Where are the firmware updates?  

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

Me too. I was disappointed to see only one firmware update since release. Lowering your probe may help. Jog the nozzle so that is just barley touches the bed, and lower the probe until is the thickness of a zip tie off the bed.

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

I'll give it a shot. I've been on chat with Prusa a LOT to try and fix it. No luck yet.

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

I would be less annoyed if Prusa hadn't promised nearly weekly updates and then neither delivered nor communicated why not. But that's the story about everything with the Mini, isn't it. If they just would be more open and forthcoming in their communication things would be a lot more relaxed.

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

@nameless2nd

I am sure then we'd find hundred mini-reasons (pun not intended) to be angry at them anyway and demand explanation for their actions and "why didn't you..." types of posts 😆 But I agree with topic of this thread. New firmware would not hurt.

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

If it's any consolation, they are hard at work on the github repository:

https://github.com/prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware-Buddy/commits/master

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

There are some huge updates coming, so while waiting is annoying, firmware is something you don't want rushed. There is update activity on GitHub for anyone truly interested. If you've ever worked on something intensely, you know how disruptive it is to be pulled away "for a quick update". If the Mk3 history is any indicator, the wait should be well worth it.

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

As Bobstro posted "firmware is something you don't want rushed" defiantly when it's driving physical hardware. It's one thing for a PC app to throw an exception error and a very different thing for the extruder to crash into the bed! 

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

@towlerg

Yup, and next update will probably be pretty substantial.

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

But some of the early reported "small" issues could have been fixed first in an intermediate update - then the more serious changes be in a later update.

My Mini is mostly standing still, waiting for an update to fix the bed level issue...

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

@area51

Hi, as a potential Mini owner your post "My Mini is mostly standing still, waiting for an update to fix the bed level issue..." worried me. Assuming you are running the same version of fireware as everybody else, how come only you are affected?

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

Posted by: @towlerg

@area51

Hi, as a potential Mini owner your post "My Mini is mostly standing still, waiting for an update to fix the bed level issue..." worried me. Assuming you are running the same version of fireware as everybody else, how come only you are affected?

Because print quality is, to a certain extent, subjective. Also how good/bad the bed level actually is for every printer will vary considerably - this is a mechanical issue, corrected by software. Whilst the software is obviously fixed (assuming the same version), the hardware is not.

Texy

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

@towlerg

Area51 is not the only one affected. My Mini is also mostly idle as working around the firmware limitations and the fact it seems to be unable to print with Prusa's flagship Galaxy Black PETG are currently sidelining it. I too have been visiting GitHub daily waiting for firmware updates. Plenty of activity but no releases. It's not a big deal but it does not help to set expectations of 'almost weekly firmware releases' publicly then fail to produce any after five weeks. Perhaps Prusa should stop promising things they can't deliver, but that is something I have proposed many times in the last three years.

Same seems to apply to PrusaSlicer. Version 2.2.0-alpha3 has been noted for some days now but has not moved to release. Also 3.9.0 BETA for Mk3 is now 17 days old without update or new release.

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

Not sure what Prusa's overall stats look like, but they tend to release something fairly regularly. Of course, as their product range has increased, that something may not apply to my equipment in any given week. It was nice having the development focused on my Mk3 early on, but I guess the MMU2, SL1 and now Mini need love too! 

The waits are annoying, but compared to what I read about other manufacturers in the Reddit groups, far better than the alternative. I suspect the big updates along with Mini rush collided to create quite a bit of backlog.

The recent Alphas of PrusaSlicer really surprised me. Lack of automatic variable layer heights was just about all that kept me using other slicers. Their first implementation is quite good for an Alpha.

I wonder if releasing nightly "no guarantee" nightly builds would be worthwhile. I suspect it would add to the workload.

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

Posted by: @bobstro

Not sure what Prusa's overall stats look like, but they tend to release something fairly regularly. Of course, as their product range has increased, that something may not apply to my equipment in any given week. It was nice having the development focused on my Mk3 early on, but I guess the MMU2, SL1 and now Mini need love too! 

The waits are annoying, but compared to what I read about other manufacturers in the Reddit groups, far better than the alternative. I suspect the big updates along with Mini rush collided to create quite a bit of backlog.

The recent Alphas of PrusaSlicer really surprised me. Lack of automatic variable layer heights was just about all that kept me using other slicers. Their first implementation is quite good for an Alpha.

I wonder if releasing nightly "no guarantee" nightly builds would be worthwhile. I suspect it would add to the workload.

It's all automated. But I suspect they don't want to deal with the added overhead of bug reports from "I think I'm a power-"users reposting the same known issue that is already being worked on.  Building the source isn't overly hard; my take is that if you're sufficiently advanced enough to do that, you're advanced enough to understand exactly what you're embarking on 🙂 The other gotcha here is the nature of the beast. If it was just software, there's less risk, but here you have software that is generating code to control hardware, and where things can potentially go very wrong if there's a nasty bug. Software alone isn't likely to set your house on fire. A malformed g-code coupled with an undiscovered glitch in the firmare, on the other hand... (hell, some manufacturers didn't even need a firmware bug to make that happen...)

Same seems to apply to PrusaSlicer. Version 2.2.0-alpha3 has been noted for some days now but has not moved to release. Also 3.9.0 BETA for Mk3 is now 17 days old without update or new release.

They're probably still working on both and doing internal testing. SQA takes time, and for a product this complex I would not be surprised if it takes weeks to validate all functionality they feel is critical prior to an official release - especially if there were major changes since the last version that invalidate a good chunk of previously tested code. I'm in the same ballpark as others, I prefer quality releases over quantity, and try as you might, software simply does not happen to a schedule. If you really must have the latest and greatest, then by all means, build the source yourself and use that. 

One of the reasons the Mk3 line has not seen any movement is that the beta release suffered from a rather severe bug in the power panic handling. I'd imagine that is what they are now busy verifying before they create another beta or a first RC.

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

@olef You say it very well - this is why my Mini is "at a hold" and I went back to the MK3S for all prints. We where promised nearly weekly updates and I have been visiting GitHub every day since the 4.0.1 release.

I can live with most of the problems on the Mini, but the bed level problem annoys me and the is why it is ideling. It works best if the Mini is turned off between every print, so I think it can be mostly solved with a firmware update. I can wait with fancy network interface (still waiting for one to the SL1) as I use Flash-Air from Toshiba.

Most of the minor problems with the Mini firmware was reported as issues on GitHub before Christmas. Following the log on GitHub I didn't see them addressed, but only a lot of other fixes, not reported.

I see, that there is updated Mini parts (step, stl), but can't find any guide on how to print and install them.

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

My work around for the MBL calibration problem is to calibrate live Z once the printer has been preheated to PLA temps for 15min. Then I do the same 15min preheat before doing a print from a cold start. That way proceeding prints do not require a cool down period. 

Here is a spreadsheet with graphs of some test I did in regards to preheat time and MBL: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1n3qKVI80dKMmc-eSm6O3HZD5gDbHZ-0_29ghAAEJTq8/edit?usp=drivesdk

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

I'm sure the updates are coming soon. They said end of January / early February in the Blog post, so... hopefully, any day now.

(This is an actual GIF in the firmware: https://github.com/prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware-Buddy/blob/573cc4770e120580704e6ed954117d6689013b90/src/wui/res/src/ )

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

Looks like 4.0.2 is up and live.

Only change is support for the MK3 encoder though.

RE: Where are the firmware updates?

when they pushed this (normally a sign a release is frozen - and sent to beta testers) https://github.com/prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware-Buddy/pull/143 😀 

lets wait for the Changelog to see what has been fixed