RE: Any real XL prints/reviews?
A new unboxing
RE: Any real XL prints/reviews?
One of the owners who posts prints on youtube mentions the speed each of the prints are taking. I think "we" all know the speed- it's slightly faster than the MK3 in general, probably a little due to the settings and a little due to the .6 mm nozzle. I'm definitely interested to see how fast is practical with input shaping and a higher flow nozzle.
i noticed that NO reviewer is posting speed.
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A few more thoughts after two weeks or so of printing with the XL. I'd preface it by saying that my interest in it is primarily for its multi toolhead feature and that my original order was for a 5 head unit. I switched it to the single head unit thinking that I can always upgrade once the toolheads ship.
I actually like it more than I expected. I was worried about the dimensions and even bought a 30-inch-deep workbench but it actually fits on a standard 24-inch-deep bench. Don't even think about using cheap Ikea crap tables for this machine.
It has performed flawlessly for me so far, using the standard 0.6 mm nozzle. I had one print in which the lower left corner curled up a bit, but otherwise the first layer has always been great. I swap nozzles on my Mk3 and Mini printers a lot, and now having to redo live z calibration feels as arcane as futzing around with adjustment screws on my old Wanhao and Flashforge printers… I will install the nozzle adaptor today, to use my tungsten carbide nozzles, but from the instructions this feels not nearly as seamless as swapping nozzles on my Dragon-hotend-equipped printers.
It's not as silent as I had originally thought, especially on wavy patterns such as gyroid infill. As I said before, quite a bit of vibration. It'll go on a 26-inch paver today, let's see if that makes a difference.
I used to poopoo the size of it because I don't print stuff like Ironman helmets, but I admit, it has actually come in very handy. I reprinted LACK enclosure components in different colors and just filled up the sheet and did a couple of 24-hour prints. With its nice first layer and the reliability I mentioned, I didn't see any issues doing it — short of running out of filament in the middle of the night (but thankfully I was still awake). I also found it more convenient than I expected for printing more copies of stuff I'm selling more quickly; just fire it off and walk away. Filling the sheet clearly requires more planning for material use, and the limited availability of 2 kg spools puts some boundaries on what you can print.
Print quality: I still feel as I said in my initial impressions, it's on par with what my Mk3s produce—including the "bulge" or "hull lines" on some board game organizer boxes I printed. I really can't see any difference, better or worse. But I also admit, I have a hard time even seeing those vertical artifacts on the pictures they showed comparing the Mk4 3.9 vs 4.0 motors…
Speed: No idea. I mean, I sure like prints to finish sooner rather than later but it's just not something I'm obsessed with. Most stuff I print I fire off on this printer sometime during the day and run over night, so an hour more or less doesn't bother me. I haven't tried to push its limit, and I'm sure I never will. As you can probably tell, I'm more of a Ford F-250 guy than a Maserati…
A couple of negatives:
* I'm still appalled by the spool holder. It feels super flimsy. I'm used to feeding my Mk3 and Minis from roller-style spool holders from the top. I'm considering feeding the XL from RepRack-style wall mounted spools from above but where the filament entry point is located, this may make for an awkward filament path. Will need to explore in more depth.
* The tube that feeds filament from the spool holder to the hotend is loooong. It kind of makes loading and unloading a bit awkward. I had in fact one case where the filament wasn't unloaded enough to stick out of the tube, so I had to open the idler and push it a bit more manually. Having said that, the idler is so much easier to open than it is on the other Prusa printers.
* The major flaws I see are in the software. Wifi is basically unusable, just as it is on the Mini and Mk4, and from posts I've read it's probably not the wifi module but the way they implemented the network stack. Ethernet is acceptable but what takes less than a second to send from Prusaslicer to a Raspberry Pi is almost a minute on the XL. I hope they make improvements; this is just embarrassing.
* Another unacceptable firmware flaw: When you upload a file, it won't actually start printing. Instead, it pops up a preview and requires you to manually press the button on the LCD. I mean, what were they thinking? This totally defeats the purpose of remote printing. My Minis at least throw up that preview randomly only half of the time (sarcasm). Moreover, after a print is finished, and you click on "Home", it won't go to the home menu but instead pops up a preview of another model. What the…
All in all, it's a very decent printer. Not a home run. I like it and the single head unit has its advantages, but I think it really requires the multi-head capabilities to justify its existence.
RE: Any real XL prints/reviews?
Nice report. This report offers more detailed results. I too feel speed is not my be all to end all over any of the other qualities. It does tell me there are tweaks to yet be accomplished (which I am sure they will.) An interesting note that I am surprised I have not heard others mention in their reviews it the filament awkward lengthy issues. That is something I am going to start looking into. Not seeing a super solution so far. A rack above while easy and direct might be too awkward and cumbersome to change all the time.
RE: Any real XL prints/reviews?
I really appreciate your comments. I sounds like hardware is pretty solid but the software side needs some work. I’ve the 5 head on order and agree with you that is the killer feature I’m hoping sets the XL apart.
RE: Any real XL prints/reviews?
Thanks for the update, most of the issues seem to be with the software, which as Asus1357 said will likely be addressed later on. It is nice to know that mechanically at least, seems to perform as advertised.
As for the spool holder... I was already looking into a different solution to keep it from gathering humidity, so no biggy.
The filament route I think also not an issue, won't it be different on the multitool? I guess we will have to wait and see if is any better... Anyone knows if is much different?
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I saw somewhere that it was asked if the filament feeder could be relocated to the back.. and support said it could. So I don’t see why you couldn’t have spools above.
I plan on having my spools above myself, as I do currently.
Thank you for the review also. I started with a Mk3s pretty late in the game so I wasn’t around when it was new.. but I imagine these printers had initial teething issues too. Let’s hope for those that already have their XL that they are addressed quickly.
I was late to the XL preorder so it’ll be a good while before I get mine.
RE: Any real XL prints/reviews?
Maybe I will get my 5 head XL by my birthday end of next month. Seems like a good present to myself :))
RE: Any real XL prints/reviews?
Aaaaand another one. 🙂
How fast can the Prusa XL go?
Speed test w/o input shaper.
RE: Any real XL prints/reviews?
Speed test w/o input shaper.
Not surprising and she might get better results with a higher infill.
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Chuck H
3D Printer Review Blog
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Speed test w/o input shaper.
Not surprising and she might get better results with a higher infill.
I watched a couple of her videos..... NOT a source of good (or even passable) info.
RE: Any real XL prints/reviews?
Not surprising and she might get better results with a higher infill.
I doubt it.
RE: Any real XL prints/reviews?
I watched a couple of her videos..... NOT a source of good (or even passable) info.
The video footage speaks for itself.
RE: Any real XL prints/reviews?
At least, she is one of the few who makes videos of the XL at all. And not every user wants to be obliged to learn the inner workings. Some actually just want to print. And Prusa advertises their not so dirt cheap printers to provide kind of carefree-handling. That reminds me of the seventies, when in UK it seemed to be common wisdom amongs petrolheads that you had to repair your British-Leyland car every other weekend until Toyota came along.
RE: Any real XL prints/reviews?
It won't be perfect, but I would bet my house it would be improved. Unfortunately, you will never know until you try.
Not surprising and she might get better results with a higher infill.
I doubt it.
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Chuck H
3D Printer Review Blog
RE: Any real XL prints/reviews?
Coming in from using CR10sPro for several years (so my perspective). Been using my XL for about a week now - and the experience has been pure printing joy so far. No issues with setup. Using with PrusaConnect was pretty easy. Prints have been excellent. Printing PLA+ at 65mm/s. Cons: My biggest gripe is the spool holder. At this price point, the printed part just isn't impressive. And having to learn Prusa slicer vs Cura (but I'm getting here).