Prusa i3 MK3S or something else?

Good morning,


I have a question about my recent purchase. Let me start by saying this will be my first 3d printer but I have built (designed and constructed) two CNC milling machines with ball screws and servo drives, so I am familiar with some of the terms, and at least familiar with milling machine motion controls.


I was leaning towards a Prusa Mini but the lead time is September so I opted for the Prusa i3. The lead time was advertised 3-4 weeks, unfortunately, I am sitting at 38 days with no order update.


I am a bit concerned that I may be paying a premium for outdated control hardware and/or software, 8 bit vs 32 bit, and a touch screen. So my question to the group is this:
Given my budget of $800 to $1,000 (I'd rather spend less), what would you suggest I do? Wait on the Prusa or cancel the order and move on to a printer that is cheaper, available, and possibly more advanced?


What will I print:


I'm not exactly sure so I would like a direct feed extruder and a machine capable of printing a wide variety of materials. I do sell a few items for O scale trains at my shop, but those are all CNC milled at the moment. I may be able to replace one part that I currently make from fiberglass with a printed part. I am sure to print items for my HO scale railroad, however, I understand the limits of detail with such small items.


Thank you for your help.

well, the electronics doesn't make that much difference.
And while it can be a real PITA to sort firmware - better boards and stepper drivers are cheap and easily available.
The mechanics and engineering make more difference, so better to start with a sound mechanical base.

As you are engineering savvy - have a look at the hictop
https://www.hic3dprinter.com/product...-dual-extruder

Some nice parts including linear rails for the extruder carriage.
Also full Independant Dual Extruders.
Which means you can use 2 different materials at the same time. Useful for using soluble support material.
Takes a lot of the hassle out of prints that need supports.
take off the bed throw into sink of warm water - dissolve supports, drain :-)

Plus useful things like 2 prints at once, mirror printing.
Also a much larger build volume than the prusa.

It does have the prusa critical i3 engineering: direct drive extruders, dual bed support rails and dual z axis motors.

Reviews I've seen indicate that it's pretty good out of the box - but should you want to do upgrades. It's a really solid platform for those as well.

In the under $1000 market at the moment, I honestly don't think you can do much better.

Detail printing in fdm is largely down to the nozzle size.
switch the standard 0.4mm for a 0.2 or 0.25 and you can get almost resin like detail in your prints.
A big printer will do this just as well as a small printer.
Switch up to a 0.6 or 0.8mm nozzles and knock out big stuff really quickly (well it's all relative - 3d printing is never 'fast' :-)

Thank you for the reply!

Prusa must have heard me typing, I received a shipping notification an hour ago! LOL
I imagine this won't be my last printer and I will look up the hictop.

I had never even thought about dissolvable supports! Great idea! I am used to thinking about
part construction from the perspective of subtracting materials instead of adding material.

Thank you again!

I was in a similar situation as you (also have a lot of CNC experiance). Came close to buying the Prusa, but in the end I decided to buy a CR-10S and I am rebuilding it with higher-end parts, like a direct drive Micro Swiss DDE, and EasyABL, dampers, higher end nozzels etc. This way it will end up being better than the Prusa, and I won't have to wait for it, plus the best part is I get to learn more about the machine and how everything works together. Plus of course it will cost me less. I am really happy with my decision because I have never seen any 3D printer that I didn't want to upgrade in some way, even the Prusa.

to make the cr10s better than a prusa you'll ned to add side support rails to your printbed and switch to a direct drive extruder :-)
They make the most difference.
All the fiddling people do with different hotends and extruders makes a lot less difference than you think.

My best printer has the most basic extruder and hot end you can pretty much get.
But the mechanics are right and that makes more difference.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by curious aardvark

As you are engineering savvy - have a look at the hictophttps://www.hic3dprinter.com/product...-dual-extruder

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SOOOOOOOOOOO, do you think i could run an MMU2S AND a Diamond Hotend at the same time? Or Two Diamond Hotends? One with the regular rgb, or cyan, magenta, and yellow, and one with the pastels?? I mean Geeetech has a 3 in 1 out extruder that is smaller than the diamond hotend. here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Geeetech-3-...8AAOSw7Z5d4Mce

Quote:

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Originally Posted by curious aardvark

to make the cr10s better than a prusa you'll ned to add side support rails to your printbed and switch to a direct drive extruder

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Done and done. Plus the X-axis has been reinforced with 3/4" square steel bar to compensate for any added weight of the Micro Swiss DDE.

It's a fun project :)

So should I bother with linear rails on my Ender3? How would I mount the side support rails ?