Prusa XL Reliability
Hi All,
One of my clients is considering getting a larger, multi-head machine (probably 2) to run low volume (10s & 100s) production prints, fairly simple 2-colour stuff, enclosures and suchlike. Basic question; how reliable is the XL now? I know there's a lot of forum noise back from 2023, but I'm more interested in those owners who've been running one for a while and don't bother posting on the forums because 'everything's pretty much fine'... or maybe have different experiences.
Bonus points if anyone can share info on printing PETG and similar materials with/without enclosures.
The client has been running MK3s and a MK4S (enclosed) for a few years now so routine maintenance and sorting the odd issue isn't show stopping.
Any feedback appreciated.
Cheers
Once you've learned its quirks it's OK. Mine is as reliable as my Mk3.
For example I had a failed print a couple of weeks ago - because the rough surfaced filament I had loaded was gripping the inside of the PTFE tubes; so now I load that particular filament directly to the tool-head from above and no more fails. Also, the XL and Core One are more sensitive to moist filament so drying is important.
Cheerio,
RE: Prusa XL Reliability
Until Prusa majorly screwed up its firmware release candidate and the resulting head crashes forced me to rebuild the belt system, the XL was arguably the most stable and reliable machine in my small collection (Mk4S/MMU, Mk3.5, Core Ones). The beginning was rough but between firmware upgrades and some hardware revisions it has become a joy to work with. Despite it using the same extruder as the Mk4S/Core One, I never experienced the first layer issues I've seen with those machines (and reported by me and others on Github). I recommend it.
Formerly known on this forum as @fuchsr -- https://foxrun3d.com/
- and to be fair, release candidates are thought to be *probably* OK, but the invitation is for users to check it in their multitude of use cases before it is finalised.
Cheerio,
RE: Prusa XL Reliability
- and to be fair, release candidates are thought to be *probably* OK, but the invitation is for users to check it in their multitude of use cases before it is finalised.
Cheerio,
RC should have already been tested to the point that there are no blockers. This is a blocker. It's weird that the went from alpha straight to RC. There should have been 3-4 rounds of beta first.
- Bob Marley