Prusa Research founder Josef Průša dropped a bombshell on the 3D printing community Wednesday morning.rear Teasing fast-printing Benchy video on Twitter On Tuesday, he received the long-awaited Original Pulsa MK4 It was ready to ship. We had hundreds of pre-built MK4’s in stock and ready to buy for $1099 with a $799 DIY kit.
The announcement took Twitter by storm.Fans of the popular orange printer are suffering from an upgrade drought and show no signs of relief despite newcomers anchor makeup and Banbu Lab In 2022, it will appear at an eye-opening speed. The last update to the flagship series was his MK3S+ for late 2020, and this is still one of his. best 3d printerThe original MK3 was released in 2017.
I was invited to chat with Průša to follow up on the launch of MK4. Průša declined to disclose how many units were ready to ship, but said thousands of units had been ordered. “No one expected the XL to ship so close.”
“It’s surreal for us,” he added. Průša said he has been using the MK4 for the past year and has been testing the machine in the field in his office and print shop. When I asked him how he kept his coveted new printer a secret, he smiled and said,
Průša explained that the MK4 should follow the more expensive original Prusa XL tool changer because it shares a lot of hardware and firmware. He was concerned that competitors could dig into his XL for secrecy and imitate the MK4 before it hits the market.
Průša is widely known to be an avid supporter of the open source movement, but he has concerns. Companies like him practice open source to share ideas, innovation, and combine knowledge to help each other grow.he wrote blog post about his thoughts On March 29th, we hope to facilitate communication and eventually come up with a new license for the 3D printing community.
Prusa lamented the lack of innovation in 3D printing these days, saying the community is more vibrant than it was just five years ago. “Everybody is rehashing i3. Nobody is trying anything new,” he said. He dismissed the competitor’s fast core XY machines as “just boron in a cloak”.
He admits his new MK4 may look a lot like the industry standard MK3. He explained that most of the changes are under the hood. Průša is most proud of his xBuddy board, which features a 32-bit STM32 that handles all printer functions, including Prusa Research’s new firmware that handles Input Shaping and Pressure Advance.Other fast 3D printers like Vic Huracanrequires two separate boards and a clunky internal arrangement to do the same job.
The xBuddy board also includes built-in Ethernet, Wi-Fi, USB-C ports, and ports for optional accelerometers and multi-material units.
A “hidden gem” that Průša feels users will really appreciate is the new load cell sensor that his engineers have also installed in the recently released Original Prusa XL. An analog sensor helps the printer automatically lay down the perfect first layer. Measure the distance between the nozzle and the print sheet and calculate the required he Z offset. He said other companies are using similar technology, but not as much as they are.
To reduce makeready time, the sensor only inspects the part of the bed that will be printed.
Customers who have booked Massive Original Prusa XL Tool Changer You can avoid buyer’s regret and switch to MK4 instead. If he already owns the MK3S+, various upgrade options are available for purchase.
“Upgrades are good for customers,” he said. You can also reprogram old boards like Arduino to create projects. ”
Průša recommends upgrading to MK3.5 as “most cost effective”. This upgrade costs $249 and includes an xBuddy board and a new LCD screen, giving older printers access to his Input Shaper and Pressure Advance for fast printing.
He doesn’t recommend a complete upgrade kit that includes the NExtruder and new stepper motors, but felt the option should be included. A complete upgrade kit is $589, about half the price of his complete MK4.
