Feedback after 2 months of using a Core One
I come from a MK2.5/S which was my workhorse for many, many years. Of course not everything was good in the old days and especially bed leveling was a tedious task to accomplish. That has definitely improved with the Core One and I appreciate this fact. However, there are some points where I wonder how they could make their way through to the market version of the Core One.
A real nuisance is the spool holder. It's simply too short and does not give enough hold. I can't imagine how this passed through the tests. A 1 kg spool regularly falls of the holder and also smaller spools of 0.75 kg of filament do not always stay in place. This really sucks.
Then the whole frame vibrates like hell when printing. My whole table it stands on shakes and trembles. The shock absorbing ability of the frame is apparently very poor and if prints do not adhere well for smaller parts they just get shaken off the print bed. This is physics and I wonder how such things could pass.
Starting a print takes ages, I got somehow used to the filament change procedure which is more complicated than with the MKs but the chamber warming or temperature control takes way too long and is a real drawback. I could also not see that my prints (mostly in PLA and PETG) are better because of this.
Overall I have mixed feelings about the Core One but I am surprised that some aspects are apparently badly designed or haven't received the right attention during development. I hope it gets better in future.
RE: Feedback after 2 months of using a Core One
I've had mine for about 6 months, I can't comment on the spool holder as I don't use it - I feed my filament directly from a de-humidifier.
I haven't noticed any excessive shaking during printing (but my CoreOne stands on a sturdy desk).
However I whole heartedly agree with the long preamble before printing - for some of my smaller prints the whole head cleaning/heat absorption shenanigans takes longer than the actual print. I've also noticed that during/just after the bed levelling process for the last three contacts between the printhead and the plate (after the print area has been tested) the count on the control panel resets and increments '1/2/3' but it's still counting out of the same number of samples used for the print area. Yes this is trivial and extreme 'nitpicking' and has no implications for the printing but it doesn't show a great deal of attention to detail during the testing of new firmware releases, you would have thought a company with Prusa's reputation would have caught this by now.
RE: Feedback after 2 months of using a Core One
This morning I had the door handle accidentally disconnected from the door, ups! I really had it pressed together with force during assembly (I have the kit). It seems the sticker tape is too short and does not prevent it from disconnection when there is some torque on the handle. Ok, not a big deal, can be fixed.
As mentioned I really appreciate the bed leveling and I understand that they have reduced the nozzle temp to prevent filament from flowing out during the leveling procedure. Heating up the nozzle to print temperature is also quick enough and doesn't add a lot of wait time, it's really the chamber temp. I don't think that for a simple PLA print Prusa needs to overcomplicate it so much as they did.
I also have chosen the Core One because I wanted to have a good enclosure since my printer is located in the basement and it's not always that warm ambient temperature there.
RE: Feedback after 2 months of using a Core One
The door handle adhesive is indeed an engineering mistake. There are screw holes in the handle and door panel you can attach a screw and nut to secure it. As for PLA, whether or not heat soak is necessary really depends on the type of build plate you are using and the surface area of the print. In general though you can turn it off for certain filaments. I do this in PrusaSlicer this way:
{if filament_type[initial_tool] !~ /.*(FLEX|PLA|PETG).*/}
G29 G ; absorb heat
{endif}
RE: Feedback after 2 months of using a Core One
@hyger
where do you insert the custom G-code? ... I know of the 'custom G-code' section under the 'Filaments' tab but inserting your code in the 'start G-code' box won't do any good if PrusaSlicer has a 'G29 G ;' after the 'start G-Code'
The door handle adhesive is indeed an engineering mistake. There are screw holes in the handle and door panel you can attach a screw and nut to secure it. As for PLA, whether or not heat soak is necessary really depends on the type of build plate you are using and the surface area of the print. In general though you can turn it off for certain filaments. I do this in PrusaSlicer this way:
{if filament_type[initial_tool] !~ /.*(FLEX|PLA|PETG).*/} G29 G ; absorb heat {endif}
RE: Feedback after 2 months of using a Core One
@hyger
where do you insert the custom G-code? ... I know of the 'custom G-code' section under the 'Filaments' tab but inserting your code in the 'start G-code' box won't do any good if PrusaSlicer has a 'G29 G ;' after the 'start G-Code'
It goes in Printers -> Custom G-code -> Start G-code
Just search for `G29 G ; absorb heat` and replace with above