Powder Coated PEI Sheets  

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

Unfortunately it also looks like they aren't selling even the stickered replacement sheets yet. I asked about getting a second stickered sheet and they said they're all going to new units until they catch up.

So take good care of your print surface!

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

I thought the steel sheets were shipping already? This is not the case?

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

Fact is they were expecting a new batch of powder coated sheets end of february - but the batch was bad. They have problems with adhesion of the powder coating. It is peeling off from the surface and they dont have a clue when they will get good ones.

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

Now i dont know what to do, i assumed mine would ship with the Powder coated steel sheet. As it ships in 2 weeks.

And since shipping cost is ridicules to canada i dont really want to just buy one after, sure its only a few bucks with the coupon we are supposed to get but shipping will be 3-4 times or greater the cost of the sheet.

Now to decide if i tell them to hold until sheet is available, or just deal with having to replace the PEI sticker every so often but since they dont even sell the damn sticker to order now i would be paying ridicules shipping for the stickers later as well.

Seems like there is no good option for me.

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

Now i dont know what to do, i assumed mine would ship with the Powder coated steel sheet. As it ships in 2 weeks.

And since shipping cost is ridicules to canada i dont really want to just buy one after, sure its only a few bucks with the coupon we are supposed to get but shipping will be 3-4 times or greater the cost of the sheet.

Now to decide if i tell them to hold until sheet is available, or just deal with having to replace the PEI sticker every so often but since they dont even sell the damn sticker to order now i would be paying ridicules shipping for the stickers later as well.

Seems like there is no good option for me.

I originally asked that my MK3 be held up for the new PEI sheets when I ordered it 11/20. The delay could take a long time and I would be without a printer until it is resolved.
Maybe I should just go ahead and have them ship it now and worry about th eMK52 later. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions......

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

Now i dont know what to do, i assumed mine would ship with the Powder coated steel sheet. As it ships in 2 weeks.

And since shipping cost is ridicules to canada i dont really want to just buy one after, sure its only a few bucks with the coupon we are supposed to get but shipping will be 3-4 times or greater the cost of the sheet.

Now to decide if i tell them to hold until sheet is available, or just deal with having to replace the PEI sticker every so often but since they dont even sell the damn sticker to order now i would be paying ridicules shipping for the stickers later as well.

Seems like there is no good option for me.

According to the Order History page, the powder coated sheet will have free shipping for people who got their printers without one.

"Please note we're currently shipping all orders with smooth PEI "sticker" spring steel sheet until the end of February 2018 (the same excellent surface as MK2 is using, just double-sided and on removable magnetic bed). If you want to receive your printer with textured powder-coated spring steel sheet, please contact us and we'll hold your order until March 2018 when they're expected to be available. Sheets will be available to order separately for $24.99 (glossy and textured powder coated) or $29.99 (smooth PEI "sticker") during March 2018 and you will get $10 discount for textured powder coated steel sheet to everyone who receives the printer with smooth PEI “sticker” spring steel sheet before and FREE shipping with it. More information in the article.'

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

Now i dont know what to do, i assumed mine would ship with the Powder coated steel sheet. As it ships in 2 weeks.

And since shipping cost is ridicules to canada i dont really want to just buy one after, sure its only a few bucks with the coupon we are supposed to get but shipping will be 3-4 times or greater the cost of the sheet.

Now to decide if i tell them to hold until sheet is available, or just deal with having to replace the PEI sticker every so often but since they dont even sell the damn sticker to order now i would be paying ridicules shipping for the stickers later as well.

Seems like there is no good option for me.

According to the Order History page, the powder coated sheet will have free shipping for people who got their printers without one.

"Please note we're currently shipping all orders with smooth PEI "sticker" spring steel sheet until the end of February 2018 (the same excellent surface as MK2 is using, just double-sided and on removable magnetic bed). If you want to receive your printer with textured powder-coated spring steel sheet, please contact us and we'll hold your order until March 2018 when they're expected to be available. Sheets will be available to order separately for $24.99 (glossy and textured powder coated) or $29.99 (smooth PEI "sticker") during March 2018 and you will get $10 discount for textured powder coated steel sheet to everyone who receives the printer with smooth PEI “sticker” spring steel sheet before and FREE shipping with it. More information in the article.'

I missed that, thanks, makes it an easy decision now.

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

Mine is in transit right now, I'm hoping it shipped with the sticker so I can get the powder coated sheet later when they're fixed. A spare sheet might be handy and I'm sure I'll need some spare part or two a bit later.

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

Also guys please note, Its only the flexplate not the heatbed itself. Some people are saying the printers ship without the Mk52 heatbed, but that is simply not true! The printers all have the Mk52 heatbed (were mk52 just means the heatbed itself with the magnets), its only the powder coated flexplate on top of the mk52 heatbed that is still being delayed.

also as said everybody who gets the stickered flexplate now can get the powder coated plate later at a discount with free shipping. So the way i see it, i eventually get more (second plate) for less money then normal, so secretly i'm still hoping mine will ship next week (or the week after if they slip yet again) without the powder coated plate 😉

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

Sounds like to me they need a new powder coat supplier.

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

Sounds like to me they need a new powder coat supplier.

From what i understand after talking to a buddy who owns a powder coating and paint shop he says powder coating PEI is not possible. Or at least there is no currently known method to do it and have it adhere well.

He said he could probably do it for a non mechanical use part, like just for corrosion protection on a part that wont be handled or used but not for a part that will see handling or use, he said it wouldn't stand up to the handling without peeling. So i dont think their issue is so much that they picked a bad shop its more of a they need to figure out how to do it first. From what i understand they are literally trying to break new ground with this powder coated PEI steel bed.

I just hope that eventually they are successful.

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

From what i understand after talking to a buddy who owns a powder coating and paint shop he says powder coating PEI is not possible. Or at least there is no currently known method to do it and have it adhere well.

He said he could probably do it for a non mechanical use part, like just for corrosion protection on a part that wont be handled or used but not for a part that will see handling or use, he said it wouldn't stand up to the handling without peeling. So i dont think their issue is so much that they picked a bad shop its more of a they need to figure out how to do it first. From what i understand they are literally trying to break new ground with this powder coated PEI steel bed.

I can follow that logic, and it may very well be true. What I cannot follow or agree with is advertising a powder coated PEI steel sheet as one of the key features of the MK3 as far back as September 2017, without actually having a successfully manufactured batch of powder coated PEI sheets in-hand. (And over FIVE MONTHS later STILL not having them in-hand.)

You could also say the same thing about advertising the MK3 as being "Octoprint-ready" AND having Linear Advance, when it's obvious that they hadn't tested these two features adequately. If they had, it would have immediately been clear that the hardware couldn't support both features at the same time given the existing code. (It only took users a couple of weeks to start pointing this out once we started receiving the first batch of printers.) I mean, did they test Octoprint at all?? It definitely doesn't seem like it.

Then there is the filament sensor, another advertised key feature, which many of us have completely disabled to avoid it either malfunctioning during a print, or possibly burning out and melting the extruder housing.

Advertising features that don't actually exist, or that haven't been tested enough to prove reliable, is a good way to earn the reputation of being a Vaporware vendor.

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

Sounds like to me they need a new powder coat supplier.

From what i understand after talking to a buddy who owns a powder coating and paint shop he says powder coating PEI is not possible. Or at least there is no currently known method to do it and have it adhere well.

He said he could probably do it for a non mechanical use part, like just for corrosion protection on a part that wont be handled or used but not for a part that will see handling or use, he said it wouldn't stand up to the handling without peeling. So i dont think their issue is so much that they picked a bad shop its more of a they need to figure out how to do it first. From what i understand they are literally trying to break new ground with this powder coated PEI steel bed.

I just hope that eventually they are successful.

That is very disappointing that this printer was marketed and printers were sent out to youtube reviewers with the PEi powder coated sheets.

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

From what i understand after talking to a buddy who owns a powder coating and paint shop he says powder coating PEI is not possible. Or at least there is no currently known method to do it and have it adhere well.

He said he could probably do it for a non mechanical use part, like just for corrosion protection on a part that wont be handled or used but not for a part that will see handling or use, he said it wouldn't stand up to the handling without peeling. So i dont think their issue is so much that they picked a bad shop its more of a they need to figure out how to do it first. From what i understand they are literally trying to break new ground with this powder coated PEI steel bed.

I can follow that logic, and it may very well be true. What I cannot follow or agree with is advertising a powder coated PEI steel sheet as one of the key features of the MK3 as far back as September 2017, without actually having a successfully manufactured batch of powder coated PEI sheets in-hand. (And over FIVE MONTHS later STILL not having them in-hand.)

You could also say the same thing about advertising the MK3 as being "Octoprint-ready" AND having Linear Advance, when it's obvious that they hadn't tested these two features adequately. If they had, it would have immediately been clear to them that the hardware couldn't support both features at the same time given the existing code. (It only took users a couple of weeks to start pointing this out once we started receiving the first batch of printers.) I mean, did they test Octoprint at all?? It definitely doesn't seem like it.

Then there is the filament sensor, another advertised key feature, which many of us have completely disabled to avoid it either malfunctioning during a print, or possibly burning out and melting the extruder housing.

Advertising features that don't actually exist, or that haven't been tested enough to prove reliable, is a good way to earn the reputation of being a Vaporware vendor.

I agree with most of this. And honestly if this wasnt my first dive into 3d printing i would have likely went with a more well known reliable vendor.

IMO Prusa i3 mk3 is good for people like me who are in it to learn. Because with so many new parts coming out all the time it will make learning easy as you get to see the results from changing different parts of printer and trying new things. And there is a huge community support for any issues along the way. And then there is the cutting edge features you can test out and decide if they matter to you and what you print or not. Then at the end of the bugs worked out process you should be left with a reliable good quality printer like the mk2 was known for.

If looking for a printer to plug in and forget about and just want it to print 24/7 without much fuss, maybe mk3 not for you.

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

IMO Prusa i3 mk3 is good for people like me who are in it to learn. Because with so many new parts coming out all the time it will make learning easy as you get to see the results from changing different parts of printer and trying new things. And there is a huge community support for any issues along the way. And then there is the cutting edge features you can test out and decide if they matter to you and what you print or not. Then at the end of the bugs worked out process you should be left with a reliable good quality printer like the mk2 was known for.

If looking for a printer to plug in and forget about and just want it to print 24/7 without much fuss, maybe mk3 not for you.

Not totally disagreeing with you, but I think there is a massive difference between a product that requires tinkering, tweaking and tuning (which I am very much okay with)...and one that simply doesn't ship with the all features it was advertised with (and 3 months later still doesn't have them).

I am all for an open platform that breeds innovation and ingenuity and allows users to constantly improve upon its design. However that is completely unrelated to the vendor advertising parts and features that don't exist or don't work....features that users can do nothing to "improve" on their own. Meaning, we can't 'tinker' our way into having a powder coated PEI sheet. Nor are we likely to re-engineer the filament sensor to be reliable, or rewrite/optimize the firmware to make Octoprint and Linear Advance work together. These are all up to PRUSA, and all things that they advertised as being out-of-the-box features back in September.

That said, I really like my MK3 and I am actually having fun modding and improving it (see my power mgt upgrade here). But that doesn't excuse the fact that it's missing at least 3 of the advanced features it was advertised with. Just because a product is in an experimental/tinkerer/maker market space, doesn't make this acceptable.

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

That said, I really like my MK3 and I am actually having fun modding and improving it (see my power mgt upgrade here). But that doesn't excuse the fact that it's missing at least 3 of the advanced features it was advertised with. Just because a product is in an experimental/tinkerer/maker market space, doesn't make this acceptable.

Octoprint and Linear Advance is working perfectly fine with the latest beta firmware. Granted, it didn't work out of the box but it is being addressed.

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

Also guys please note, Its only the flexplate not the heatbed itself. Some people are saying the printers ship without the Mk52 heatbed, but that is simply not true! The printers all have the Mk52 heatbed (were mk52 just means the heatbed itself with the magnets), its only the powder coated flexplate on top of the mk52 heatbed that is still being delayed.

also as said everybody who gets the stickered flexplate now can get the powder coated plate later at a discount with free shipping. So the way i see it, i eventually get more (second plate) for less money then normal, so secretly i'm still hoping mine will ship next week (or the week after if they slip yet again) without the powder coated plate 😉

Patrick, that's my fault. I was confused with the difference of the MK52 heatbed as being the magnetic flexplate

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

IMO Prusa i3 mk3 is good for people like me who are in it to learn. Because with so many new parts coming out all the time it will make learning easy as you get to see the results from changing different parts of printer and trying new things. And there is a huge community support for any issues along the way. And then there is the cutting edge features you can test out and decide if they matter to you and what you print or not. Then at the end of the bugs worked out process you should be left with a reliable good quality printer like the mk2 was known for.

If looking for a printer to plug in and forget about and just want it to print 24/7 without much fuss, maybe mk3 not for you.

Not totally disagreeing with you, but I think there is a massive difference between a product that requires tinkering, tweaking and tuning (which I am very much okay with)...and one that simply doesn't ship with the all features it was advertised with (and 3 months later still doesn't have them).

I am all for an open platform that breeds innovation and ingenuity and allows users to constantly improve upon its design. However that is completely unrelated to the vendor advertising parts and features that don't exist or don't work....features that users can do nothing to "improve" on their own. Meaning, we can't 'tinker' our way into having a powder coated PEI sheet. Nor are we likely to re-engineer the filament sensor to be reliable, or rewrite/optimize the firmware to make Octoprint and Linear Advance work together. These are all up to PRUSA, and all things that they advertised as being out-of-the-box features back in September.

That said, I really like my MK3 and I am actually having fun modding and improving it (see my power mgt upgrade here). But that doesn't excuse the fact that it's missing at least 3 of the advanced features it was advertised with. Just because a product is in an experimental/tinkerer/maker market space, doesn't make this acceptable.

I agree if they do not deliver all promised features it would be bad. Especially so in the EU due the the laws over there in regards to advertising and fraud. The resulting class action lawsuit would for sure fold the Prusa company.

This is why i believe they will deliver all features eventually, to do otherwise would end them as a company.

Re: Powder Coated PEI Sheets

Octoprint and Linear Advance is working perfectly fine with the latest beta firmware. Granted, it didn't work out of the box but it is being addressed.

That would be news to me. Got a link to a thread about that?

I've been following that discussion pretty closely in other threads. I've not read anything about both features working together, nor a PRUSA-issued firmware with LA re-enabled. (Users are modding the latest FW to manually re-enable LA on their own, but that doesn't mean it works with Octoprint.) I was under the impression we are still waiting on a revamped FW that has rewritten LA code that would put less burden on the EINSY cpu.