Prusa XL Purchase Advice Please  

Prusa XL Purchase Advice Please

Hi folks,

I am planning to pull the trigger on a 3d printer in early December. I need a large build volume with multi-material capability. I have been saving the money and researching. I have previously done some diy cnc router builds for wood routing, so I'm comfortable with how the engineering works, and dont mind spending a few hours on assembly when it arrives. I also understand that there can be some noise, although on my wood machines the only noise that mattered was the cutting tool. I would expect a 3d printer to be super quiet.

I currently dont have a shed or garage space, and my main concern here is the wifey factor. I'll be placing the printer in the conservatory next to the living room so it has good ventilation, and if its too noisy, my foray into 3d printing will be over before it starts. Its also a hell of a lot of money for something if I cant use it due to noise.

After quite a bit of research, I had honestly settled on a different brand to prusa which also facilitates multi-material capability, but buckets of waste plastic poop also wont go down well with wifey so I circled back here. It looks like there is some good news...did the 6.0.0 firmware update effectively resolve the XL noise issues?

I'm also a little concerned with comments like "They said the XL is just a noisy machine." which doesn't sound like very proactive vendor support 😐 But Prusa's support seems to get good reviews overall?

There seems to have been a lot of conversation around 2023 iro. XL noise. From my research, below seem to be the improvements suggested. In addition to the 6.0.0 firmware, is the XL shipping with any of these as standard now? (I would expect the vendor to have taken this feedback in 18 months and made improvements for something at this price point) .

• Tool/Nozzle head vibration and tool head changes - (Redesign Nozzle Heads?)
• Foam wedges inside assembly cover
• Dampening around assembly cover
• Sound deadening mats on sides and base
• Sound deadening foot pads
• Front anti-vibration supports
• Stepper motor harmonic vibrations printing @45deg (Firmware update seems to have made a difference?) (Different stepper motors with lower inductance & resistence?)
• Black plate on the bottom of the printer generates noise
• Air sealing material around metal panels
• Tightness of PCB metal attachment points to metal frame
• Fan noise (Padding on inside edges of fan shroud?)
• Lube on Z Rails
• Filament runout sensor improvement
• Motor dampers

Last question - Does the XL Enclosure make any difference re. noise dampening? It seems I will need it for PC and PA anyway.

Thanks for any advice. Its a lot of money, so I need to get the decision right.