Prusa XL basic question  

RE:

Posted by: @moonbinas

I'm a little torn between the Prusa XL, Bambu Labs or a Voron 2.4

Just a few question before i spend a lot of money:

Has the XL a enclosure? (like to print ASA for outside use without wraping)

Are the printer parts wrap and heat resident, if i have to build my own enclosure?

Is the XL open source or the same like bambu or real open source like a voron?

Money is not the big thing and i know the difference between a tool changer and the bambu / voron

Thanks in advance.

Currently there is no official XL enclosure on offer but then, you can't get a multi-tool XL yet either and the wait for the single tool version is also long. To my knowlege there is something planned but I don't know when and how exactly it will look like. I am pretty confident that there will be at least a 3rd party solution if nothing else and if not, the CoreXy design makes it fairly easy to enclose the printer. 

I could not find anywhere information what the printed parts are made out of and I don't have an XL at hand to check 😉 I suspect it is PETG like the Mk4 etc. but maybe I am wrong and it is ASA? Does someone else know?

I have my PETG Mk3 in an enclosure and have not had any issue so far. My BROR enclosure is however fairly large and I don't really reach temperatures beyond 45°C within. At a more compact CoreXY enclosure things could get as high as 55 or even 60°C, that is dangerously close to what PETG can withstand. One can of course always reprint the parts in ABS, ABS+ or ASA of course, shouldn't be too expensive either but it would involve considerable work as it means diassembling and reassembling much of the printer. 

The XL will be definitly more open than a Bambulab. It might not be completely open hardware like the Mk3 is, that is not yet entirely clear yet. It will be not patented either though and also 3rd party mods will be possible to my knowledge. What Prusa is wary of is as far as I know 1:1 copies of the printer by other manufacturers. The software on the other side will remain completely opens source.

I think the quesiton you have to ask yourself is, if you need the tool changer capability. If so, the XL is the choice, enclosure and good suitability for ABS etc printing is something one can figure out with a bit of work on it. If you don't need that capability and aren't bothered by assembling a kit yet want a good, actually overbuilt, fast and large machine the V2.4 is the most interesting option of these three. With an LDO kit a Voron isn't really much more callenging to build than a Mk3. Setting up Klipper is a bit more work than the dead simple startup procedure on a Prusa but there is good documentation for that by far and large as well. I am not a programmer and managed to get my V0.1 running just fine. 

Bambulab would be the choice for you if you don't need a tool changer but want a plug and print printer for ABS etc where you don't have to assemble anything  as long as you aren't bothered by the very closed off system, very little modability, limited self-serviciability, pretty closed software even if the slicer is officially open source.

I hope I could help you and didn't tell you stuff you know all along already anyway. 

RE: Prusa XL basic question

One side note which might be of relevance for you or not. I just had a look at the V2.4 RevC kit from LDO, which can be purchased for 300 and 350 mm bed size. It even comes with the Nevermore airpurifier system nowadays. The Nevermore is in my opinion the only proper VOC purification system on a hobbyist 3d printer, short of those which featture direct exhaust to the outside (which isn't generally offered by any enclosed printers I know of but maybe some 3rd party enclosures support that). Unlike most other systems it uses AC pellets for air purification which are infinitely more affordable in large quanitity than any AC filter, so the AC can be exchanged frequently without breaking the bank to keep purification at meaningful levels. 

For me personally, that is a big plus for the Vorons. 

RE: Prusa XL basic question

The reason I now go with Prusa over every other printer is because I ask myself the following question:

"Am I buying a tool or a project?"

I always buy tools. I don't want to spend countless hours tinkering.

That kicks off most printers.

However, for Bambu-style competitors I also look at support and the ability to perform preventative maintenance / consistency of use (will they lock features down behind a paywall on a printer I own in the future?). That removes the rest of the printers aside from a rare few.

Prusa's printers are not the best, in fact they're lagging behind the best, but they are better than the average printer and they perform consistently and reliably. Repair parts are easy to find and can be purchased OEM or from competitors without a reduction in performance. The maintenance procedures are well known and documented, the slicing interface is robust and reliable/repeatable to allow for production at any scale needed.

I switched from 5-6 printers of various sizes and brands (2-3 enders, 2-ish i3 designs, and a Delta) over to the Prusa Mini's and they are total workhorses. I would gladly buy them any day of the week over any competitor.

Ultimately it's up to you how you spend your money, if you like cool features but are willing to risk getting locked into a pay-to-use system, Bambu is great - buy spare parts now before the price increases to what it actually costs to make them - alternatively there are bambu-style competitors that could be more open (creality k1?). 

Do what you will, I just prefer prusas.