3D Printing Prusa MK4

cwbullet

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I am expecting several printers in the next few months.

  1. Prusa XL 2 head - semi-assembled
  2. Prusa MK4
  3. Upgrade to Mk4
  4. Upgrade to 3.5
I will post a review and some details on each.
 

cwbullet

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You'll def be busy in June! Hope your MK4 works better than mine!
What is wrong with yours? That is one reason I bought the kit. I have 4 Mk3S+ and I have found that it is better to put it together yourself.
 

cwbullet

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Post #56 - the I2C error on bootup. The preheat for PLA - the nozzle will not go above 170*C? This was a pre-assembled printer too.
Contact support via Chat. They will set you up. I suspect one of the connections is wrong on the board in the extruder.
 

Huxter

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Support escalated it to the Dev team. But no word in 12 days. I agree - it's a connection issue. Seems like 20% of the time, it's boots up to the I2C error and beeps until I turn the MK4 off.

The other 80% of the time, it'll boot up, but nozzle temps have 'issues'! If I preheat to PLA, nozzle will not go above 170 * C, bed has always been normal. If I manually set nozzle to 215, it does show that it heats up normally to 215 *. As soon as I choose a print, the nozzle is set to 170*?
 

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The 170 is the temp that it does the leveling tap. I think that is how it is supposed to do it. It is a setting in Prusa Slicer.
 

Huxter

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Update. Prusa Dev team told me to install the new firmware to fix the I2C error. No option, but to install. Took some doing finding the .bbf file, but Prusa chat took care of me with a lot of patience! :)

Got the 5.0.0-Alpha1 firmware installed. Updated to the new Prusa slicer 2.6.0-beta4. Installed the new input shaper printer profile. This is the most I've ever installed that many .0 versions!

The MK4 is now printing! Chuck was right - it uses 170 * nozzle temp while it does it's probey thing, then heats up to proper temp before printing. Kinda weird. There are a few quarks, and a few niceties in the new firmware - mixed reaction here.

The nozzle really does haul ass now! Seat of the pants say the MK4 nozzle moves as fast as the Bambu x1 carbon that I saw at my work this week. (I also saw the x1 spaghetti too! Apparently, it shut itself off when it detected it)

I will print some test runs later this month. The 12 minute Benchy will be first. I want to print the rocket engine soon too! :p

Can I say I have a "Printer Farm" now? I know, it's nothing compared to some of you (Chuck!), but I think it's cool to tell people that I have a print farm! :p


Print_Farm.jpg
 

cwbullet

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My Mk4 is on its way. I ordered a Prusa Enclosure this time. Departed Deutschland this am.
 

Huxter

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I did have to pay DHL the duty fee. I cannot find how much it was now. I'll have to look in my email after work. I was thinking that I should never order anything w the printer - always make it a separate purchase. Mostly because of the duty tax ($800 min?), and quick order.
 

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This is a jaw bone to hold dice. Printed in 'Bone' PLA. Pretty good quality. The 'Bone' PLA really smoothed out the layer lines - impressive!

Sliced on my MK3 - over 12 hours (12h47m?)

Sliced on the MK4 w new alpha firmware (w input shaping, pressure advance...) 4 hours 28 minutes! Print time was real close (went to bed b4 it finished)

DiceJawBone.jpg
 

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I finished my 3-4 weeks review.

I ordered my MK4 kit at 1630 pm EST on 4/12, and the kit shipped by the expected date based on their shipping table. There have been lots of delays.

I ordered my printer printed in orange and black. I see lots fo folks printing thier parts our ASA, but I do not think it is actually needed.

So how was the build?

The build was, for the most part, easy to follow and painless to build. I built the printer with my son and it took about 6 hours total. We could have done it faster, but we did have to repeat some parts because we misread the instructions. The most tedious part was finding the parts in the multitude of bags. It is conventient that there is a part summary was labeled on each bag.

Overall the build was extremely straightforward. Sure it was long, but I don't regret getting the kit. As I found out during previous version MK3, Mk2, Mk3S, and upgrades, it is good to learn how to build and take them a part for future repairs. For those that think that won't happen, you might be a little delusional.

Printing:
  1. First payer is perfect every time!
  2. It is very very quiet.
  3. It is annoying that input shapping is only available in the Alpha firmware.
I will post more later.
 

Bravo52

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I think the industry needs to better define "Input Shaping (IS)". Active shaping vs. Passive shaping???? While on the surface, IS is what Prusa is doing but with a different approach. They don't use accelerometers like other manufacturers. While they use Kepler, or some aspect of it, the variables are "preassigned" by Prusa and not "live". I don't know how much that really matters.

The other consideration is that Prusa is Open Source. That may be a driver for their approach.

Presumably, once the mechanicals are assembled, the harmonics and whatnot should be somewhat consistent for the design. It's the other factors that seem to be in question. Belts, motors, voltage...it's a long list. Preassigned inputs should be close, but live inputs would be more accurate. To what degree though?
 

JohnCoker

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Good point. It sound like the MK4 was rushed out before being ready. But then again, they have a history of making revisions over time so maybe the best plan is to wait for the MK4S which should have accelerometers and mature "input shaping."

I doesn't sound like the MK4 is on par with the Bambu X1C. Competition is good, and I'm confident Prusa can mount a better response over time.

Let's hope the XL is more mature on release, (I still haven't heard any word on my order, so I'm guessing not this year.)
 

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I think the industry needs to better define "Input Shaping (IS)". Active shaping vs. Passive shaping???? While on the surface, IS is what Prusa is doing but with a different approach. They don't use accelerometers like other manufacturers. While they use Kepler, or some aspect of it, the variables are "preassigned" by Prusa and not "live". I don't know how much that really matters.

The other consideration is that Prusa is Open Source. That may be a driver for their approach.

Presumably, once the mechanicals are assembled, the harmonics and whatnot should be somewhat consistent for the design. It's the other factors that seem to be in question. Belts, motors, voltage...it's a long list. Preassigned inputs should be close, but live inputs would be more accurate. To what degree though?
I can tell you that so far, it makes zero difference in the end print or speed; if anything, it might be a touch faster on some prints. I even assembled to printer myself so even that variation is not enough to make a difference.

I also know that Prusa is considering adding an accelerometer or an addition to a future board. I am not privy to know why, but it does not appear to be a speed or print quality issue, yet. As you said, it might be that the harmonics might slowly change over time.
 
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cwbullet

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I doesn't sound like the MK4 is on par with the Bambu X1C. Competition is good, and I'm confident Prusa can mount a better response over time.

Not On par? I would not agree with that comment. The lack of mature firmware is irritating, but it is capable. My MK4 and A1C print the same quality, and at times, the Mk4 is faster than the A1C or P1P. It does require the alpha firmware.

The AMS is something Prusa has not matched, and I am not sure they will. Time will tell.
 
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cwbullet

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Let's hope the XL is more mature on release, (I still haven't heard any word on my order, so I'm guessing not this year.)

When did you order? Mine should ship on 31 July to 7 August. I am pretty sure my order is one of the oldest remaining. I ordered before they even announced it. I saw it in the shopping search.
 

JohnCoker

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When did you order? Mine should ship on 31 July to 7 August. I am pretty sure my order is one of the oldest remaining. I ordered before they even announced it. I saw it in the shopping search.
I ordered it on Dec. 4, 2021. But I also ordered 2 tool heads, so I'm probably farther back in line. At any rate, I've received no prompt to review my order. (I plan to update it to 3 tool heads.)
 

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I ordered it on Dec. 4, 2021. But I also ordered 2 tool heads, so I'm probably farther back in line. At any rate, I've received no prompt to review my order. (I plan to update it to 3 tool heads.)
You are a bit back. They start skipping the first day's orders of kits with 2 heads on 31 July or so. They are shipping day the first week of the built ones. I will post a review of the building once I built it. I ordered on that was
 
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