Any major upgrades to the stock Prusa MK3S/+ anticipated?
Hi, I've been away from the forum for a couple of years, so just wondering if there are any anticipated major upgrades to the MK3, or whether it's already asymptotically about as good as it's going to get?
By major upgrade to the stock model, I mean something like what Creality is doing with its sonic pad (an easy Klipper upgrade) to retrofit its existing tired old printers or maybe a high flow hotend like a Mosquito Magnum (or Prusa equivalent) that could accelerate print speed?
I realize that we can individually do these types of upgrades on our own, by tinkering, but having it instead be the official build has advantages, especially when it comes to having access to already nicely customized print profiles.
Best Answer by dimprov:
Well, partially answering my question, there allegedly has been no official mention of an MK4:
https://all3dp.com/1/original-prusa-i3-mk4-review-3d-printer-specs/
Apparently, It just is what it is.
RE:
Well, partially answering my question, there allegedly has been no official mention of an MK4:
https://all3dp.com/1/original-prusa-i3-mk4-review-3d-printer-specs/
Apparently, It just is what it is.
RE: Any major upgrades to the stock Prusa MK3S/+ anticipated?
I recently logged in and was given the opportunity to fill in a Prusa survey ranking enhancements I would want. To me to be an indication of work being done. Just a survey, not a promise. I am in line for an XL also which is another answer.
RE:
Prusa i3 can easily be upgraded with Bondtech CHT nozzle (fully compatible with E3D V6 hotend, so no other changes required), which can easily surpass 30mm3/s with consisted flow, in my experience up to ~40mm3/s (it depends on the filament). But that is not the only limitation because a 0.4mm nozzle and stock hardware/firmware can never reach that high flow.
There is a way to reach max flow (>30mm3/s) by adjusting print settings and if you are ok with a lower level of detail: use a 0.6mm nozzle (or 0.8mm, but I think it's unnecessary because even 0.6 can reach 40mm3/s with standard print speeds of under 100mm/s) and very wide extrusion width (e.g. 1.2mm with 0.4mm layer height). You might also need to improve cooling when extruding filament that quickly, bridging would be worse, etc.
The other way of making use of CHT nozzle is increasing print speed (XY movement) and, equally important, acceleration. However, this would cause too much vibrations which not only would reduce print quality, but also might cause a print fail (or even damage/shorten lifetime of the printer). Latest Marlin firmware release (2.1.2) has introduced Input Shaping, but even installing Marlin (or if Prusa implements Input Shaping into their firmware), the stock 8-bit processor probably can't handle the additional calculations.
To solve the problem, the motherboard can be replaced to a better one, or to install Klipper with external computing power, but that is too difficult for most users (and expensive). I might be able to figure out how to do it, but it would require too much time that I don't want to spend (I would need to research/learn a lot). But I've just found out about Creality Sonic Pad which runs Klipper, so I'm now thinking about that option (even though it comes preconfigured only for Creality printers, it should still be a lot easier than setting Raspberry pi or whatever). But, it would be REALLY great if Prusa made something similar, as an easy upgrade for all MK3/S/+ printers, with all the settings preconfigured and tested, and like Sonic Pad to be able to run multiple printers at the same time, which would make print farms twice as productive for an overall very cheap upgrade (if it costs 160€ but can run four printers, it would be 40€ per printer then). I plan buying multiple MK3S+, so it would be great if I can later upgrade them while keeping the ease of use (I've learned a lot by fixing/modifying an old MK2 and configuring Marlin firmware, etc. and I would probably be able to upgrade MK3S+ with Creality Sonic Pad, but I'd prefer an option that is preconfigured for Prusa and ready to use: plug via USB, attach accelerometer, do some calibrations and start printing).
For a possible MK4, apart from other minor upgrades, it should have Input Shaping impelemented with accelerometer (like on Prusa XL). It could come with a high flow nozzle from the start (although it's an easy upgrade, therefore not so necessary for the stock machine).