First impressions of you XL  

RE: First impressions of you XL

Posted by: @milehigh3der

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.

I agree with this sentiment. Also, there's so little slack that it's a bit of a hair-raiser getting it installed and hoping you don't crimp any wires as they helpfully suggest not to do.

RE: First impressions of you XL

Ok boys, my brother has got his XL 5T semiassembled a week ago ( by the way 2 years after ordering) So first impressions:

Assembling is not so easy as described, but not very difficult. I must agree, that LCD is better to attache in tha last steps. And calibration of tools was really adventure. But finally brothers printer is finished and printing very well. Comparing to Bambu X1c with AMS : Prusa XL is really big , print quality is adequate to 0,6 nozzle, I mean my printers with 0,4 nozzles are better, but difference is not threatening at all. Big difference is in remote acces. Bambu has it far away better than Prusa Link, more user friendly for me. All and all, my brother is very satisfied wit XL, but I will stay with my combination of Bambu + Trident + MK4 for the same price as XL.

RE: First impressions of you XL

Posted by: @jokerit

Ok boys, my brother has got his XL 5T semiassembled a week ago ( by the way 2 years after ordering) So first impressions:

Assembling is not so easy as described, but not very difficult. I must agree, that LCD is better to attache in tha last steps. And calibration of tools was really adventure. But finally brothers printer is finished and printing very well. Comparing to Bambu X1c with AMS : Prusa XL is really big , print quality is adequate to 0,6 nozzle, I mean my printers with 0,4 nozzles are better, but difference is not threatening at all. Big difference is in remote acces. Bambu has it far away better than Prusa Link, more user friendly for me. All and all, my brother is very satisfied wit XL, but I will stay with my combination of Bambu + Trident + MK4 for the same price as XL.

Luckily the nozzle is trivial to swap to a 0.4 if you want (although I agree with the selection of 0.6 to start given the typical size of models on the machine). I wish they had the thumb wheel like the mk4 does rather than the torx screw in the extruder assembly but easy enough once you know about it. I swapped my first two to Obxidian since I use a lot of abrasives. Takes 3 seconds to swap a nozzle (assuming they're in stock)

RE:

For me the point that makes XL excel is the multiple toolheads. In terms of speed and limit waste single extruder solutions are far behind. True multimaterial and that speed difference becomes even larger  as more toolheads are used in more layers. 

RE: First impressions of you XL

PrusaLink and PrusaConnect are weak links (HA!), but I finally have them working for my XL5.  That was pretty staightforward.  The Mk4 connecting was not as smooth (wireless), and it seems the Mini connected fine (wired).

DId a dragon, a state flag, and some wire/cable storage boxes.  All printed very well.  (Brand New Prusament PLA). A PLA/PETG print didn’t go as well.  Looking to do some multi-chemistry material soon. 

RE: First impressions of you XL

All going well for me with 5T semi-assembled. Assembly was pretty straight forward. No problem with cable routing, just proceeded very methodically and keeping all ribbons very neatly aligned. I built the unit on a 1 metre high mobile workbench, while standing, with very good lighting, so perhaps this made it easier. For a first print I printed the herringbone gear fidget toy in 5 colours of PLA - old Prusa (not Prusament) PLA from 2019, all dried for 8hrs at 48C before use, fw 5.1.0, PS 2.7.0 release, perfect result, zero stringing. Now printing PETG parts for an enclosure. I'm getting some of the best prints I've ever seen, using eSUN PETG with Generic PETG profile. Perfect when fully dry - but after being out for 2 days, the print quality goes down and there's obvious wet-related oozing. Humidity here is around 55% right now. 

To make assembly more comfortable, I recommend using a decent electric assembly screwdriver with long bits. I use a Hikoki (formerly Hitachi, known as Metabo in USA) DB3DL2. Unlike clutchless or general purpose power tools, the clutch can be set to much lower torque, for example so it's safe with an M3 screw being threaded into plastic (eg, the cover clips). So you can safely use the electric driver for initial insertion, then final tightening with a hand tool.

RE: First impressions of you XL

2T semi-assembled for me. Now for my impressions of the assembly process. Personally like every one else I think that the LCD and its associated extrusion covers should have been pretty much the last thing. Also the earth lead from the LCD was on a different corner than in the illustration reducing the effective length. I had to rotate the terminal in the electronics box to make up for this deficiency. Next thing is a comment on the fact that the LCD is connected by a ribbon cable. Why not make it a USB device? This would elimnate and cable length restrictions and also allow the mounting on the outside of any custom enclosure. Next item is the taped nut plates used to bolt the extrusions together. One of mine was stripped. Fortunately there were spares though an instruction on how to replace the stripped one would be nice but it was easy enough to figure out.

Now for my impressions of the completed machine. In general the construction is very good the only problem being the clips that hold the extruder cable, bowden tube and stiffener/guide together. The bundle from the second extruder keeps on knocking into that from the first extruder and opening the clips. Might need to revise these to injection moulded and screwed shut in future iterations to avoid this problem.

The Prusa logo test print went fine with no issues and it is currently doing a benchy so I can do a direct comparison with my old MK3S.

RE: First impressions of you XL

Posted by: @martin-wolfe

2T semi-assembled for me. Now for my impressions of the assembly process. Personally like every one else I think that the LCD and its associated extrusion covers should have been pretty much the last thing. Also the earth lead from the LCD was on a different corner than in the illustration reducing the effective length. I had to rotate the terminal in the electronics box to make up for this deficiency. Next thing is a comment on the fact that the LCD is connected by a ribbon cable. Why not make it a USB device? This would elimnate and cable length restrictions and also allow the mounting on the outside of any custom enclosure. Next item is the taped nut plates used to bolt the extrusions together. One of mine was stripped. Fortunately there were spares though an instruction on how to replace the stripped one would be nice but it was easy enough to figure out.

Now for my impressions of the completed machine. In general the construction is very good the only problem being the clips that hold the extruder cable, bowden tube and stiffener/guide together. The bundle from the second extruder keeps on knocking into that from the first extruder and opening the clips. Might need to revise these to injection moulded and screwed shut in future iterations to avoid this problem.

The Prusa logo test print went fine with no issues and it is currently doing a benchy so I can do a direct comparison with my old MK3S.

 

I have not had the snagging which I would be at higher risk for as I’ve been doing multi-material prints with flexibles, so had to run a bit of unicorn tubing from the holders on the right side and into the Bowden clip, which for sanity I used some garden stake clips to attach the unicorn tubing to the extruder bundle. The biggest challenge in assembly was my 56 year old eyes, can’t see black on black on black… so I applied a 15 year old set of eyes to the problem, solved!

RE: First impressions of you XL

If someone wants to see how big it is: Here beside my Mini+

RE: First impressions of you XL

Could you share a photo of your unicorn tubing setup? I'm considering workarounds to potential snagging at the moment.

Posted by: @henryhbk

I have not had the snagging which I would be at higher risk for as I’ve been doing multi-material prints with flexibles, so had to run a bit of unicorn tubing from the holders on the right side and into the Bowden clip, which for sanity I used some garden stake clips to attach the unicorn tubing to the extruder bundle. The biggest challenge in assembly was my 56 year old eyes, can’t see black on black on black… so I applied a 15 year old set of eyes to the problem, solved!

RE: First impressions of you XL

56 year old eyes are no excuse mine are 57 😛

RE: First impressions of you XL

Posted by: @tg73

Could you share a photo of your unicorn tubing setup? I'm considering workarounds to potential snagging at the moment.

Posted by: @henryhbk

I have not had the snagging which I would be at higher risk for as I’ve been doing multi-material prints with flexibles, so had to run a bit of unicorn tubing from the holders on the right side and into the Bowden clip, which for sanity I used some garden stake clips to attach the unicorn tubing to the extruder bundle. The biggest challenge in assembly was my 56 year old eyes, can’t see black on black on black… so I applied a 15 year old set of eyes to the problem, solved!

 

You can see the garden clips first near the back (in front of the exhaust hose for my laser) and from the front view you can see the disk of the clip towards the end of the tubing coming towards the bowden clip. Now I am sure based on the wisdom of the internet "I am doing it wrong" but it has worked for a surprising number of prints without the end secured in any way (and during some prints the tubing has back wound around the spool, and yet it all works perfectly)...

RE: First impressions of you XL

56 year old eyes are no excuse mine are 57

Guess I'm just a kid at 55 😆

First impressions...

• Huge
• Impressive performance and capabilities
• Too many resonate sounds that make it sound like something less than it is.

First print was the obligatory full bed level test print which went well. Second print, the Prusa key chain with some painted additions (note the sides of the letters in 'Original').  These were straight from the bed and when I realized the second point above.  I had mentally prepared myself for the stringing issues so many have reported but it wasn't so.  Being used to the textured sheets on the MK3, S, S+ now 3.9, I was a bit concerned about the first layer squish on the satin sheet but it has not been an issue so far.  No issue at all.

Prusa Slicer 2.7.0 and 5.1.0 Firmware with all system presets. Room for improvement?  Probably, but I'm happy so far.

Fun fact.  That silver filament is from the original spool that shipped with the MK3 in early 2018!

RE: First impressions of you XL

Just a quick follow-up on my earlier post about the bundle from extruder two knocking the clips from the bundle on extruder one. I found out what the problem was and solved it. It was not a problem with the clips it was a problem with the docked position of the bundles. A manual undock and replacing the extruders in the dock by hand solved it. So now the only problem is the path the filament takes from the spools to the side filament sensor tending to cause filament knots.

RE: First impressions of you XL

I have some issues on priming before start printing. The printer primes the material which should hang next to the build plate but in some cases the printer primes that material in one spot on the plate. When then the head moves to the right to make the short prime line, the primed material from the spot before sticks to the nozzle an ruines the print from start.
I checkt if the plate is not correct in place but it is. I guess there is a setting in pruca slice to change the prime behaviour.

RE: First impressions of you XL

I waited to place/accept my pre order until now. I'm about to place the order for a 5 Head. 

From what I reading there have been a lot of firmware improvements in few months. I expect many hardware issues will be address with modded and re-printed parts like Prusa has done with the past product. 

But is have a few questions for current owners.

1. Do you feel the hardware is generally stable and reliable? I have seen video of tool heads falling off. Is this a significant issue? Do you believe these a hardware issues or software issues?   
2. Slow Wifi. Does the XL have a Ethernet Jack on the back I can use other then Wifi? Is ethernet speed OK? 
3. Is anyone using the XL with Octoprint though USB? How is speed?  Any other  thoughts?
4. I thought the XL was going to have a accelerometer. I believe it does not have hardware installed at this time. Can anyone confirm if it has a connection to add one when/if Prusa add this feature? I really feel this hardware should have been included even if  the Firmware feature  would need to be added later.
5. Any additional things you wish you ordered from the start? Parts, Beds, Nozzles? Asking due to shipping costs to US.

Thank for you help in advance.

Neal

RE: First impressions of you XL

I feel the firmware and hardware is stable in the current forms.

I found the Wi-Fi speed to be just OK. I guess it depends on how big your files are, but it’s a few minutes to transfer a 25 MB file if I remember correctly. I don’t use octo print.

Not sure about the incorporation of the accelerometer.

definitely get hard and 0.4 nozzles. Get the silicone socks for the island. I get a few extra complete hot and in nozzles with the appropriate length cable to use them on an XL and a Mark four.  A couple of the extra silicone “pads“ that the nozzles restaurant. I’ve had to break at the fold point.

I started using the XL for a lot of different prints. And I started to realize that I probably need to start thinking about a spare one.

RE: First impressions of you XL

Had mine for two weeks now. Only minor annoyances that can all be fixed in software or with simple mods. I'm very happy with it.

Get at least some spare socks, spare silicone tabs and a couple thermistors/heater cartridges. Obxidian nozzles if you want and maybe a bed tile (there are so many of them that statistically sooner or later one will probably fail).
Wifi is okayish, it does the jobs but not instant. I had some problems with the current IS profiles, not using that at all right now.
I honestly don't know how a toolhead can fall off if the printer is correctly assembled and not colliding.

RE: First impressions of you XL

1. Hardware - Stable and fairly well engineered.  Solid build.  The motion system can transfer a lot of momentum to your table/desk.  I am going to get a dedicated table for it.

2. Wi-Fi - Don't use it, using the built in ethernet port.  

3. I am using Prusa Connect.  Like it well enough to have abandoned OctoPrint / OctoFarm, even though PrusaConnect does not have camera support.  I am looking at other solutions for streaming my printers.

4. I'm not sure if the accelerometer is installed and just not used. Mine was a fully assembled unit.

5. You will get 0.4mm nozzles right off, and I like those over the 0.6mm ones that came with my machine.  I ordered 5 o.4mm Brass nozzles and was preparing to install them when the 0.4mm ObXidian nozzles became available, so I ordered 5 of those.  Installed them a week ago, and love them just like I love my ObXidian Revo nozzles on my MK3S+ and Mini+.  I have not determined what needs to be in my spare parts cache yet.  With a 5 tool head I don't know if one or more of items in the toolhead is the correct level.  right now I think Silcone socks, a nozzle or 2,  heater and thermistor.  Belt material is a good bet as well. PTFE tubing is a good bet as well.

Enjoy!

Posted by: @neal3d

I waited to place/accept my pre order until now. I'm about to place the order for a 5 Head. 

From what I reading there have been a lot of firmware improvements in few months. I expect many hardware issues will be address with modded and re-printed parts like Prusa has done with the past product. 

But is have a few questions for current owners.

1. Do you feel the hardware is generally stable and reliable? I have seen video of tool heads falling off. Is this a significant issue? Do you believe these a hardware issues or software issues?   
2. Slow Wifi. Does the XL have a Ethernet Jack on the back I can use other then Wifi? Is ethernet speed OK? 
3. Is anyone using the XL with Octoprint though USB? How is speed?  Any other  thoughts?
4. I thought the XL was going to have a accelerometer. I believe it does not have hardware installed at this time. Can anyone confirm if it has a connection to add one when/if Prusa add this feature? I really feel this hardware should have been included even if  the Firmware feature  would need to be added later.
5. Any additional things you wish you ordered from the start? Parts, Beds, Nozzles? Asking due to shipping costs to US.

Thank for you help in advance.

Neal

RE: First impressions of you XL

There's been a while since i got mine.

1. Even if i commented on my OP about some issues i had early on, i never had something accidentally fall off, especially toolheads. I got mine semi assembled and took my time putting it together. A few of the issues in this forum , concerning hardware failures were mainly on "fully" assembled ones. Maybe due to the big number on backlog and the extra inexperienced stuff the got.I dont know.

2. Wifi is still lousy but got better with the binary compressed gcode alterations in prusa slicer. I don't think there will be a great improvement in the feature unless the change the wifi module. I'm not sure about Ethernet speed. It depends where the bottleneck is. On the actual esp or bus.

3.Prusalink is fine for me. No need for octoprint since i don't care so much for the camera. If there is an option i'll use it but otherwise ... Now what i dont like is taking off  the usb  from the printer so i would like a better file handling approach on the prusalink. I don't think it would be so difficult to add a multiple file deletion , or even a basic file sharing approach like samba to just access files. Finally what really SUCKS in the Prusalinks approach, is the fact that you dont have the option to set a preferred password for it and you are stuck with random generated gibberish. Lets hope there will be a few improvements in the future.

4.Prusa claimed at the beginning that XL , in contrast with MK4, will have an accelerometer even if the IS is not yet using it. Im not sure if they followed through or they decided to just use preloaded profiles

5. I always buy at least an extra heat-block assembly (thermistor, heater, sensor etc) and a couple of extra nozzles. 5 extra silicon socks, about a meter of pfte tube.

All in all i got over all the issues i had with this machine and i really enjoy it.

Posted by: @neal3d

I waited to place/accept my pre order until now. I'm about to place the order for a 5 Head. 

From what I reading there have been a lot of firmware improvements in few months. I expect many hardware issues will be address with modded and re-printed parts like Prusa has done with the past product. 

But is have a few questions for current owners.

1. Do you feel the hardware is generally stable and reliable? I have seen video of tool heads falling off. Is this a significant issue? Do you believe these a hardware issues or software issues?   
2. Slow Wifi. Does the XL have a Ethernet Jack on the back I can use other then Wifi? Is ethernet speed OK? 
3. Is anyone using the XL with Octoprint though USB? How is speed?  Any other  thoughts?
4. I thought the XL was going to have a accelerometer. I believe it does not have hardware installed at this time. Can anyone confirm if it has a connection to add one when/if Prusa add this feature? I really feel this hardware should have been included even if  the Firmware feature  would need to be added later.
5. Any additional things you wish you ordered from the start? Parts, Beds, Nozzles? Asking due to shipping costs to US.

Thank for you help in advance.

Neal