3DPrinting

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3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.

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Considering Prusa Mini as First Printer (self.3dprinting)

submitted 2 years ago by bfortified to c/3dprinting

21 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Hi! New to the community, new to 3d printing, new to all of this.

I am heavily considering the Prusa Mini as my first printer.

Want a brand that is a good citizen in the 3d printing community and Prusa seems to be on this list.
Want a high quality printer to begin my adventure with that doesn't leave me guessing if it's my lack of skill or a lack of quality hardware.
Want open design to enable to tweak and improve the hardware/software as I see fit.
Linux user who wants full Linux support in the software stack.
I want to spend as little as possible on my first printer (still want high quality) because I see myself spending a lot more fairly quickly if I enjoy this as much as I suspect I will. Fortunately I can spend what I need to meet my current requirements but keeping cost down as much as possible is the goal.
Enjoy tinkering with hardware and software. Have a background in electronics and Linux system administration.

Would you agree that the Prusa Mini is a good starting spot considering the above?

The pricing I see in reviews etc seems to be lower then what is currently being offered on the Prusa site. Do they often have sales or specials or is this just because the cost of production has gone up? I see reviews that indicate a price of $349 but it's going for $429 on the Prusa site currently.

Should I consider adding the filament sensor and any extra build sheets? Filament from them or elsewhere?

Anything I am missing or not considering?

Any and all feedback is welcomed! Thanks ahead of time!

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[–] KaJashey 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

A used MK3S or MK3S+ might be better for your desires. They have an 8bit board but you're free to flash the firmware for marlin or klipper and you're free to flash it back to prusa. The 32bit boards on the mini and MK4 require you to cut a resistor to do 3rd party firmware.

The MK3S and S+ work well with octoprint. The mini has it own wifi but really slow upload speeds and and uses the somewhat clunky prusa setup.

Used Mk3S and Mk3S+ are readily available with everyone trying to sell them and use the money to buy a MK4.

Down sides to the prusa are there aren't a lot of mods, people like their reliability, ongoing support, and other aspects so they don't mod them as much as other printers. I've wanted a better part cooling setup, there aren't many out there and the printer as is is definitely good enough that I keep going as is. I am as guilty as most everyone else in not designing the mod I wanted.