REVIEW: PRUSA i3 Mk3 (Tested after 1 Million + Hours)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 เม.ย. 2024
- After over four years of non-stop runtime and continued improvements in hardware and software, is the i3 Mark-3 ecosystem from Prusa Research still the workhorse king?
The short answer: Absolutely. I take a look back to give our unique insight running a print farm full of Original Prusa printers, all of them updated to the Prusa i3 Mark-3S+ specifications. From our experience printing, repairing, and replacing parts, I can be confident in saying that these printers are extremely reliable; even compared to newer options in the market, the Mark-3S+ comes out on top. They will continue to churn out products for us well into 2021, 2022, and beyond. That alone proves their worth invaluable.
UPDATE 4/2023: Prusa has recently announced the Prusa Mk4, which is a further improvement on their i3 design. We have purchased a Mk4, and we'll be running it through its paces in the coming months. Stay tuned for more content about that!
We were recently featured on The Verge:
www.theverge.com/22324389/ner...
I was featured on Prusa Live, their TH-cam channel back in July of 2020: • 3D printed Nerf blaste...
3D Printing Nerd's UPDATED feature of us:
• Out Of Darts AGAIN! 3D...
This is NOT a sponsored review, but I do have an affiliate code for purchasing below (It's worth mentioning in the 5-year channel history- this is my first affiliate link):
shop.prusa3d.com/en/#a_aid=ou...
FAQ & Corrections:
-If you have any questions about products we sell on the shop, don't hesitate to shoot us an email: orders@outofdarts.com
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0:00 Opening & Montage
0:33 Introduction
3:03 Disclaimers & Tempering Expectations
4:04 Our Print Farm Background
8:53 The Advantages of the Prusa Ecosystem
11:24 History of Customer Support
13:06 The Mk3S+ in Today's Market
14:22 Reliability and Repairability
17:18 To Wrap Up
19:27 Rating & Closing Remarks
Out of Darts, run by Luke, is a one-stop nerf-modding hobby shop. We carry all the supplies, tool accessories to make your modding journey easier! We create original 3D-printed blasters and mod parts with almost 100 Prusa printers. Check out our site below for guides, build lists, and resources.
Please subscribe for more!
tinyurl.com/jnuot5d
My web store:
www.outofdarts.com
Product questions?
orders@outofdarts.com
Follow me on Instagram for sneak peeks:
/ outofdarts
Edited by J Perry Heun, Out of Darts Video Editor
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What other aspects of our business would you like to see more? We're really trying to make more than just blaster reviews, so let us know in the comments below!
P.S. This was a much more involved video than usual. Thanks for your patience as we got this one published. - Perry
Mod guides?
@The Potato Biscuit We are not getting rid of mod guides and tutorials. In fact, we're thinking about how to give more time in our filming schedule for tutorials! - Perry
Are you going to review the Lepus from Jackrabbitnerfer?
I would really like to see a video of a product being developed start to finish, it could even be as simple as a switch plate.
I want to start a business like yours someday, so I'm really interested in your injection molding process and all the aspects of why you decided to start injection molding parts instead of expanding your printing capacity (I've heard you mention it before, but I'm curious about a full rundown).
Also, I kind of want to know how your business is structured? And a full story about how you grew it? That'd be cool.
I'm not into nerf guns by any means, but as an outsider to this hobby who's interested in running 3d printers commercially this video is priceless. I can see why you are successful. Thanks for the genuine and realistic information.
Thanks for watching!
Seriously
At 13:41 he says its a pricy printer but I find it really justifiable as an engineering student who wants to use the printer as a tool, rather than make working with the printer a project in and of itself. I have nearly 6000 hours on the printer and it really is a reliable tool, as long as you take care of it and service it. Thanks for the review and if anyone is on the fence with this and a cheaper version but can stretch their budget, trust me its worth your money.
Also definitely get the kit, knowing every part in and out will make replacement and troubleshooting a breeze armed with the knowledge of the intricacies of the printer
It's possible that prusa's own printfarm has reached 1 million hours they have >300 printers so quite possible they have 1 million hours. Very impressive I would say.
What would you say about the accuracy of the prints. How close tolerance are we talking? Just curious
@@sealsareus it really depends, as with any printer tuning things like speeds, LA, e-steps will help, as will making sure your printer is properly kept in shape and the belts are tightened correctly. If you spend time doing this you will achieve virtually what all of FDM is capable of on any machine. But nozzle diameter also plays a huge role here.
I would be interested in a Prusa Mini review aswell. To see how I can improve mine. Thanks!
Bondtech heatbreak is such a good upgrade for it. I've also added cable chains, Z support block, bondtech extruder, Squishworx X end block and silicone sock.
There's not a ton to upgrade but it's easy to get it modded up nicely with a bunch of stuff on Thingiverse like the chains and support block.
I probably won't be getting a printer soon, but this review was interesting non-the-less Luke! It's crazy that you have what is probably the 2nd biggest Prusa farm, and it all started with "this guy" tinkering with blasters in his garage! This channel has come so far, I can't believe that I'm looking at $120,000+ worth of Prusa printers!
This was a phenomenal review that covered literally everything I was wondering (reliability, print quality, service and support, Mini vs. 3S+, etc.) Thanks for taking the time to make this. I'll think I'll be replacing my CReality for a 3S+ as I'm tired of the reliability issues.
This was an amazing review. It’s amazing how you managed to build the business from 0 to what it is now in only 7 years! Good for you! Also thanks for the 3D printing farm knowledge. Really helps out aspiring makers. Can’t wait for the Mini+ review!
I would definitely want to see more 3d printing content from Out of Darts. While you guys are primarily a Nurf-modder, the experience of running a print farm at your scale is something most 3d printing enthusiast don't have and I believe that makes you guys one of the most knowledgeable on this subject. So, please do share more!
Great video, Luke. Shout-out to you from your friends down in Cali.
Great review! Love it!
Keep it going!!!! Your business is an inspiration. I’m up 11 prusa printers in my my print farm making pendants and jewelry weigh them.
I'm so late to this video! Love these insight videos. Some of your earlier ones are one of the main, if not THE main reason I went with a Prusa Mini. Having gotten my feet wet on an Ender (and its many headaches) your video pushed me to Prusa. No regrets. I'm on my third Mini with plans to get more as my start-up grows! Thanks so much!!
I mostly watch your videos for technical stuff about 3-D printing as well as your product design process. I am just in love with the fact that 3-D printing allows you to think something up and hold it in your hand a short time later. I run a small print farm of a dozen MK3S units and I have also run them 24/7 for nearly a year and a half and I can echo your findings: only minor issues over that time so far. I keep thinking I’d like a larger printer, but I am hesitant to buy something that is not made by Prusa… anyway, thank you for such great videos! I hope to be like you someday when I grow up 😀
Great honest review! Plus it’s nice to have a pre-calibrated printer to start with when time is money, like it is for you.
How about a maintenance video? How you lubricate, clean, etc.
This ^
Congratulations on 100,000 subs!
Thank you!
Thanks for the heart!
Are you going to review the Lepus?
can't wait to see your review on the mini, I have the MK3S+ and like it. I knew it was great printer and I remember seen on your IG a picture of the numbers of print days one had. I was sold.
Nice review, great to hear your perspective.
You know, I didn’t even realize that a 3D printing technician is an actual job job. I’ve been building and fixing prusa printers since I was a freshman in high school and now I’m going into my sophomore year of college (manufacturing engineering technology). I love what y’all are doing seems like an awesome job!!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.
Prusas really are great for when you want to have a printer with minimal issues, and upkeeping. not to mention they have great warranty and support if something goes wrong
I got one earlier this year, and I don't regret it at all.
I agree its a great printer but in need of an update...I'll buy one then.
@@peteturner8493 I'm definitely itching for an update, but it doesn't *need* one. It's still the most well rounded printer available, runs circles around Creality's offerings, and is far easier to get into than a Voron.
@@TheRAINMan059 Some of the Prusa Mini's features / updates would be nice :)
@@peteturner8493 What specific improvements do you like about the Mini? Just curious, I havent researched that printer much since im not interested in its build volume
@@TheRAINMan059 Been a while since I looked but beleive the mini has better electronics, screen & doesn't drip filament all over the place :) Not understood why Prusa are taking so long to update?
Great review from a practical perspective! Prusa is definitely a quality enterprise, really pays attention to detail, and is super supportive of the open source model. I can only hope that one day I may reach their level of quality in my own 3D printing-related engineering endeavors. I look forward to the Mini review when I will be sure to take lots of notes on the difference between a good printer and a great one.
Just assembled my first Prusa MK3 with the dream of owning a farm. Thank you for these videos and hopefully blazing the path for future 3d printing farm businesses. Learned a lot from this video alone.
Nice review. Love seeing your perspective vs a fan page or simple tech reviewer that isn't really putting these machines through their paces.
To that end I'd love to see that follow up video on the Prusa mini. I see it's been a while now and perhaps that video was scrapped entirely but I'm curious to hear what you did or didn't like. I read that they had some initial problems but they seem to have ironed those out so would love your thoughts there.
Thanks and love the channel!
Awesome video! Just got my first printer and it happens to be this model. Scored it from a neighbor for $200 US. Happy to see I got a good deal!
Hi Luke, your videos continue to inform and inspire, thanks. I would love to see a video that looks at how you project the print cost of an item when designing and if there are any minimum standards you use to assess whether there is sufficient value in an item to validate printing.
Excellent review, like all of your videos. I too would welcome a review of the Prusa Mini printer. Hearing a review from a experienced user is in my opinion best way to evaluate a product. Thank you for all you do for the hobby, I can't wait to watch your next video.
Thank you for this great video - it has very useful information backed by your experience!
Great Video Guys!
Thanks for the great video!
Have been running an FF Adventurer 3 for the past 4 months and I love it to death but it doesn't have the print bed size I need. Looked at the Creatily printers and they seems to be more work than fun.
You pushed me over the edge to finally pull the trigger and get a Prusa Mk3... I can't wait till it shows up and I can run more prints simultaneously.
Thanks!
This is an old vid now but thanks for a fantastic real world review. You have given me all the info I need and I'm about to pull the trigger. Cheers from Downunder
Glad I could help!
As a guy that has worked with support for over 15 years, these simple questions that they ask on your initial support contact with them is crucial for their own sake. They have no means of knowing if you're a superuser or an average pleb. It kinds of eliminates things they have to ask you in order for them to really understand your core issue. 90% of all customers that I have been in contact with have had trouble explaining their problems to me properly over the phone, so that's why I (or them - Prusa support) have to take control and ask the customer a certain amount of fixed questions to narrow it down.
Great info. Thanks!
Thank you for a thorough, helpful review. Your presentation was clear and confirmed my choice to buy the i3Mk3+. Had I not already purchased I would have used your affiliate link. Cheers and blessings!
I just bought a prusa and the reputation that follows them for reliability is exactly what you get. Anywhere from assembly to slicing to printing it’s fantastic. Makes 3D printing accessible and less intimidating to starters. I don’t even tune slicer profiles i just use generic pla and it literally prints anything you throw at it. I am in love with the printer. I got a ender 3 first which I’m happy I did cause that’s how I got my know how of printing.
Really good knowledge on Prusa and cracking review. Love the idea of a print farm but I think I would have a constant headache!
Great video checking reviews before I order one. First review and I am sold, PRUSA + it is.
I 100% agree with the rating. I have 2 MK3Ss and they are amazing.
Hi, thank you for putting this review together! Based on this video I have purchased my first Prusa i3 kit. I have been using 3D printers from the first Makerbot but lost my Ultimaker in July. Been looking for an alternative and this looks to be the one. Sorry I didn't use your affiliate link!! Hope others who purchase a Prusa remember to click your link. However, heading over to your website to buy Nerf stuff for my nephew. Thanks again.
Priceless information. I really appreciated the time you took to make this video. If only Prusa's lead times were shorter, I would have gone with Prusa for my print farm instead of MatterHackers Pulse HV. I'm printing ASA though in heated enclosures at 50°C active heating.
As a mechanical engineering student and a new small business owner, I can say printers like the MKS3+ are what I'm looking for. I just wish I could get two printers faster than 6 weeks lead time.
Your video is inspirational to me, thank you again for sharing this information.
Do you believe the PRUSA is better than the Pulse XE?
Looking forward to the review of the Mini, and hopefully hearing you say "The Prusa Mini is fine for home printing but doesn't hold up in farms" because this video came up as my brand new Mini was doing it's first print. 😅
I agree about the support… sometimes less then ideal answers but better than nothing. And have high hopes it keeps improving
I had been looking at getting into 3D printers and, as one would expect, I was looking more at Ender or maybe FlashForge mostly due to initial cost. My birthday came along last month and I was very surprised to receive a Prusa Mk3+ from my wife. I have been using it almost daily for 3 weeks now and it has been flawless (except for dealing with a roll of crappy filament but that was not the machine's fault).
Obviously, I could not agree more with your review.
Excellent review, interested in the Prusa Mini review.
I’m not into nerf guns, so the whole reason I’m subbed is to see the annual shop tour and videos like this. 👍
No matter what the reason, thank you for subscribing! - Perry
Same!
As a smaller user, I run the repair shop for a nerf and laser tag arena, this is extremely helpful review. I have an old ender 3 pro and prusa i3 mark 3, both are good but the the prusa has been more reliable. I would love to hear your thoughts on how to scale the farm. And set up for starting a small blaster shop.
I was really confused for a moment... one million hours is close to a 115 years. For a split second, I was trying to do the math to figure out how long Prusa's been around.
It's a prusa from the depths of time
Me too
Million hours with 100s of machines that's easily achievable.
@@kevin14806 It doesn't take multiple 100s. He said they have close to 100 printers. There are 8760 hours in 1 year. Multiply that by 100 and it's 876,000 hours so getting to 1 million within the time of his 5 year old business makes sense.
Thanks for your very interesting video. It provided a lot of awesome insights into 3D printing at a commercial level. And I got some useful takeaways.
As far as I understand the Prusa Mini(+) is a decent device with excellent print quality, but does not rock in a commercial production environment. I am owner of a Mini and very happy with the results. So, I believe, it is a good choice for makers I am looking forward to watching an episode that addresses the Prusa Mini from your experiences.
Love the videos and the shop tours. I run a much smaller but similar shop making mods for video game items. We also started with S3D and switched to Prusaslicer but ultimately went back to S3D. We had a hard time getting the same quality at the same speeds as we got with S3D. Any chance you'll do a video showing off some of your slicer settings?
It’s funny you should mention stepper motors as a lifetime part. I actually had to replace an extruder stepper motor a week ago due to a failed bearing inside it. I’ve ordered new bearings and will be rebuilding it so I have a spare if it should happen again. My Mk3s has 342 print days and 48,000 Meters of filament, so I’m not complaining too loudly.
After buying and loving the Mini, I’m waiting for the Mark 3 to have the same updated screen and buddy board.
Hope to see the prusa mini plus review! I really like the size and more affordable than the mk3s but want to see your review before biting the bullet. I don’t plan to use it as a printer farm, but am concerned about what criticisms you may have for it. Would be nice to get a preview if I can ;)
My brother in law has two Prusa's, he loves them... I also just realized I live down the street from Prusa here in Prague.
I got an i3 MK3S+ on Feb as my first printer after researching on what would be what I was looking for and I am happy with it.
You’re not kidding on the building, i had spent 6+ hours putting my together but had no issues with my tests or any prints that weren’t user error from the learning curve.
I’ve printed so far a Caliburn, RivalburnV3, YEHW and a Gecko. It’s also made me go an experiment with Shapr3D on the iPad Pro and have made some stuff for a board/card game and other stuff.
When is the Mini review coming? =) I'd love your input.
I've just ordered the Mini to learn about printing until the MK4 releases as I'm hoping that to be a great startup printer. I have a dream of running a printshop with my kids, but I'm back at where you were 7 years ago. Great vid btw!
Looking forward to Prusa Mini review. Curious as to why they didn't work out for you?
Thanks for the review! Great info on all accounts especially the mini part. Question…I’be ran into an issue with the print stop extruding mid or toward end of printing. The extruded grinds the filament and printer thinks it’s still good but it’s printing in this air. I’ve read some say it’s because the hotend has two different diameters. Starting at 2.2 mm and then narrows to 2mm. When I stop the print and remove filament there is a tiny bulb at the tip over 2mm so it can’t fit back in. This is only with PLA and sometimes it work good.
Damn. This video was like a documentary. Nicely done.
Thanks!
Love this! I’;m looking to get a printer and came here cos nerf related! Need to know if my designs will fit on this printer! Can’t wait to get into this!
Awesome video
Do you have a reward for the one printer in your farm, that’s running the longest without issues? That would be nice ^^
Man if only you were close to me, this would be an amazing place to work.
Hey it’s funny I have the same setup! Would love to show some pics, when I stumbled on your video I was like “hell yeah PRUSA, they served me well too”
Great vid…I use Cura for my build settings etc. I tend to use 50/60 speed for the initial base and then up the speeds for the outer/inner walls etc, my question is what speed do I actually set on the printer at the start of my print? Because it starts off printing at 100 and I need to turn the knob down to 50/60 for my initial layer speed and then crank up the knob when this base has laid. Why doesn’t the Prusa automatically adjust to the speed settings I’ve created in Cura?
Would love to see you do the mini review, I have two minis I use for my side hustle and would like to hear your feedback. Might help me with some preventable issues.
Love the review. Reason I just bought and put together my MKS3+ :)
I also live in Vancouver WA, and am thinking about switching to ProtoPasta for the reasons you mentioned as well, just on a much smaller scale. Would it be possible to get your settings you use for that filament?
Proto-Pasta's latest blog on our partnership has some general parameters that are a good starting place with their filament:
www.proto-pasta.com/blogs/stories/endless-pastabilities-13-luke-goodman-and-out-of-darts
I have found with Prusa support it will all depend on when you try to use it. Their plus is that they tend to have someone always on so they have someone in all areas around the world so they are contracted instead of an actual Prusa employee. I tend to get the better support knowledge when I'm chatting with support while Prusa would be open.
a huge thing about printer level 2 support is, if something is occurring super weird it is probably the first time is it happening and L1 support may generally resolve the 25 people that was having different weirdness so when support gets to you try rebooting . the boxes got to be checked all tier one MUST be done. cannot tell you how many times ive had advance level diagnosed an issue only to find it unplugged or a breaker tripped, there is only so much you can ask someone to do while doing phone or email support.
I would love to have in my hands those NOTION logs
Very nice review from a heavy user`s point of view, interesting. I bet you have learned a lot of nice tips and dirty little tricks :-), some short videos about them would be nice.
Great video, thanks. Interesting business as well :)
Hey, I would gladly take those Prusa Minis of you!
We appreciate the offer, but we already sold them all. - Perry
@@outofdarts That's fine, I appreciate the response though. Have a great day!
Great videos, thank you. Am interested in learning about your insights in building a profitable and growing business? Also at some point, doesn't injection mold scale production make more sense?
We've got a video that touches on it a bit coming soon! As for injection molding, we have started designing some products with that in mind. In fact, we released our first injection molded product last summer: the Tachi Mag.
Thanks for the Excellent video, have you tried the
Pulse XE - NylonX Advanced Materials...3D printer?
How do you calibrate your printers to ensure that the prints are consistent?
Will you be getting their prusa xl with tool changer when comes out?
do you use Arc Welder? curious if that improves your print time, quality, reduces errors, etc. and how that integrates with the Prusa system.
Man I’d love to get your support settings and PETG temps. I love my MK3S but hate supports so much
I do agree with your Mini statement, We got one and we keep going back to the MK3. What do you do to keep the PLA to stick to the bed? We do not have an issue when it is down, it is getting it down at the beginning is what is causing us the issue. The first second the extruder starts to push the filament out it kinda pig tails instead of staying on the bed. I know you mentioned you do 220/67 so maybe that is it as we only do 215/60 so maybe the slightly hotter bed will help it stick. We have been using glue sticks and that has solved our issue, but if we can just us clean build sheets then it would drop the cost of needing glue sticks.
This is great! If you’ve worked with a Creality CR-6 SE, how does it compare? Also, I would love to see a Worker Swift review!! You’re one of my favorite channels to watch for new and upcoming blasters!
That may be something Luke or one of our mod techs could speak to. As for the Worker Swift, it's on our list to do a video on, but we don't have a firm date yet. - Perry
Creality gets a lot of hype due to its low price making it accessible. But I don't like it for serious work.The beams+rollers for axis movement is susceptible to uneven wear over time (the rollers wear and become eccentric); which is horrible for precision prints. a more traditional Linear Rod system behaves more consistently as it wears.
What did you do with all of the minis that you replaced?
Do you think the ultra “pinpoint” darts from the new ultra select will make some blasters more viable?
They do, the people that got it have talked about how much straighter they shoot. The pricing from a leak showed that the pricing isn't even more than the standard Ultra dart, so the series seems to be saved.
You mentioned issues with the Prusa MIni. Hope you cover it in a future video. I found weird how good the i3 is, and not having the same controller (8-bit x 32-bit) as the Mini, or lacking ethernet, USB ports as the Mini.
Did you upgrade your your older models from mk3 to mk3s to mk3s+? Thx for the great video.
Yes! All our printers continue to be upgraded as parts become available.
Great video, although EnderToysTerrain I believe has a larger prusa print farm in Las Vegas 😉 ..
Have you guys checked out the pallete mosaic array?
I long for the prusa mini review. I am about to invest in a print farm and the mini looks great so I am looking forward to seeing if your issues would be enough for me to get mk3s instead
ZYLTECH IS AWESOME.....I've printed more than 50 spools in 3yrs and NEVER had a bad spool. I have a Prusa mnk3 and use Prusa Slicer.....standard Prusa Slicer settings work Perfect.
Great review! Are you having any issues with linear bearings and rods constantly wearing out? I'm also running a small Prusa farm for my business, and I found it the biggest problem with Prusa. I have to pack bearings with oil every 100 hours or so...
That's not something I'm aware we have to keep tabs on. I'll ask one of our techs next time I'm at OOD HQ to be sure though. - Perry
100k sub cool
the best printer hands down! i have 2 mk3s!! I WANT A BIG ONE!!!
Good news, wish granted :)
Any tips for printing cages? Specifically the supports for cages? There always seems to be some left over support material that is difficult to clean and ends up pushing my motors slightly out of true.
We showcased some of our custom supports for things like 3D-printed cages in a earlier video:
th-cam.com/video/qrNEohQMpNA/w-d-xo.html
If you have any further questions, shoot us an email! orders@outofdarts.com
@@outofdarts great thanks!
ouch 41 minis.... Would love to see if you beta a XL and your experience with it.
I wanted a 3D Printer So bad because I wanted to make a lot of creative blasters with creative designs, creative mechanics and tacticool attachments.
100k!
Would you provide a little more about the 'Notion' software you use for maintenance tracking?
We've got a bit of a video planned about this and other facets of 3D printing, Stay tuned!
Agree completely
Bang for buck and reliability, the I3 Mks3 is the best of th ebest, I bought mine pre assembled two years ago after cr10 and others,
it stil is my go to printer for stuff that fits on that build plattform
its not cheap , but you know what you will get.
and compared to the 2000$ +++ printers performs very well and reliable.
would buy anytime if I would have the need for one.
I am about to buy an used one from facebook marketplace for 550$ USD.
It is nice to hear about their reliability as it has been used for a year and a half. Considered the buying a new cheaper Prusa 'clone' like the Sovol sv06 plus or neptune 4 plus.
I'll miss the bigger print area sadly. But if an used printer has less issues than a new one...
I know this is an old video but I'd love to know how you guys minimise risk of, monitor for and plan to respond to a printer going on fire. This is a rare event but if it will happen anywhere you guys would be most likely so I'm sure many people would be interested in how you plan for it.
what would you recommend a new beginner to buy the Prusa mini and learn on that scale to begin with? or jump right away to the Prusa i3 MK3 ? thanks for your feedback