User Panel
Posted: 11/27/2019 2:48:07 PM EDT
After talking with Prusa CS, I should be in the first batch of Mini's being shipped (ordered first day), which means I should be having my mini within the next couple weeks.
Going to do a YT review on it, as I think it could become the new de facto newby printer for its combination of features/quality/price. I intend on running it as-is out of the box, then switching to a .25mm nozzle and see what kind of detail I get get out of it. Any other ideas/requests for what to test? |
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Looks like a cool little printer, and cost may be closer to the entry level area, but not sure that design is newb friendly.
Seems like a more standard E3 or Tarantula Pro would be a sturdier setup and easier for peeps to get their heads around. Def a neat little desktop printer, but I could see that design having some quirks, and sounds like a brand new board on top of that. Id be curious what adjustments it has to square it up, how rigid it is, and hoping the new board follows a somewhat standard pattern that is already out so not starting from scratch. |
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Just cannot get into anything Prusa makes.
Too expensive for size or oddball shit. CR10S has been good to me. |
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The reason I don't favor the Chinese imports as being particularly suitable for new makers (those just diving into 3D printing) is because of the amount of technical tweaking required to get them running.
Maybe not for every printer, but for many. They require just-so assembly, tuning, tightening, calibrating, etc. Slicer settings can be a PITA to tune in. Can it be done? SURE! But when you know nothing about CNC, CAD, CAM, G-code, etc. to begin with, its a steep learning curve. I was familiar with CAD/CAM and CNC machining before I got my first printer, and it was a steep learning curve and lots of time fiddling with stuff (granted, that was a few years ago, which makes a huge difference). I've seen many folks (even a few here on this new 3D forum on ARFCOM) extremely frustrated by the damn things just not working right out of the box and taking weeks and weeks of fiddling to get going. Maybe the find they got a dud part. Maybe they built it wrong. Prusa has all this done for you. For $349 and 3 component assembly, it should be GTG right out of the box, leading to a good experience. It is a machine designed specifically to be easy to use. Obviously, I can't speak of the rigidity yet, but I'll let you know in a few weeks . |
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I doubt it is big enough for an AR lower if that was the selection criteria.
The mini is a good value when the automatic leveling is considered. The build volume could be limiting. I think it will make a good supplementary printer for most who buy it, because I think most who are brand new to 3d printing will be inclined to stay at the $200 mark to try things out. Their corexy will be more interesting IMO. |
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It’ll be interesting to see how it does with ringing. Other printers with similar x-axis designs have issues with it, but I’m sure Prussia has it figured out. I love my Mk3s and my Cr10 Mini works great, so I probably won’t be buying the new Prusa, but I think it’s an awesome printer for the money.
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Quoted:
It'll be interesting to see how it does with ringing. Other printers with similar x-axis designs have issues with it, but I'm sure Prussia has it figured out. I love my Mk3s and my Cr10 Mini works great, so I probably won't be buying the new Prusa, but I think it's an awesome printer for the money. View Quote I'll push it though, see what happens |
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Just cannot get into anything Prusa makes. Too expensive for size or oddball shit. CR10S has been good to me. View Quote Soo glad I got in before the fancier budget printers came out. Im sure if I were just getting into this now, Id be looking at the same as most others, E3 or Tarantula Pro, and I wouldnt know half of what I learned because of the erector set printer I started with. Might not have been as easy as one of the fancy easy button printers out now, but wasnt hard either. 6mos to a year later, that extra effort pays back, and everything is easy. |
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I spent some time with an Ender-3 and a buddy owns a CR10. Both of those experiences left me less than satisfied. I thought I was going to buy an Ender-5 but still don't like the stupid plastic wheels.
The Prusa Mini runs on steel rods and bearings, which are so much better system. The auto-levelling is also very nice feature direct from the factory. I am planning to order a Mini early in the new year. |
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With respect to printed AR lowers, I think the best solution is the bolt together versions. They are way easier to print and allow the parts to be enhanced in certain areas so as to make them stronger.
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Quoted: With respect to printed AR lowers, I think the best solution is the bolt together versions. They are way easier to print and allow the parts to be enhanced in certain areas so as to make them stronger. View Quote |
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The Prusa Mini runs on steel rods and bearings, which are so much better system. View Quote Im sure they are both good though, people |
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Quoted: When I was doing the research to buy my 1st one, the horror stories I read about the rods and those lmu bearings (or whatever they are called) are probably the biggest reason I went with the printer I did (wheels). Im sure they are both good though, people View Quote My current machine runs high quality rods and bearings and is rock solid. That mod over stock Chinese stuff provided for far superior prints due to eliminating the slop. My current printer started life as a Robo R1+, BTW. Mostly upgraded everything at this point, except still running mega/RAMPS electronics. |
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Are they even bearings?
I think most of them were such a hassle that people started printing or casting thier own bushings out of fancy plastics. |
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Prusa did an update today:
Orders from the first day (I ordered on the first day) will ship in December and maybe some into January. Hopefully. |
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Got in touch with cs, my mini should ship in "a few days, probably next week"
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Your order with the reference xxxxxxx has been shipped. View Quote |
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It's ok. I've got some work to do today anyway since I'm closed the next 2 days. |
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The only sucky part is the DHL shipping. Not even DHL CS knows the handoff carrier, much less it's tracking.
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Initial thoughts:
You need some tools not included: Flashlight for assembly Tweezers, I prefer ceramic tipped More IPA and paper towels, but duh More filament. Again, duh. Assembly was technically very easy. Took me about 45 minutes or so, but I majorly took my time. Setup, including flashing updated firmware, was insanely simple. If you can't handle the setup of the Mini, you have no business having a 3d printer. I have only so far used the smooth pei sheet. Pla sticks very well. Will try petg after I use their sample pla. I foresee a better spool holder in it's near future. Not because the one it has its bad, but I can make it better and have the filament better constrained. It's awesomely boringly good. Detail is super, all features I've used this far work great. I honestly think this is the best option for a first printer if you have the extra scratch, because you get something that just works flawlessly out of the box. |
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Maybe within the context of wanting a small printer.
I love my CR10S and feel it was absolutely the right choice for my needs for a first time printer. The thing has been dead nuts out of the box. The tiny shit just doesnt hold my attention. I have done multiple prints that have a 220x220 sized base. Considering price comparison between the two bigger can be better. |
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It is a smaller footprint for sure. It will still do 90% of my prints though.
I know the Chinese printers can be great, but they can also be a nightmare due to QC issues. It's just so hit and miss. If you have no point of reference or experience, figuring out the issue can be extremely difficult and frustrating. I've bt/dt. Also, 3d printers, I feel, are not a one size does everything kind of deal. Large format printers need (or at least greatly benefit from) volcano hotends and larger nozzles. The trade off is detail. If you run a 300mm footprint part on a v6 .4mm hotend, you can actually have issues with each later taking too long and giving issues, not to mention insane printing times. |
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WOW, 45min Setup. They have gone a long way. My MK2 took about 10 hours. I was thinking it's time to give the Mk2 an upgrade and get the new E3D Hemera upgrade for it with a bigger nozzle for faster prints, and then get the mini for smaller detail prints.
Thanks for letting us your experiences with it. |
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WOW, 45min Setup. They have gone a long way. My MK2 took about 10 hours. I was thinking it's time to give the Mk2 an upgrade and get the new E3D Hemera upgrade for it with a bigger nozzle for faster prints, and then get the mini for smaller detail prints. Thanks for letting us your experiences with it. View Quote I am loving it for large prints. X nozzle means I can print whatever abrasive filament I want. Do not go larger nozzle without the volcano though. When I did, I kept outrunning the standard v6 throughput capability. Had to slow the machine down to extrude properly. Volcano fixes that. |
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Also, 3d printers, I feel, are not a one size does everything kind of deal. Large format printers need (or at least greatly benefit from) volcano hotends and larger nozzles. The trade off is detail. If you run a 300mm footprint part on a v6 .4mm hotend, you can actually have issues with each later taking too long and giving issues, not to mention insane printing times. View Quote My CR10s has been printing since last friday. Not doing one massive print but 4-8 smaller items at a time has been a huge benefit. I will put it this way, nothing from the FOSSCAD group would scare me from being able to complete and have be donensionslly accurate. My first CR10S arrived broken but that was what Amazon Prime was for. Had new one on the way within 5min of unboxing. It went together stupid quick. Been doing sainsmart TPU with barely any mods(extruder plate drilled for a pass through fitting to get capricorn tubing just off the extruder gear). Amazon Prime is absolutely required if buying chinesium. Cura 4.3 has been the best change up since i bought it in July. I may just be lucky tho. |
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Could not get ANYTHING to stick to the textured print sheet. Not even PETG, which likes to stick to stuff almost too well (including PEI).
Hit up some online forums, and the suggestion was to SCRUB the plate with a clean sponge, Dawn, and HOT water. Did that and so far, no adhesion issues with PETG. I have not yet tried ABS though. |
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2 problems so far with the Mini:
First, and this isn't a problem with the Mini, but I tried to run a model sliced in S3D. Yeah, didn't go so well. I even copy/paste the scripts from Prusa Slicer to S3D, and it made some horrible noises . I'll have to wait to see what happens with that. Back to Prusa Slicer... And now the real problem: Its as if MESH compensation is turned off. At first CS was thinking its the MINDA probe, but I don't think so as the live data during MESH routine makes sense with the high/low spots I get when I run a print. Its almost as if it takes the bed level points, then ignores them. I knew there would be bugs with a brand new design and getting the first batch, so I'm good with it. I can still print, but I keep prints on the right side of the bed where the level is more consistent. This first layer issue makes the textured build plate worthless though, unless maybe I run a raft (which defeats the purpose). First layer on the textured is finicky, and doesn't tolerate anything less than just right. For now, I can keep printing so long as I run the smooth PEI sheet. |
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Have you tried reflashing the firmware to see if it helps with MESH compensation? or even going back to 4.0.
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I have one on order, they are backordered until March
Looking forward to getting it... |
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I have one on order, they are backordered until March Looking forward to getting it... View Quote Let the early birds like me get the bugs out for you . I'm wondering when they will release network capable firmware. Right now, the Ethernet port is just for looks. |
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I think you will like it. Right now it's just growing pains. Let the early birds like me get the bugs out for you . I'm wondering when they will release network capable firmware. Right now, the Ethernet port is just for looks. View Quote |
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Right now the firmware doesn't support WiFi or Ethernet, so the USB drive is the only option. Not sure when they expect the updated fw with network to be ready.
I'll use the Ethernet, I don't like WiFi. |
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The mesh problem may be the MINDA probe yet:
I restored to factory specs, verified firmware, now z homing is non functional . And I already have my Robo tore apart for the upgrades, so I am sans functional printer at the moment |
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Im not familiar with that fw, but should be able to find a board that uses that chip in Marlin and adapt the pins file for that board, if they dont have it already.
Getting the MKS Robin Nano up and running was an interesting learning experience. They had stuff working for the normal Robin, and some other boards that used the same chip as the Nano, and was kinda fun cobbling stuff together and seeing if it would work Might get you some stuff that you would otherwise have to wait for, or even help others. |
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