Review: The Original Josef Prusa i3 MK2 🏅 It doesn't get any better than this!
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- čas přidán 18. 09. 2016
- This is where 3D printing is right now! I feel sorry for all 3D printer manufacturers that will have to compete with the Original Prusa i3 MK2.
Get the improved MK2S here shop.prusa3d.com/en/3d-printe...
Watch the build livestream here • Genuine i3 MK2 unboxin...
Models shown:
Cranium by Dizingof www.3dizingof.com/3D-Printing/...
Adalinda by Louise Driggers www.thingiverse.com/thing:246198
Raspicam Timelapse jig github.com/not-implemented/ra...
Squid Attack by Boldmachines www.thingiverse.com/thing:854890
3DR LCD case by Pablogil www.thingiverse.com/thing:213852
/ toms3dp
Music is Jahzzar - Encedalus, licensed CC-BY-SA
freemusicarchive.org/music/Jah...
Prusa Mendel image by Julianh72 commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
🎧 Check out the Meltzone Podcast (with CNC Kitchen)! / @themeltzone
👐 Enjoying the videos? Support my work on Patreon! / toms3dp - Věda a technologie
Tom, well done! I completely agree with your review and will be echo'ing the same sentiment in my review. This machine is a dream.
Well, in Slovakia we used to say "Golden Czech hands". Although over time this has a bit sarcastic undertone, I think this printer is proof that this phrase does have a reason to survive :)
Hi5
BIAS reviews, no way is this the best printer for $900+$100 for shipping. I would expect better from you guys that have been dealing with 3d printers this long. For example the Monoprice is only $600 and produces just as good results (quieter also) or you could go with a Dremel (non-ABS).
69developer do you own a Mk2? Can you directly compare?
69developer I'm not sure I follow. According your comment, the review is biased because there are cheaper printers (that print ALMOST as good) or ALMOST comparable number of materials. Well, I have $200 chinese I3 clone. I can tell you it was way cheaper. But the results... So, go to somebody that owns the original mk2 and speak to him/her, then compare. I will tend to believe Tom (and like 20 other reviewers). But looking forward to Maker's muse as he noted some problems.
I bought the MK2 after Toms Build stream. It's awesome in every respect.
The 'little details' Tom mentioned are just as important as the bigger ones, it shows that Josef (and hes team) have done a fantastic job.
Love the Tom Approves badge.
Other printers have a real challenge to even reach the new benchmark.
Great review as always Tom
This frog.... ???
You didn't know that frogs have claws?
haha was thinking the same.
That is a German frog, no?
it's one of them horney toads
It is a dragon i think because if you kiss this it wont become a prince
That frog was just FLAWLESS.
LOL
I've been wanting to buy from Prusa since I first heard of 3D printing. Too broke for it, so got a Monoprice Mini, but *someday*. I want to support that innovation and dedication to the community.
AMAZING review. You have this talent to make an otherwise boring 3d printer analysis become fascinating and entertaining. Congratulations and thank you for this analysis. Thanks to the Fantastic Josef Průša for all his contributions to the reprap project and ultimately to mankind, I am a total fan!
Your live stream is what pushed me over the edge into ordering one, Its been a dream so far!
Thanks for your time in making this and the other i3 Mk2 vids. Persuaded me to buy and it was a good choice. Best printer I've owned to date. Assembled the kit myself and was up and running with solid good quality prints immediately after letting the printer do it's calibration. Awesome piece of kit.
Prusa is cheap because they don't speculate with the price. Some 3D printers are overpriced because people pay for it.
The Prusa isn't cheap, it's just that they save on cost because you assemble it. The build area helps, but it's actually not a lot of extra cost to increase build area when you have the basic components there. All it calls for is a few inches more material, longer pipe here and there, etc. You could probably build it much cheaper if you bought the individual components yourself, but this is basically a put together kit that makes the ease of use by having all the components together and telling you exactly how to assemble them. So they're not soo much selling a 3D printer, rather they're selling you the supplies and design, and making a profit off of that.
A friend bought one.
Without any experience of printers.
And his prints looks amazing.
Like, better then mine after a year of printing.
Tom,
I believe your review is spot on. I have an original i3 from Josef and it is a work horse. I will be ordering my Mk2 in a month or so.
One thing that you did not mention is their stellar support. The live chat that popped up when I started looking at the site sold me. It was@0am on the west coast of the US, so like nine o'clock pm in Prague. Somebody was working and answered all of my questions. I've used it a few more times and it was past midnight. Somebody is always there.
I really think you should mention this.
Thanks for your hard work.
Lindsey
Tom I blame you for not getting my Prusa MK2! :)
From Prusa support:
"You order was not sent yet unfortunately due to the high demant (thanks to the positive youtube reviews in recent days) there is a sligh waiting time you should receive your order at the end of this week"
I have a PRUSA Homebuilt. It doesn't come near this quality, and it took me more than 30 hours total to build it...it is currently in pieces because the wood frame warped, the print bed glass over plywood) was so far out of plane I had to shim it by over 4mm in one section to get it even close to flat. Nothing would stick (no heat), and it cost me about $400 back 3 years ago. THIS one looks amazing. I'm pulling the trigger on this in about another month. Thanks for the review!!
I also have a Prusa i3 I built myself, and after seeing the price tag on the MK.2, I really wish I saved my money for this one instead. I spent about $800 on the one I built myself, and this way better one is only $600. I guess I got lots of experience building it myself, if that's any consolation.
You know I entertained that thought. I really did. BUT, I don't have parts, and my existing i2 doesn't have the capability to print a quality part right now (and may never have that capability). For me to buy the laser cut frame, the heated bed, the sensor, electronics, new set of motors, hot end, display and so forth I'm still in for a couple hundred bucks or more, and still need to source the printed parts.This printer seems to be a bit pricey for what it is, but as was stated "this thing rivals a $2500 printer for 1/3 the price"...that's saying quite a bit.
My I2 has many issues. Note that you can't heat the glass bed that is on top of wood with a hair dryer...well, you can, but the heat won't stay for very long...especially in a 62F basement.
My I2 also seems to have an issue in the first 4 or 5 layers. It crushes them together. SOME improvement was made when I moved from Slic3r to Cura, but it still does it to a degree...the Z-Axis just doesn't move for those first few layers it seems...nobody can seem to figure out why.
Another issue is that it seems to not accept the G-Code correctly. If I use Pronterface and tell it to move 200mm it moves exactly 200mm, X, Y, Z...doesn't matter. As soon as I try to print something the scaling goes out the window...a 50mm box may come out at 48mm or 56mm, I've had a 25mm square test cube come out 22 x 28 x 21 one run, and 28 x 32 x 29 in another run...Again, nobody can figure it out. Belts aren't skipping, threaded rod isn't slipping...yet G-Code wise it doesn't like executing it...
So...I'm pretty much over the "homebrew" printer and moving towards a more commercial item. Trust me, the money doesn't bother me...I work hard so I can buy toys.
I got mine 4 weeks ago and it's a beast ! Superb first layer and speed !
It’s awesome. I’ve got the mk2S in 2020 and part of 3Dcrowd . About to push out my 100th RC3. Most made in PETg. Solid engineering .
hi! i am also part of 3dcrowd UK :)
Chatting to you in Birmingham at TCT, seeing the printer there with the four-colour upgrade and this review made it a no-brainer to order one! Excellent review and can't wait for my one to arrive.
Wow, now that is an impressive printer at a very competitive price! Great review Tom! I'm surprised they still use 3d printed parts though with the production volume they must be seeing, the design could definitely be modified to use machined aluminum plates with minimal overall cost increase
Hey bud. This is a marvelous video. I've had my eye on the original Prusa i3, as well as the other reprap models on the market, for some time now. CZcams has been a tremendous source of my self educating efforts for years now. That being said, I've had plenty of experience evaluating what makes a good review, tutorial etc. My bench mark for evaluation is based on how many questions I'm left with at the end and how strongly I'm convinced of the presenters experience (production quality and aesthetics, notwithstanding). You have met all of my personal quotas, particularly on presentation and information. Very well done. I've been trying to consider any helpful critiques, as I'm very willing to help any youtuber who has clearly put an effort forward, and I'm coming up dry. If anything, maybe provide a link to new updates at the beginning, as Prusa proves to be an ever growing product. Certainly not a necessity, however. Well done, and I look forward to fallowing your videos to keep an eye on your input with one of my favorite fields of tech. Take care and keep up the good work. Cheers :).
Yes It took you way over 5 hours, not because you needed to entertain 500 people but because you refused to follow the manual! It was Josef in the chat that did the entertainment by shouting god help us all! when you tried to skip steps in the printer calibration :-)
And yes that is the best Fire Breathing frog I have ever seen. It seems you do have a bit of humour from time to time :-)
@ Josef I hope you can stop using your anxiety pills now, you made a wonderful product and even people on the dutch 3d printer forums now point people to your printer ;-)
Voyager i used to point people to other printers but this thing is awesome
Dang that printer was impressive but so was the production quality of that video. It's awesome your mixing up the music which works really well. So many channels just use the same music for every video.
Great Review! You covered all the important bits. While I was already seriously considering this printer kit (to be my second printer) when your live stream aired, after watching over 6 hours of the live stream, I ordered my kit. I spent about 16 hours building it over 9 days. I'm sure it would have been quicker if I wasn't starting and stopping so much. The print quality is much better than that of my first printer, even right out of the box! I love the pre-tuned version of Slic3r. Finally a decent version for the Macintosh!
Got one . Love it. Thanks Tom 10 stars for Tom and Joseph Prusa.
been printing with mine for several weeks the prints are nothing short of amazing!
Your videos about it were what sold me on it. Just waiting on my order fulfillment now (the black only parts were not on stock).
I really appreciate your work in this technology and especially this review. As a newbie in the 3D printing world this is so helpful. I've had a bit of a rough start however in even getting a printer. I decided to buy this printer as a result of the good reviews especially this one. My experience so far has been very disappointing with Prusa Research. I ordered my kit the second week of February and it has still not shipped. They listed a 7 week lead time which is way too long for one to wait but after another failed attempt to buy a copy version from China I decided it would be worth the extra money and time to get the real deal. Prusa has not bothered to notify me of why I am still waiting 9 weeks later. I sent an email and received no response. Its to bad they don't seem to care about how poorly they are communicating with their customer base. And why should they care if everyone who writes reviews has immediate access to their products while the rest of us have to drop almost $800 USD and sit and wait for 10 weeks or more just to get a kit?
Matt
I have had mine for two weeks now and love it
Completely agree with Tom's enthusiasm. I bought a pre-built i3Mk2 from Prusa and have been printing with it for more than 2 months, loving the results. I print mostly in PETG, using Simplify3D as a slicer. Prusa & company have nailed the details, both in hardware and software.
I love the original Prusa i3, i've had the mk1 for a year and can't wait to get this mk2 upgrade.
Tom, thanks for the review. I love the bed calibration and would like to add this feature to my Anet A8. Yeah, by the time I am finished tweaking and modding my A8 , I could have bought a Prusa and saved all that energy for more useful pursuits. Thanks again, Ken :)
I saw a 4-Color print in process at World Maker Faire NYC. I was spellbound. It was somewhat chilly, light wind, outside. Printed flawlessly. I'm floored. Also, Josef was highly personable, and informative.
I plan on buying this kit as a second printer, and building it with my kid. thanks for the another excellent review.
Thanks for the info, that did it for me, placed an order and am eagerly waiting for my kit to arrive :)
I bought a MK1 almost a year ago now and it is awesome. I haven't used it hardly enough as I should but it has totally been worth it. Super jealous of the MK2. It has all the upgrades I was thinking the MK1 should have came with. Really tempted to get the upgrade kit soon.
Thanks for the review Thomas San, after finally seeing the frog and all the other examples in closeup, I´m also convinced that it doesn´t need linear rails. I really wished there had been a discount on that one also, I might have bought two of them just because of that. You know, feeling special and stuff :D. Keep up the good work.
That print quality... O.o How are new users going to learn how to troubleshoot if everything works perfectly out of the box!?
The trouble of a great 3d printer indeed! I still remember my first printer, the qubd two-up. My what a learning experience that was!
I'm still tweaking my knock off Hictop Prusa from last fall. After switching to E3D Titan / V6 / Azteeg X5 and various other improvements it's finally punching above its weight class as well!
Ah, I'll never forget my first, the Solidoodle 2. Poorly designed mess of a product, stock extruder assembly was layered acrylic, one side of the Y carriage just had 2 nylon blocks ...
jeremy bryson Do you have the acrylic one
I still have my doodle...its still printing...but about to get ripped apart and upgraded
Staring at my MK2S right now taking it to a squirtle...even the squirtle's got his O face on. Love this printer
I was close to pulling the trigger, but this review pushed me past the threshold. Hopefully it will be here for a fun build on Friday.
Thanks for providing the great review! I just ordered one after doing quite a bit of reading on the current crop of machines on the market. I've been wanting a 3d printer since first seeing one in college during the early days of Makerbot but just couldn't make it happen financially 'till now.
I look forward to making my very own frog, among other things, soon! :p
Great review. I have a lot of respect for your reviews. the pre made profiles is great. I have a k8200 and a home made pursa of my ow random design. setting up the profile has been the longest job to get right.
Awesome video. Thanks. Got an original Prusa because of it!
You deserve way more subscribers!!! GREAT content, ty! Keep it up!
Got one of these and my experience is as positive as yours!!
Thanks Thomas, Very great review !
My short Summary of the original Prusa Research i3 MK2 so far ...
I had to wait longer than promised, the guys are not communicating actively and your mileage in the online chat might vary. However, after printing a bit more than 1 kg material so far, I must admit that it is worth waiting.
I printed PLA and ABS of different colors and brands with stock settings and it all really worked perfectly. I often increase print speed a bit in Slic3r and it still prints very nicely and very very reliably. I never even wanted to connect a computer. I drop in a card with the g-code and print. No need to fiddle around with the printer at all. This is just amazing.
I love the heat bed. It heats up quickly and is easy to handle. I just clean the PEI sheet with alcohol. That's all you need to do for PLA. I apply a bit glue stick for ABS. Both worked great so far.
Thomas is right. This printer really raises the bar for what you can expect from a printer for less than 1000 bucks.
Woah... I appreciate this review. I would like to upgrade my Makerbot Mini (yes, a purchase mistake, but one I have had to live with). -- I think having a "Tom Approved" badge is a good idea for the 'over the top great' products you find. You might put a year on the badge, so as consumers we can see how you have seen the market over time, and know the latest 'best of class' in the price range products. ... but hey, that is just my thoughts on the process.
That's the strangest looking frog i've ever seen! :-)
I bought a MKI kit just a few days before the MKII came out, and upgraded mine immediately. I agree with Tom's review, the printer is awesome and prints are super good looking, even at 200um layer height.
A very interesting and comprehensive review.
Well tom you made me spend a grand on this hope its as good as you say. Love the videos keep going.
Great presentation , you are a VERY good speaker!
I have a mk1 that I love a nd prints great, albeit a pretty bad z issue from a bent up rod. After all the great reviews, and of course your seal of approval I'm going forth with my plan to purchase the mk2 upgrade kit.
Really like your review straight to the point and no names calling no trash talking, bashing, love how you cleverly mentioned far East instead of saying China like a lot of people on the net.
I was so close to buy this Mk2 but decided not to order it last min after saw one of Prusa's video and he himself was trash talking about China copy machines saying "Crappy China Shit", we all know the original Prusa is par to none compared to other cloned so there's no need for the CEO of Prusa to lower himself and trash talk other competitors like that.
I understand your point :) I cut Joseph a little slack though with the fact that alot of those companies take his awesome and excellent design, and make horrible copies of it using the most sub par parts, (which was the main reason he started offering his own)
Id imagine if i had a design with my name on it, and a bunch of companies were using my name on their bad products, i might be a little upset once and while :P
They are not competitors they are stealing his name and ideas to undercut him - id be pissed off too
Thank-you! I just ordered mine! :)
I've been using the mk2 for almost 2 months now. I must say it's simply amazing! I'm busy printing my first custom print, 120x wedding favor bottle openers with a hole for fridge magnets. It's an absolute workhorse of a printer :-)
Also added on an Octoprint pi case, and camera attached to the bed. Oh and a must if you have some filament with odd hubs is a spool shaft for the filament.
www.thingiverse.com/thing:1666699
Personally, I took a note from Thomas and put a spool holder above my printer (see his wall). ColorFabb 2.2kg spools just won't work with the exiting spool holder.
I have an XYZ AIO that I have hardly used as a friends shop broke the unit they have. Plus I wasn't the most thrilled with the output at the time. After watching this I am impressed with the quality of the print. Beeing a Machinist I don't like buying already made kits but, this one makes me want to pull the trigger.
Great review! Just ordered one.
Excellent video, and very informative.
i am ordering one with the 4 color kit i can not wait
Well that settles it, i've ordered two based on your review!
Thank you Thomas Sanladerer! Your review has helped me to be sure that this is the printer I need. Hello everyone. I know this may fire back but I am doing a fundraising for this printer. I want to start a hobby with it and make prints for people I know it's a long shot. The printer at our work is pretty good and costs 5,000$ so that is way out of my budget. I'm saving up on my own too. My wife's college cost comes first though, so its a slow fund. Anything helps whether its donations or sending the link to someone else. I will update it with the website that people can use to order prints. Ill sell the service and not the design. I think it's so incredible to have this, and for people who don't have one but just want a print done, they can have that at a reasonable price. It's a hobby, not a business. As I said anything helps. Even a "Good luck". Thank you again Thomas Sanladerer. I'm sorry if this is not the place to post this, if you want me to take it down I will. This is your channel after all. Thank you!
www.gofundme.com/3d-printer-hobby-start
Un grand BRAVO et merci !
Awesome review!
This review is what made me click the "order button" on Josef Prusa's webshop.
Wish I had €1000 s to spare. Great work as usual Tom. Hope to see you Sunday.
Great review! I instantly started looking at how I can fit one into my apartment. =P
3d printer are like good beer. It's impossible to only have one.
Well then I am really glad to have gotten this as my first printer
great review, my own printer is looking lonely so it only seems right to get him a friend
dannnngg!!!! Those prints are amazing!!!
This tipped me over the edge. Purchased
This review saved me a lot of money, why go for printers that cost more then 2000 $ when Prusa i3 doing much better then most of them,
Subbed! Thank iltms and yourself!
Well Tom, that was an expensive video for me. Mostly because I watched it right after your interview with Josef himself...
I like your videos by the way! keep it up!
Thank you very much this is the best video and outstanding quality and very well explained about the fine details of the printer and I am very interested to buying this model with the extras if I can get the right deal thanks again for your excellent detailed information about the printer
Just bought a Wanhao I3 V2 a few months back....This will be my second printer it looks like!
Personally, I'm wary of the Wanhao print beds after watching Chuck's channel involving a short to ground.
Ordered a kit, due to this video, and it will replace my Robo3D R1
I think this has pretty much sold it for me, was looking at which printer to get, and it looks like this is it.
Going to order in a few weeks, going to go well with my metal furnace in making stuff I really do not need lol
Great review. Would like to see review about the prusa multi material upgrade .... comparison between Sigma and UM3.
definitely the next printer I buy
"Will be able to use it directly, very very nice"
shows screen with status "failed" lol at the irony. great review. this totally would be my next machine, unless theres a mk3 when i go out looking for another printer
I just ordered a Makergear M2 a few weeks ago. Sunk $1800 into it and feeling a bit regretful, even though it is an excellent printer. It's missing auto bed leveling, which I would say would have made it worth the price considering its performance.
This printer has set the bar for all FDM 3D Printers.
Damn just watched this. I ordered an Folgertech FT5 last week and its already been shipped. Well for my next printer this will be on my list.
So did I (just received my FT-5 kit). However, they represent two different approaches to 3D printing. The FT-5 is a bit more of a tinkerers printer, with a pretty massive build volume, and future (light) CNC ability.
It would be interesting to see what Tom's take on the FT-5 would be.
Excellent (as usual) video Tom. Thanks!
I do cosplay armor so I needed the bigger build volume of the FT5 and cant beat the price. Would love it if Tom did a build live stream WINK WINK WINK
I'm already trying to get an ft5 to tom
Been looking around and this printer seems to blow all the rest out of the water when it comes to the budget category. This will definitely be my first printer, hopefully I can scrimp away for it and pick one up this year!
Just saw your video on dual extruders and days later Prusa announces the 2/4 color add-on. I hope you get to cover this soon cus I'm curious on your thoughts on how they handle the smart waste tower (and a comparison to that Kickstarter's dual color system).
Great video! I'm almost feeling like I don't need to be some sort of electrical engineer (for maintenance) to get into 3D printing.
It's wild going back and re visiting this review after all this time. MK2 doesn't get enough credit imo. I got a big laugh mixed with a bit of facepalm when you mentioned that "any 3d printer sold from now forward should have a bed probe"... Kinda seems like the race to the bottom somewhat spoiled that dream :/
Sounds pretty good.
A word in defence of the Chinese; The Pruse i2 that I built in 2013 has proven itself capable of incredibly high resolution and a polished glass side wall finish IF you set it up correctly. Whilst everyone else was using hairspray/painter tape I struggled to get my prints off the untreated glass bed because I had my Slicer Settings and Heating/Cooling spot-on. Build the machine properly, level the bed accurately, and the humble i2 can rival a $2000 printer.
Just ordered Mine
Great video thanks
I hate you. Now I *want* one too. I don't *need* one, I already have a couple others at home. But it looks so sexy and works so smoothly!
Well I guess its time to go into 3d printing. I want one....now!
"This frog" hahahah!!! Love it :D
I love that frog mate! :V
Buying one tomorrow, just have to after watching this video.
7:50 sure but it will be a 3 month wait. X-D I am so glad they are getting a new warehouse/factory.
8:27 This Frog. Its a dragon. LOL
We've had our MK2 (upgraded from an i3 Plus) for a bit over 2 months now. We had a few hiccups with it that were mostly my fault but are otherwise pretty happy with it ourselves. That said, I think there are a couple spots that could be improved.
In our air conditioned office with a constant temp of around 22 degrees C, the bed struggles to get up to ABS temps without a little help from a piece of cardboard over the top. We plan to move it to a warmer part of the office eventually and also install a cork insulator beneath the bed.
The second is the clearance around the wire harness for the X-gantry is really specific, which makes it a pain to do any sort of troubleshooting (zip ties haunt my nighmares). Understandably this is a problem the MK2 inherited from its roots using the same i3 steel frame. I hope in future iterations of the printer the frame inner aperture is widened.
Lastly the print fan is unidirectional and with fast PLA prints overhangs on one side of the print turns out visibly nicer. Should be solvable with a better duct if I ever get around to printing one!
Benedict Tan ww
I love this printer!
I want this one !!
nothing beat the original!
My biggest issue with deciding is to choose if i want a FDM or a SLA printer, as i am aiming at printing gaming pieces and miniatures for my tabletop and RPG games mostly. For a FDM printer, the MK2S is a sure choice, for the SLA i have to find something in a comparable price range with the ones like Moai looking promossing. Asking for both is not an option, as that would turn my GF into a murderer... ( but one may still dream ;-) )