First impressions of you XL  

RE: First impressions of you XL

Really appreciate you sharing this. I’m waiting for mine to arrive now I’ve paid in full. The sign looks really good. Is that the top layer or first? Was it printed face down? Thanks

RE: First impressions of you XL

The "Indian" sign was printed face down (PLA). Both PLA's were brand new. The Black is Prusament (the one that came with the printer) and the other is "Real". Also i used the red pla as supports for PETG and is a great approach. They come off with no traces (dot use snug supports use grid). Keep in mind though that the prime tower perimeters must be set to a specific toolhead. The first time i tried PLA with PETG i didnt think about that and halfway through the print the tower deattached and made a mess.

Also something else to keep in  mind when you get it. All the comments that say that the PETG profiles for the XL are running hotter that they should are valid. Try it at first with the default profiles but i found that with PETG -10 degrees improves the print.

RE: First impressions of you XL

Thanks. Appreciate the advice and info

RE: First impressions of you XL

I have an XL5. I wish I had waited. It's more of a "beta" product than a finished product. Lots of rough edges and missing features (like spool joining.) Takes 10 minutes of nothingness before it starts printing anything. Crazy slow WiFi. Slower than the Mk4. Vibrates like an unbalanced washing machine when printing. And the tool heads have on several occasions played "battlebots" with each other. (See other posting.)

RE: First impressions of you XL

I saw your video. Is it trying to swap tools there. What does support say? 

RE: First impressions of you XL

I saw your video. Is it trying to swap tools there. What does support say?

Supports says to [waste] 30 minutes of my time waiting to talk to Support.

No, it wasn't swapping. it was about 97% finished on a single-tool 12 hour print 🙁 No reason whatsoever to be doing what it was doing.

Frankly, the XL5 exhibits a LOT of utterly random and unexplainable behaviors.

RE: First impressions of you XL

i saw your short video. That is really bad. It looks like its mixing toolheads and tries to park it in someone elses place. Is it preassembled or semi? Personally i knew that some features i wanted weren't there yet (like printing with multiple nozzle sizes) and i wouldnt mind waiting since i would prefer to wait with the printer rather without. But there are indeed bugs that shouldnt be there after 2 years and the premium you pay for Prusas brand name. Im still trying to solve with Prusa a problem i have that sometimes it scratches the bed on probing and after a week im still on the , "redo calibrations", loosen that screw, try again this calibration, reflash,  state with chat support. Having all this sensors and automated sequences has the drawback that troubleshooting becomes a pain. And my opinion after talking with Prusa's chat support is that they even get lost and having difficulties. And indeed the wifi speed has no but no excuse. I had a 130 MB file that i needed to print (60h print 4 colors). AFter 15 min of uploading i noticed that i choose the wrong toolhead for a part. 30 sec fixing on the slicer and another 15min uploading. Half an hour justo to copy the file/ And pluging and unpluging a usb on a finicky port is not the solution. Also i noticed that my ETA on the print is continuously shifting. There is now a 2h offset from when the printer started. These things would be ok on let say a voron kit not on a 4k "Prusa PAid-Brand" high end printer. I still like it. When it prints its very good. I'm just less fond of Prusa now.

Im optmistic that they would probably fix all this issues at some point and focus on the addons (spool joining, Different nozzles etcc). I just hope that the solution wont be an "upgrade" kit that includes a better let say wifi module or mopre reliable sensors. 4k is already a lot

Posted by: @seattledavid

I have an XL5. I wish I had waited. It's more of a "beta" product than a finished product. Lots of rough edges and missing features (like spool joining.) Takes 10 minutes of nothingness before it starts printing anything. Crazy slow WiFi. Slower than the Mk4. Vibrates like an unbalanced washing machine when printing. And the tool heads have on several occasions played "battlebots" with each other. (See other posting.)

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As I said, I wish I had waited. (Actually, I asked Prusa to NOT ship my printer until March as I am leaving the country. They agreed, and then promptly shipped it anyway.)

This was a fully assembled printer that took me 5 hours of post-assembly time to "assemble" it, carefully.

I am one of those customers that just wants things to work. I am willing to pay the Prusa premium to save my own time and have something that works. This was not a delightful experience for me. I don't enjoy fixing other people's problems...I have enough of my own.

It is very clear that Prusa has not spent 2 years working not his printer. It feels like it has been a "stepchild" product that nobody wanted to work on, and that resources were diverted into the Mk4, instead. I say this because there are so many idiosyncratic behaviors and minor feature omissions that could have been resolved with just a month of somebody dedicated to polishing them off.

It may eventually become a good printer, but it is not what I had hoped. It's unfinished and problematic. Not what I expected for $4,400.

RE: First impressions of you XL

Very disappointing reading this experience. Crazy really for an ‘assembled’ printer. Making me regret paying for my 5h at the mo. If Bambu had released a large format id have cancelled the XL

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*The short answer is...  It's a 5-headed printer, so you're going to have 5 times as many issues as you would with a single-headed printer.

My first impression was "Damn, this thing is huge!" It wasn't going to fit on my work bench under my cabinets, so I had to move my workbench to make room.

My second impression was "Damn, this thing is heavy!" lol

I bought the fully assembled one and it took me about 2 hours to attach the Wi-Fi antenna, the 5 print heads, and spool holders.

The initial calibration of the head-docks took about 30 minutes and loading the filament took another 15 minutes.

Then the initial calibration and bed leveling took another 10 minutes.

The first thing I printed was the "Keychain_0.6n_0.2mm_PLA_XL_41m.gcode" from the Five-Head folder on the USB.  It came out nice, but it was only two colors.

Next I printed a larger single color "cloak" using print-head #4 just to see if I could.  It worked beautifully.

(The cloak is my creation based on Jason Asano's crest from the book series "He Who Fights With Monsters")

I wanted to print something with all 5 colors, so I grabbed the Rocket Engine from Printables.com https://www.printables.com/model/425766-rocket-engin e" href="https://www.printables.com/model/425766-rocket-engine" rel="noreferrer"> https://www.printables.com/model/425766-rocket-engine

I didn't want to do a full scale version because it was going to take 26 hours, so I scaled it down to 50%. 

It failed due to filament breaking in the bowden tube, so, I replaced that filament and printed it again and a different filament broke in another bowden tube. 

I realized that those two filaments were old and brittle, so I bought all new filament and decided to go crazy.  I scaled it to maximum size and about 30 hours later, the wipe tower got loose and crashed things.  That wasted about $40 worth of filament.

Now I'm using all new filament to try and print a 4 color version of my Beholder. https://www.printables.com/model/25872-beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholde r" href="https://www.printables.com/model/25872-beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder" rel="noreferrer"> https://www.printables.com/model/25872-beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder

(I'll upload the colored version if it comes out nicely.)

I have a print failure about once ever 50 times on my Prusa-Mini, so I expect to have a failure about once every 10 times on the XL.

But the print volume is huge!   I can fit my Prusa-Mini inside my XL.

RE: First impressions of you XL

My first impression was I underestimated how large this was. I'd been considering building a Voron but put that idea on hold because the Prusa XL ticked all the same boxes and at a similar price (LDO 350 kit is $2400 AUD and Prusa XL single-toolhead was $2900 AUD). Now I've seen how big the Prusa XL is I'm glad I didn't buy the Voron because it must be gigantic. Prusa did an amazing job squeezing a 360x360x360 build volume into a relatively (!) small form factor.

Assembly had some head-scratching moments. I truly dislike the mounting method for the toolhead docks. The electronics layout is cramped despite there being so much available space. The frame design is very clever - using panels to reinforce a frame is standard practise in construction and it's more efficient (cost/weight) than over-engineered frames - but assembly of the frame/panels was frustrating. But those things aside there's not much to criticize with the hardware. IMO it's a better hardware design than the Voron (cue the angry mob).

I opted for the dual-toolhead and I'm now regretting not waiting for the five-toolhead. Multi-toolhead printing is a gamechanger for coloured prints. I had an MMU on my MK2 and although it worked it wasn't practical and was soon retired to a shelf to gather dust. With the Prusa XL I'm printing multi-material again. Many youtubers have experienced awful stringing but I've been one of the lucky ones because my multi-colour prints look great. When the 5TH upgrade kit is announced I'm not hesitating.

This cryptex was printed on the XL at 200% scale and it's better than I ever got with the MMU. I use my printers to enable my other hobbies (RC and electronics) and a large-format printer was all I had in mind initially, but the multi-toolhead has been an unexpected bonus.

PS: You mentioned several times a 2-year delay but I'd point out that's not quite accurate. The Prusa XL was officially announced on November 2021 via the Prusa blog with an estimated shipping time of Q2/Q3 2022.

https://blog.prusa3d.com/original-prusa-xl-first-look_58312/

I received my Prusa XL in Q3 2023 so that's a 1-year delay. But despite Prusa having a whole extra year it still feels rushed. The firmware wasn't ready. The slicer wasn't ready. Essential features are still in alpha. There's still no enclosure which is mind-boggling. I'm sure it'll get better, assuming Prusa has deep enough pockets to weather the storm, but this hasn't been a good first impression for many. I can't blame Prusa but at the same time I can't excuse them. It's been a mixed launch.

RE: First impressions of you XL

I have a XL-5 semi.  It definitely a step up for Prusa.  This is a machine.  The moving heads and overall frame speak to solidness of the overall printer- but there are still some weak points where it seems not up to a true 'production' machine- it is still a boutique tool.

F'ing hate the routing of the ribbon cable in the early steps.  What a PITA.  Plus, put the LCD panel on in the last step so that you aren't bumping into it all the time.

This is a BOG machine- and that isn't just sitting on the shelf.  To work or manipulate it is cumbersome sometimes.  Reaching around or accessing parts with out putting pressure on something that shouldn't have pressure can be hard.

Lots more parts- more parts to leave out.  Hotbed power screws were loose in the box, had a dickens of a time finding the last one, at 11pm at night of course.  Two 4mm head registration pins missing.  Wrong WiFi tower.

The single screw attachment of the heads is odd.  I could have sworn I had them tight, but two were loose.

Calibration takes longer than assembly...  I had missing locating pins that made it a week long affair until I got the missing parts, but the print fans failed until I took their ducting off.  Not sure how all five passed QA at Prusa.

All in all a step forward for PRusa, but their REP/RAP roots still show- and we don't have third party heads yet, so the 'open-source' aspect isn't fully working for us.  It isn't an industrial machine, and for a school setting, I'd need to have a specific need (size or Multi material) to take this over the 5-6 MINIs that you could buy.

RE: First impressions of you XL

Already typed it once but it didn't edit/add it.  -

Consider the machine a 4+1, not a 5 head.  Ive had it for 10 print hours and one head has always been down.  When I had four printers and I'd be running them non-stop on a deadline, one would always get enough of an issue that I'd have to put it aside for parts or TLC to get back running.  Might be the same thing with the XL.  I'll get a spare head when they become available- and that is a great feature- warm swap a head for another and keep turning and burning.

RE:

Posted by: @nhand42

My first impression was I underestimated how large this was. I'd been considering building a Voron but put that idea on hold because the Prusa XL ticked all the same boxes and at a similar price (LDO 350 kit is $2400 AUD and Prusa XL single-toolhead was $2900 AUD). Now I've seen how big the Prusa XL is I'm glad I didn't buy the Voron because it must be gigantic. Prusa did an amazing job squeezing a 360x360x360 build volume into a relatively (!) small form factor.

Congratulations to your XL. That Cryptex looks great. 
I just wanted to comment on the V2.4 350mm. While it is anything but small, it is certainly not larger than the XL. The width is basically the same as the XL (without spool holders) but it is around the same height as the XL without any cables and 15 cm less deep than the XL even without the cables. To accomodate the XL with cables and all, and possibly even an enclosure, you need quite a bit more space than for a V2.4 350mm. That said, the build volume of the V2 is a bit of a lie. 350x350mm is true but the build height in stock configuration, with enclosure is hardly more than 320mm. 

Price comparison is harder, even when comparing just the XL Single version to a V2.4 350mm. Simply because you can get Vorons from half decent budget kits up to nice Prusa quality level kits like the LDO and everthing in between and beyond when you are self sourcing. If I am honest, I have already slightly surpassed the price tag of a single head XL with my V2.4, adding the costs for all my add-ons and mods. 

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You're right about the Voron 2.4-350mm maximal Z. To practical effects there's no way to surpass 310mm if the filament enters from the rear panel. 

For a couple of future projects around 300mm in height I will remove the top acrylic panel and insert the filament from above.

RE: First impressions of you XL

I saw how much faster it said it would print with firmware 5.1.0-alpha2 and Prusa Slicer Alpha, so I flashed it and tried my colorized beholder...

Well...  it failed...  the printer just froze for no reason at 50% and the controls did nothing.  I had to hit the reset button.

It is a shame too because it was going to be beautiful.

I tried starting again and it froze at 0% for an hour....  I reset it and went back to firmware 4.7.2

RE: First impressions of you XL

1st impressions?

1. Its big
2. It's heavy
3. Its expensive
4. It's getting better and better
5. I'm glad I got it.

Yes, the delay was extended.  Global supply chain meltdown will cause issues.  I know of spacecraft that had delays waiting on long lead items that went from long to "how long?" to "you are kidding, how long?".  And they did have issues with getting a component for the multi tool version that added to the delays.

Swapping out processor chips late in development will cause issues.

It's a complex machine and I am willing to bet that everyone learned a lot when it comes to variability in testing and operations.

RE: First impressions of you XL

Been printing 24h a day for 5 days now. No issues with the exception of some wispy little strings that are easily cleaned up with a quick hand brush.

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I had a pretty good first experience (it basically just worked). So The manual is way below typical standards of prusa printers (of which I own many). I also can only hear Mandy Patinkin going "I don't think that word means what you think it does" when finishing the "fully" assembled printer. That being said once it was all over and I managed to heft it into place onto the 24"x24" concrete paver I use as a dampener it worked perfectly. My first 2 tools have the obxidian nozzles as I frequently print with abrasives. The tree frog printed nicely in 2 colors of PLA as a test print (352 changes). My biggest complaint as others have noted the wires going into the buddy board box is overly tight for a printer the size that it is (The cable management is kind of poor for such a printer). The other 2 complaints I have is the PTFE going into the top of the extruder is pulled backwards by the loop of tubing and weight of the wire, and so the filament isn't coming straight down so often won't feed easily into the sensor (which I find is corrected by grabbing the tube right above the bowden clip and bending it back upright and it pops right in). Finally when running the tool changer calibration there is a UX issue where the button to acknowledge that the tool was calibrated switched to "abort" without an obvious change in button width and so we accidentally aborted the calibration by mistake as we didn't see the word changed. Going to try PLA/TPU mixed print this evening for a work-print, and see how that goes.