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====== i3 MK3S+ ======

===== About =====

This printer was my workhorse printer for many years. I downsized from having 5 to keeping only a single one as a backup. This printer was the basis of my [[kb:proj:ftg:auto_printer|Auto Printer]] project.

===== Thoughts =====

This was truly an incredible printer for the era of 3D printing. It was basically indestructible and produced good quality prints. The only downside was that it was relatively slow compared to the Core-XY printers that were already overwhelmingly popular around the time of its release in the open-source community. Since then, the Core-XY design has completely consumed the commercial market in favor of the outdated 'bed slinger' design. Even now, the reliable probing and consistency of the printer is why I keep one around. I wouldn't use it to print anything for a customer now simply because of time cost, but it is a 1/4th the size and weight of my current heated chamber printers so it is easy to drag along to a friend's house or to a work site to quickly get a part or fix I need until I come up with something more final. As long as you aren't printing an exotic filament or need a part really quickly, it is still a good enough printer even though it is a few generations behind the current meta.

I think [[https://bambulab.com/en|Bambu Labs]] is really the Prusa killer now because it 'dummy-proofs' a lot of the details of 3D printing. Prusa was about as foolproof as you could get before Bambu launched their line, but the carefully tuned profiles for their filaments and standard support of multi-color printing makes them the best bet for a newcomer who only needs consumer filaments. For PLA prints, even amateurs can do as well as I can with all my experience because Bambu has multiple people working full time on tuning profiles, so what I have to offer in 3D printing is really just experience with exotic materials and the ability to print with heated chambers. I am not disappointed with that outcome at all because I think it makes creating cool things easier for a lot of people, but I wish Prusa had opted to keep up with the consumer market rather than trying to optimize their lineup for commercial ventures. I would gladly pay the premium for an EU or US made machine that had the same level of polish and committed itself to not collecting data or using a restrictive EULA like Bambu. Prusa's Core-XY printer is a bit lacking even with multi-head support and if they don't support the exotic filaments they don't really carry the prosumer moniker they held over companies like Ender. Bambu is the new Ender but the prosumer is now whatever company will offer heated chambers for engineering materials. In my case that is [[..:qidi:start|Qidi Tech]]. I would pay at least triple the price for a US or EU made machine of the same claiber, but have yet to find anything.
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