Mk3 No Longer the Focus?  

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

Hard to know what their "main focus" is, but if a business is large enough they should have several areas of focus. I think it's a good thing they are exploring other options. Anyone in business knows that to stagnate around one particular product or technology means certain death from a business perspective.

So, projecting forward a few years (or even sooner) I imagine you will see development start to slow on the Mk3 line, unless and until the next big piece of affordable tech comes along in the FDM space.

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

Hard to know what their "main focus" is, but if a business is large enough they should have several areas of focus. I think it's a good thing they are exploring other options. Anyone in business knows that to stagnate around one particular product or technology means certain death from a business perspective.

You are of course absolutely correct, but by no stretch of the imagination can you say that the Mk3 is ready to become a mainstay product yet. It has more than one outstanding issue and too many people, myself included, still do not have the machine that was advertised for sale almost a year ago. Once the Mk3 becomes what was promised and sold and everyone's orders have been completely fulfilled, then is the time to remove the main focus from it and move on to the next thing.

Or you end up with a company that does not complete its products as advertised, and does not honour the promises it made to achieve sales.

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

I received my 2X mk3's in December

I ignored the people who said I would just end up being a beta tester by ordering so early

7 months later...

I still dont have the PEI build plates

The filament sensor doesn't work reliably & never will, so its disabled.

I have lost too many prints due to random layer shifts when crash detection is enabled, so thats disabled & will never be switched on again.

Octoprint integration by adding a PI zero to the Einsy board, I gave up hoping this would work a long time ago, any progress yet ? I never bother to check.

Print quality visibly worse than my 2x MK2's due to the basket weave pattern I get on vertical surfaces due to inconsistent extrusion.

MMU upgrade was ordered, but now wont be supported on the mk3 so I have to wait even longer now for MMU2, many more months I guess.

So I really hope their focus is on the mk4 & by focus I mean actually finish it before selling it this time.

They are too large to have another clusterfuck product that the mk3 has been for me, the smart features dont work reliably enough to use & print quality is worse than the mk2, thats not good 7 months after shipping.

Sadly I think they will be distracted by new products (SLA) & branching out into making filament to bother fixing the mk3 issues, at best I expect some mk3s upgrade kit that I will have to buy to fix my issues & who knows how long that will take to ship.....

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

I received my 2X mk3's in December

I ignored the people who said I would just end up being a beta tester by ordering so early

7 months later...

I still dont have the PEI build plates

The filament sensor doesn't work reliably & never will, so its disabled.

I have lost too many prints due to random layer shifts when crash detection is enabled, so thats disabled & will never be switched on again.

Octoprint integration by adding a PI zero to the Einsy board, I gave up hoping this would work a long time ago, any progress yet ? I never bother to check.

Print quality visibly worse than my 2x MK2's due to the basket weave pattern I get on vertical surfaces due to inconsistent extrusion.

MMU upgrade was ordered, but now wont be supported on the mk3 so I have to wait even longer now for MMU2, many more months I guess.

So I really hope their focus is on the mk4 & by focus I mean actually finish it before selling it this time.

They are too large to have another clusterfuck product that the mk3 has been for me, the smart features dont work reliably enough to use & print quality is worse than the mk2, thats not good 7 months after shipping.

Sadly I think they will be distracted by new products (SLA) & branching out into making filament to bother fixing the mk3 issues, at best I expect some mk3s upgrade kit that I will have to buy to fix my issues & who knows how long that will take to ship.....

Same experience, although I haven't purchased the MMU upgrade *yet*. I was planning on doing so, but now I've decided I will only purchase if at least some of the promised features are fixed. I'd rather spend that money towards a more reliable printer.

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

Note: I'm not speaking officially for the company in the lines below. Just my humble opinion 😉

MK3 is still one of the main topics, I see no decline in the support inside the company. There are many changes and upgrades to the design, which might not be visible at the first sight.

Just a quick list of changes for the MK3:
- several firmware updates including new features and bug fixes
- complete rework of the linear advance
- redesigned almost all plastic parts according to your feedback
- new textile sleeve solution for the heatbed cable bundle
- PrusaPrint aka "fork" of the OctoPrint
- Cura settings for the MK3
- several iterations of the coated sheets
- ...

There was and still is a big focus on improving the MK3. We are just more cautious, testing things back and forth to ensure any change to the design brings only improvements. Also as the printer gets smarter and therefore more complicated, it brings more unknowns and possible variables to any issue we are facing.

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

I appreciate the response Jakub, I'm sure there are ongoing activities but we are still in the situation 7 months after shipping the print quality is worse than the mk2 & the smart features don't work (& we know for a fact the filament sensor will never work 100% , Just get rid of it & simplify the design)

With hindsight, I am now amazed the printer shipped when it did, it was nowhere near finished.

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

I appreciate the response Jakub, I'm sure there are ongoing activities but we are still in the situation 7 months after shipping the print quality is worse than the mk2 & the smart features don't work (& we know for a fact the filament sensor will never work 100% , Just get rid of it & simplify the design)

With hindsight, I am now amazed the printer shipped when it did, it was nowhere near finished.

This is the same old argument. Yes, there have been issues and clearly still are for some people. That's unfortunate for everyone. But to make a blanket statement that all Mk3s have worse print quality is just hyperbole.

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

You are of course absolutely correct, but by no stretch of the imagination can you say that the Mk3 is ready to become a mainstay product yet.

Or you end up with a company that does not complete its products as advertised, and does not honour the promises it made to achieve sales.

Undoubtedly the Mk3 will be improved on, but that doesn't mean they can't focus on other things as well. That's all I really meant. But in 2 years time I wouldn't expect there to be the same focus on the mk4 unless there are significant tech gains to be had.

Many companies end up abandoning products because it becomes too costly to fix or rework certain aspects of a design. I can think of two aircraft manufacturers that have done this. But I don't think this will be the case here. A mk3(S) might be the solution (if it is considered warranted by PR of course) with an easy upgrade path for existing mk3 owners. After all they have already done this with the MMU.

I guess time will tell.

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

I appreciate the response Jakub, I'm sure there are ongoing activities but we are still in the situation 7 months after shipping the print quality is worse than the mk2 & the smart features don't work (& we know for a fact the filament sensor will never work 100% , Just get rid of it & simplify the design)

With hindsight, I am now amazed the printer shipped when it did, it was nowhere near finished.

This is the same old argument. Yes, there have been issues and clearly still are for some people. That's unfortunate for everyone. But to make a blanket statement that all Mk3s have worse print quality is just hyperbole.

Well by design it does, so Im not sure how you can call it hyperbole, the current design causes the basket weave pattern, the mk2 design far less

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

Well by design it does, so Im not sure how you can call it hyperbole, the current design causes the basket weave pattern, the mk2 design far less

Right back at ya, where is your evidence for "by design it does"? Once again, there is no evidence that suggests every (or even a majority for that matter) of printers suffer from the issue, no matter how hard you want to believe it.

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

I received my 2X mk3's in December

I ignored the people who said I would just end up being a beta tester by ordering so early

7 months later...

I still dont have the PEI build plates

The filament sensor doesn't work reliably & never will, so its disabled.

I have lost too many prints due to random layer shifts when crash detection is enabled, so thats disabled & will never be switched on again.

Octoprint integration by adding a PI zero to the Einsy board, I gave up hoping this would work a long time ago, any progress yet ? I never bother to check.

Print quality visibly worse than my 2x MK2's due to the basket weave pattern I get on vertical surfaces due to inconsistent extrusion.

MMU upgrade was ordered, but now wont be supported on the mk3 so I have to wait even longer now for MMU2, many more months I guess.

So I really hope their focus is on the mk4 & by focus I mean actually finish it before selling it this time.

They are too large to have another clusterfuck product that the mk3 has been for me, the smart features dont work reliably enough to use & print quality is worse than the mk2, thats not good 7 months after shipping.

Sadly I think they will be distracted by new products (SLA) & branching out into making filament to bother fixing the mk3 issues, at best I expect some mk3s upgrade kit that I will have to buy to fix my issues & who knows how long that will take to ship.....

Knowing all of this now, in perfect hindsight what should you have purchased instead? More MK2's? I'm not disagreeing with you, but fresh out of the box, it seems like maybe all 3D printers in the <$1,000 price range have at least some shortcomings. What I find interesting is that none of the branded reviewers of the MK3 seemed to identify any serious issues, or even *any* issues for that matter.

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

MMU upgrade was ordered, but now wont be supported on the mk3 so I have to wait even longer now for MMU2, many more months I guess.

Wait what? source? i ordered the MMU for my MK3- why would they even make it if it doesn't work with their newest printer?

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

MMU upgrade was ordered, but now wont be supported on the mk3 so I have to wait even longer now for MMU2, many more months I guess.

Wait what? source? i ordered the MMU for my MK3- why would they even make it if it doesn't work with their newest printer?

The first version of the MMU (Version 1.0) was for the mk2/mk2s and the web page clearly stated it was for the mk2/mk2s.
When the mk3 was released they offered the MMU for the mk3. It was a separate item on the webpage. Before they were shipped, the upgrade to the MMU 2.0 was announced. If you had ordered the MMU for the mk3 before the announcement, your order got converted to the MMU version 2.0 for the mk3/mk2.5 and you got a $50 voucher since the upgraded MMU 2.0 cost less money.

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

Well by design it does, so Im not sure how you can call it hyperbole, the current design causes the basket weave pattern, the mk2 design far less

Right back at ya, where is your evidence for "by design it does"? Once again, there is no evidence that suggests every (or even a majority for that matter) of printers suffer from the issue, no matter how hard you want to believe it.

Well JP himself said the issue is caused by the teeth on the gears they used & they are experimenting on how to reduce the effect & when its ready they will offer upgrades (see the TS video, about 12 minutes in)

So yes, I'd say it is inherent in the mk3 design

It may well be a common problem on many other printers, but it is a magnitude worse on the mk3, side by side prints done on the mk2 & mk3 show the effect it significantly worse on the mk3, hence it has blown up

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

I received my 2X mk3's in December

I ignored the people who said I would just end up being a beta tester by ordering so early

7 months later...

I still dont have the PEI build plates

The filament sensor doesn't work reliably & never will, so its disabled.

I have lost too many prints due to random layer shifts when crash detection is enabled, so thats disabled & will never be switched on again.

Octoprint integration by adding a PI zero to the Einsy board, I gave up hoping this would work a long time ago, any progress yet ? I never bother to check.

Print quality visibly worse than my 2x MK2's due to the basket weave pattern I get on vertical surfaces due to inconsistent extrusion.

MMU upgrade was ordered, but now wont be supported on the mk3 so I have to wait even longer now for MMU2, many more months I guess.

So I really hope their focus is on the mk4 & by focus I mean actually finish it before selling it this time.

They are too large to have another clusterfuck product that the mk3 has been for me, the smart features dont work reliably enough to use & print quality is worse than the mk2, thats not good 7 months after shipping.

Sadly I think they will be distracted by new products (SLA) & branching out into making filament to bother fixing the mk3 issues, at best I expect some mk3s upgrade kit that I will have to buy to fix my issues & who knows how long that will take to ship.....

Knowing all of this now, in perfect hindsight what should you have purchased instead? More MK2's? I'm not disagreeing with you, but fresh out of the box, it seems like maybe all 3D printers in the <$1,000 price range have at least some shortcomings. What I find interesting is that none of the branded reviewers of the MK3 seemed to identify any serious issues, or even *any* issues for that matter.

I would not have sold one of my mk2's (so glad now I kept one) & I wouldn't have purchased the mk3's at all at that point in time.

I originally intended to sell both my mk2's & replace them with mk3's but I had problems from the start with both my mk3's so kept the second mk2.

Theres a lot of good ideas on the mk3 & even though I dont have the PEI built plates I wanted yet, the removable PEI sheet build plate is still a great improvement over the mk2.

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

It may well be a common problem on many other printers, but it is a magnitude worse on the mk3, side by side prints done on the mk2 & mk3 show the effect it significantly worse on the mk3, hence it has blown up

It doesn't appear to be a magnitude worse for everyone which was my point, hence it's a bit hard at this stage to say it's a design flaw that started life with the mk3. It could also be a part that is not in spec for some people.

As to a fix we will have to wait and see what that means.

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

It may well be a common problem on many other printers, but it is a magnitude worse on the mk3, side by side prints done on the mk2 & mk3 show the effect it significantly worse on the mk3, hence it has blown up

It doesn't appear to be a magnitude worse for everyone which was my point, hence it's a bit hard at this stage to say it's a design flaw that started life with the mk3. It could also be a part that is not in spec for some people.

As to a fix we will have to wait and see what that means.

started with the bondtech... also lower steps per/mm with that change. PETG extruder parts which are softer don't help. after upgrading to mk2.5 it started to show it as well which it didn't before. so..... whoever does not have the issue are in minority. most don't know about it or care as it's their very first machine based on the awesome promo video....

Re: Mk3 No Longer the Focus?

It may well be a common problem on many other printers, but it is a magnitude worse on the mk3, side by side prints done on the mk2 & mk3 show the effect it significantly worse on the mk3, hence it has blown up

It doesn't appear to be a magnitude worse for everyone which was my point, hence it's a bit hard at this stage to say it's a design flaw that started life with the mk3. It could also be a part that is not in spec for some people.

As to a fix we will have to wait and see what that means.

started with the bondtech... also lower steps per/mm with that change. PETG extruder parts which are softer don't help. after upgrading to mk2.5 it started to show it as well which it didn't before. so..... whoever does not have the issue are in minority. most don't know about it or care as it's their very first machine. i think keeping the extruder, forgoing crash detect and filament sensor would of still made a good MK3. better frame, 24v, silent and removable build plate? sounds good.... never had an issue with mk2's extruder and it works better for flexibles.