Einsy RAMBo: When do the upgrades come?
From a long and parallel thread on the topic of hooking up external Raspberry Pi controllers (PiZero, Pi3+, Pi4, etc) it seems like a really great option would be to simply have a more powerful 32 bit controller board that was either capable of More Things or even just fully embraced the Klipper route, where all it really needs to do is rely on a suitable Pi configuration to do the heavy lifting and the controller focuses on the physical HW control and sensors.
This would require a bit more of an open ecosystem approach on Prusa's part, but I think Prusa is already trying to do that with the Einsy + RPi Zero W, it's just a strategy that is kind of flaming out due to the rather weak HW capabilities of BOTH of those components and the fact that the RPi Zero 2 went into such high demand that it's basically impossible to find now. Meanwhile, all the Ender folks are wondering what all of the fuss is about because they have their Bigtrees 32 bit boards and their Klipper configurations working just fine with the older Pi 3b+ (which are more readily available due to being less desirable) along with their web cameras and other niceties.
The Prusa has a good reputation of being the higher-end option when compared to the Enders and other clones, but from a controller and SW perspective, what is *currently* being sold is really lagging behind the competition and we don't have the Prusa XL to save us yet, so ... None of what I'm saying should come as ANY surprise to Prusa and I'm sure there's been a lot of internal debate on this topic, so what's the strategy? Thanks!
RE: Einsy RAMBo: When do the upgrades come?
It's an atmega based system, and yes, 'mature' from a technological perspective.
I remember reading on the RepRap forum ( https://reprap.org/forum/ - not very active in the last year or so) of people using the Pi to control printers, as in actually doing the bit-banging and not just as a monitor.
I'm a Pi fan (also somewhat of an Arduino fan) but I have not seen any shortcomings in the Einsy hardware that would preclude it from living out its natural life on the I3 series and doing a commendable job at it.
I'm sure that the Prusa XL uses a more current and more beefy board, and I'm sure that when they come out with a true new machine to replace the I3 MK3 series, it will as well.
RE: Einsy RAMBo: When do the upgrades come?
Given the current supply chain situation I have a hard time seeing Prusa digging themselves another hole with rolling out a board for an end-of-life line of printers, which they need to source and support. The Mk4—whenever it becomes reality—will of course have a more modern board, like the Mini.
Formerly known on this forum as @fuchsr -- until all hell broke loose with the forum software...