better way is a desire.
If a prompt immediately asked to preheat for the last material used, or a preselected material when powered on, and timed out if it was not interacted with.
Or even from the Prusas Software interface to control the machine from a computer without having to physically go to the machine click click scroll click scroll click, and walk right back to send the files over.
Anything to give the user a Choice to get rid of all those superfluous steps (when desired) would be fantastic!
RE: MK4 Review - Quick thoughts after 2 weeks.
I am a Prusa fan, but I do admit that I would be p*ssed if I purchased the MK4 due to the claimed quicker print times, only to find that the accelerated print speeds were not ready yet, to be coming Real Soon Now.
RE: MK4 Review - Quick thoughts after 2 weeks.
The MK4 has pushed me to look at other brands. I have too much to bitch about and got tired of bitching. Its not a bad printer, but the brand has been marred by this release in my eyes. We can't entirely blame it on Prusa though, as time goes on and as people continue to put up with it, putting out half-baked products will never stop. Just like a Tesla, as long as it safely rolls from A-to-B they push that garbage out the door and patch it up over time while the customers suffer.
RE: MK4 Review - Quick thoughts after 2 weeks.
I'm glad it is working out for you. I canceled my order. After weighing the pros and cons, my MK3S+ with the Bondtech LGX Shortcut Mosquito prints about as good as one could expect from a bed-slinger. Saving the $ for now. Maybe all the improvements being made recently to the XL will make it to all the shipping models and it will actually be available at PrintedSolid.
RE: MK4 Review - Quick thoughts after 2 weeks.
The good thing: the HW can do all the nice features we would like to see. Some are already implemented (first layer), unfortunately more is to come (speed; input shaping; and improved network integration). For someone who is starting the 3D printing adventure Prusa might get out of scope, because other can already deliver. For me, who knows what Prusa can do in quality, maintainance of SW, and reliability, the MK4 is worth the wait and I hardly can wait to get my MK3 upgraded.
RE: MK4 Review - Quick thoughts after 2 weeks.
As a new to prusa, your mini-review is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
I have had a monoprice-style 120x120 printer since 2018 and it has gotten me through many of my own projects and school assignments. As an older student especially during corona time it was creat to print something while taking care of sick child at home and thus avoiding going to schools print lab.
While I do not print that much I still consider 3d-printing my main “hobby” and I keep myself updated about printers and design for additive manufacturing.
Limits of monoprice are obvious though. That is why I ordered a voron trident kit but after waiting for the kit over two months I in the end cancelled the order and ordered the new prusa mk4 kit. In the end in my current life situation a large voron kit might had been just a bit too much.(my space is also limited)
Prusa has its drawbacks against voron but a lot of upsides too. Mk4 will hopefully receive a “+” upgrade that will fix the most drastic hiccups the first users face.
Throwing this much money into a “bedslinger” I expect to get a workhorse that rarely fails. Beating monoprice-clone is not enough as an ender would’ve easily done that.
I did not buy bambu. I would like to be able to take care of my machine and have spare parts available for the foreseeable future.
RE:
@anza …at times when I have not been printing a lot, the first printer I sent to pre-MK4 was usually my MK3S as it is just works. No thought required for most things, slice, print, expect a good print. Hope you like yours!
@rotarypower101 Remote view of the MK4 panel is interesting. Many of the office printers I work with occasionally have a remote panel that can be useful from time to time. Hmmm. Sadly, using OctoPrint, my MK4 doesn’t display the same print details it does when printing from USB/Connect, it just displays the idle menus and footer info.
RE: MK4 Review - Quick thoughts after 2 weeks.
That is the thing I really like about the MK3S is that, as you say, 'it just works', and requires very little futzing around.
During the height of the pandemic I gave it some very hard use, with several runs of ABS prints, and it held up very well and still keeps on going.
@anza …at times when I have not been printing a lot, the first printer I sent to pre-MK4 was usually my MK3S as it is just works. No thought required for most things, slice, print, expect a good print. Hope you like yours!
@rotarypower101 Remote view of the MK4 panel is interesting. Many of the office printers I work with occasionally have a remote panel that can be useful from time to time. Hmmm. Sadly, using OctoPrint, my MK4 doesn’t display the same print details it does when printing from USB/Connect, it just displays the idle menus and footer info.
RE: MK4 Review - Quick thoughts after 2 weeks.
Excellent review! Thanks
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Interesting read
I have been seriously thinking about cancelling my order and going for a VORON 2.4 instead. Your critique has reinforced that view.
I know they are different machines at different price points but I feel the VORON is more future-proof.
RE:
Interesting read
I have been seriously thinking about cancelling my order and going for a VORON 2.4 instead. Your critique has reinforced that view.
I know they are different machines at different price points but I feel the VORON is more future-proof.
As one who recently completed a 2.4 a few weeks ago, I would say that it is a great printer BUT compared to buying and using a Prusa, there's just a lot more ways that the Voron build/tune/use experience can go sideways on you. I was pretty fortunate... I only had to ask a handful of questions on the Discord, and mine basically powered up and worked right the first time. During the time I was on there, I saw several other builders who had more issues getting up and running.
Yeah, it's possible to have things get screwed up with a Prusa, and there's still some learning curve, but getting a Voron set up is another order of magnitude more involved. I had been printing on Prusas for a year and had one scratch build under my belt; I don't think I would have been anywhere near as successful with the Voron otherwise. And realistically it's still not there yet. I will be tweaking and tuning it for a while. If the Voron is really what you want, then go for it because they are awesome; just understand you are not buying a tool, you are buying a project that with a lot of effort can become a tool.
RE: MK4 Review - Quick thoughts after 2 weeks.
Although I will end up sticking with my MK4 order (just hobby grade use), considering I have my MK3S+ pretty much sold, I do feel as though I'm purchasing a half finished product.
The auto bed layering etc is all great, as are the other features, but I feel like I'm buying something that isn't quite as promised. Input Shaper and print speed, for example, promised in a future update - but when?? This could be a year or two away! Especially with the lack of accelerometer hardware. How do I know how this will pan out, whether it will even be successful - I'm the type of person who will likes to receive a product 'as advertised'. I want marketed features there out of the box - not promises of features with no actual timescale of when they will finally be available for use!
--> MK4 - MK4S - MINI+ - Accelerometer Guide - BambuLab A1 Combo <--
RE: MK4 Review - Quick thoughts after 2 weeks.
I can't say anything about the Mk4, probably not getting one as I am pretty much covered as is, but I will say that I see my Mk3s the same way. It just prints and is super reliable.
I really don't regret buildint my V0.1 either and I am also using it for all my ABS/ASA prints which are small enough for it. It is generally reliable as well and actually has a better surface finish than my Prusa but things do fail from time to time, in a way they don't on my Mk3s. Some reliability features don't exist (fan RPM feedback) and I had already my extruder motor killed due to overheating (partially my fault, partially the fault of the recommended motors with rather low temperature rating, the new V0.2 has an improved extrusion motor now as stock suggestion) and the heat bed temperature fuse which is a safety feature of the Voron but which is a pain to replace if it dies even without anything going wrong.
Mk3s MMU2s, Voron 0.1, Voron 2.4
RE: MK4 Review - Quick thoughts after 2 weeks.
Thanks for the review Zakoplex!
Waiting for MK4 KIT to arrive. Luckily i was able to order really soon. Seeing how successful the MK3 was, I hope Prusa will treat this printer the same way.
RE: MK4 Review - Quick thoughts after 2 weeks.
@drpeej - Voron 2.4 is amazing. Takes some time and doing to build/config but if you're up for that, it is an awesome machine.
I would have ordered the MK4 kit but I'm not good at waiting for things... The build commitment of a Prusa vs Voron is large. Note: I did't build the Prusa as I bough it used but have rebuilt much of it since I've had it.
Voron build manuals are really good and the V2.4 Formbot kit I went was really well done and had all the wires labeled/cut/crimped so it made that part fast. Building both of my Vorons there were times where I was thinking that it was good I had some background knowledge in various areas or it would have taken more time to figure things out. (Electronics/wiring/3dprinting/coding).
The Voron could be more future proof in some ways depending on what the next official updates are. And you also have much more flexibility to do what you like. I quickly toyed with updating my V0.1 to V0.2 when it was announced, but it seemed like a bit too much effort, at the time, to figure out what was involved & required for the process. Not sure what the future holds for the MK4 but I guess the MK4 rev2, if there is one, will likely be simple kit with good instructions at the get-go.
RE: MK4 Review - Quick thoughts after 2 weeks.
Thanks
I've ordered a Voron 2.4 and cancelled my MK4 so that will help push someone up the queue 😀
I've ordered the kit from LSLabs. It's not cheap but the kit comes part-built and contains superior components and a number of recommended mods.
They claim that it's possible to build it in 24 hours but I'm not going to rush it and expect it to take much longer. They are also quite local to me which will be helpful if I run into any problems. I'll report how I get on.
Peter
RE: MK4 Review - Quick thoughts after 2 weeks.
Printing aside, 24h sounds about right, but, um, I know this this guy really well who was rushing, who, um, missed a few wires with connectors, and um, made a couple extra hours of work for himself having to cut off the ends and fish them back through all the full cable chains. Facepalm. ...It does go pretty quick.