Notifications
Clear all

MK3S or Mini?  

  RSS
Chris L
(@chris-l-3)
New Member
MK3S or Mini?

I'm not sure where the best place to post this question is, so forgive me if this is the wrong forum.

I have a pair of MK3S's that I use to print a wide variety of stuff, mostly in PETG. I'm kind of reaching my limit on how much I can print and am looking at adding more printers. While I bought the MK3S's to have the most versatility in what I print, I find I'm mostly printing out large numbers of small things about a cubic inch or so more frequently than anything. 

Would buying multiple mini's be a better option to pring alot of small parts more quickly than a single MK3S? My thinking is 2 extruders (on 2 minies) would be able to print small parts about twice as fast as a single extruder (on a single MK3S) for the same cost. 

Are the mini's reliable like the MK3S? Any other considerations for this? If the mini prints just as well as the MK3S it seems it would be a good choice. 

Posted : 19/08/2021 7:26 pm
BogdanH
(@bogdanh)
Honorable Member

In your case (as you described), I really see Mini as more rational choice. I don't have MK3S, but I see Mini as quite reliable printer if treated well.
The only thing you should be aware of is, it might be needed you to upgrade the heatbreak and extruder (about 80-90$). I don't say you need to do that, because some are saying stock Mini is printing fine for them. However, I personally do recommend the upgrade -I think it's a good long term investment. You can do that anytime later, though.

Just sharing my opinion

[Mini+] [MK3S+BEAR]

Posted : 19/08/2021 8:26 pm
bobstro
(@bobstro)
Illustrious Member
That's the use case for the Mini

The ability to increase production with 2 printers in place of 1 is one of the basic use cases Prusa used for the Mini. Rather than going bigger as most manufacturers are, they've focused on the small producers who need more nozzles nozzlin' more than they need one nozzle movin'. The only downside is that it's a different beast in terms of tuning and upkeep, so there will be some startup time required to smooth out the process. In your situation, I'd definitely try a Mini.

My notes and disclaimers on 3D printing

and miscellaneous other tech projects
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan

Posted : 19/08/2021 8:29 pm
fuchsr
(@fuchsr)
Famed Member

As usual it depends. I think your logic holds true for small parts, so in your use case it makes sense to go with the Mini. I found the Mini (after upgrading to the Bondtech extruder) as reliable as the Mk3S and really like this machine. But there are a few downsides:

* As @bobstro pointed out, you need two sets of spares and maintenance is similar but not identical.

* You have to maintain profiles for multiple printers. For some filaments I have separate profiles for Mk3S and Mini. Plus, separate physical profiles for each, and for multiple nozzles. My printer profile dropdown is a foot long by now...

* Unless you print certain models exclusively on one or the other printer, you'll have to maintain separate GCODE files. This is increasingly becoming a sore point for me, in particular if I'm also tweaking profiles. 

* Lastly, on a Mini you can't print anything larger than its bed size, but on the Mk3S you can print smaller objects. 

For all these reasons but mostly for the last one, I just placed an order for another Mk3S even though I absolutely love my Minis. But too often I've run into a situation in which I just needed the larger bed.

Posted : 19/08/2021 9:22 pm
cwbullet
(@cwbullet)
Member
mini

I own 5 minis and 8 MK3S.  My 5 minis print more than 6 Mk3S.  I could probably push them further than that.  I would recommend the minis.  

--------------------
Chuck H
3D Printer Review Blog

Posted : 19/08/2021 10:39 pm
Chris L
(@chris-l-3)
New Member
Topic starter answered:
Mini

Thanks for the feedback all! Helps reinforce my thought about the minis. Think I'll have to get one or two to get more prints done and see how they do. Glad to hear the quality is good. Helps make the choice easier. 

Posted : 20/08/2021 12:10 am
Share: