Prusa Mini first prints (and troubleshooting)
I've been waiting for my Prusa Mini to arrive for a few months, so with sky high expectations from operating two i3 MK3s which have been pretty much flawless, I excitedly set this one up. Unfortunately, there were a few problems that needed to be addressed to stop jams and failed prints.
This was recorded as I went, you will notice a distinct difference in the first and second halves as I went from excited to disappointed. That is my honest impression but I'm hopeful the little bugs will be ironed out.
The Prusa haters will say this is a rip off compared to an Ender 3, but to them I would say there is a lot of things this printer gets right. It's quiet, compact and has features many users fit to cheaper printers, such as ABL and a removable magnetic bed. The unboxing, assembly and guided setup and calibration have a lot of polish. The software package is super easy to setup and get going, and there is a ton of useful information in the hard copy docs and online.
The Prusa lovers might try and blame me for the issues, except they are well documented by many online. Remember that the problems I had were related to components pre-assembled by Prusa, and present when using Prusa filament and gcode. The truth is there have been a few too many teething issues, but I'm sure Prusa are working hard to fix them.
This is a not a review! A review would cover a much longer time span and a much wider range of printing scenarios. This is a just first impression to show the viewer an honest account of ownership.
Purchase the Prusa Mini: shop.prusa3d.com/en/3d-printe...
Prusa Mini issues forum post: forum.prusaprinters.org/forum...
Knowledgebase article I followed: help.prusa3d.com/en/article/c...
Rubber feet mod: www.thingiverse.com/thing:407...
Sparkling black PLA from X3D: www.x3d.com.au/store/product/...
Smooth red PLA from X3D: www.x3d.com.au/store/product/...
Models featured in this video:
Flash bust: www.myminifactory.com/object/...
The once and future king: www.myminifactory.com/object/...
Polypanels: www.myminifactory.com/users/M...
Vampire castle: www.myminifactory.com/object/...
All other models found on USB flash drive.
Buy quality and affordable filament from X3D. Buy 3, get 1 free and a free sample pack with every order: www.x3d.com.au
Buy quality resins from 3D Printers Online. Get modelling, ABS-like, flex, high temp and tough resin at www.3dprintersonline.com.au
Take a look around and if you like what you see, please subscribe.
Support me on Patreon: / teachingtech
This is a not a review, but please read the description to hear some of my thoughts on the pros and cons of this printer. Also, an addendum to lending the 3D printer to the student: He still managed to clog it, after changing from ASA to PLA but only preheating to PLA temps. The PTFE guide tube to the hot end was completely clogged and needed to be drilled out to be removed. Beyond that, he was able to quickly get up to speed and produce the required parts, even designing some add on parts to help interface the printer with a filament dry box.
Wow, drill out the PTFE, I've never gotten to that point before with even my worst clogs.
I’m a local here and how did you managed to get it shipped here? Was it really expensive for the shipping?
It's because the tube has bulged to the point where it wouldn't release from the coupler. The worst one I've ever had to fix, that's for sure.
Shipping cost me US$78 on top of US$400 for the printer (due to extras I included). On reflection, ouch!
@@TeachingTech I suppose that says something for the pushing-strength of the extruder? Sort of a silver lineing... -ish. :p
Thank you for not using "cinematic" pretty shots with only exotic filaments and perfect lighting that would just try to sell the product. a lot of reviews these days are more like entertainment then helpful!
Honesty is the best policy.
Pretty cheesy too me.....As he said ....You can even eat the gummy bears provided while putting the printer together....Then you see him reaching out for gummy bears to prove a point... Not cinematic although cheesy.
Hello, I have just received my Prusa Mini on the 3rd Aug 2020. This is my first 3d printer, and I have never used one before. My first print was the benchy boat from the USB stick. It came out perfect. Stayed attached to the smooth steel plate, there is absolutely no stringing, and no wobbly bits in the model. In my opinion looks a lot better than a lot of models I have seen on online. The surface is really quite smooth. I used the supplied filament from Prusa. I then printed an item from Thingiverse. I loaded the STL into the Prusa slicer, and printed using the default settings, in simple mode. Again, it came out perfect, better than the picture the designer posted on the Thingiverse website. I had to wait from April when I ordered, to when I got the printer. The paperwork says it was packed on the 27th July 2020. I am very happy with the results so far.
How has it been in the past 3 months?
Are you still happy with your printer?
Same! I just printed a nut and a frog, and both came out perfectly fine. I came to this video to compare, but I didn't expect so many people to have disappointments.
@@doani I just got mine (Mini+ w/ both types of spring steel (textured and smooth)) this past Thursday and after a couple attempted prints not sticking, I realized the issue. PLA does not like the textured sheet at all and always lifted up on one end and warped (its the sheet that is shown in the video). Then I actually read the manual and it recommended the smooth PEI one. No issues since. Even just finished an ocarina that took about 7 hours to print.
Michael has become exceeding proficient in his delivery of bad news.
🤣🤣👍
Thanks for the head-up! I'm still excited to get mine & I should get it by the first week of April. It's nice to know about these little issues ahead of time.
I got my Mini a few days before you and I suffered the exact same issue. I managed to fix the clogging issue by loosening the three grub screws holding the heat break and simply sliding the whole heat block assembly up until the heat break was firmly seated against the PTFE tube. It was about 3mm too low and after adjusting it I had to re-adjust the height of the probe. It printed great after that. Ultimately I was able to handle it because I've been printing for quite a few years and I understood what was happening, but I feel bad for all of those people who have had to deal with customer support trying to figure out what is wrong with their printer that is supposed to work out of the box.
I received my own Prusa mini a couple weeks ago. I was also plagued with the same problems as you, firmware crashes during purge cycles under extrusion as well as hard extraction when changing filament. I took my extruder apart and found that the ptfe liner was indeed too short with a ring of filament between the end of the tube and the brass fitting. I added about .75mm to the length of a new piece and the under extrusion has gone as well as the hard extraction problem. Oddly enough the firmware doesn't crash anymore either. One thing I noticed is that the part cooling fan blows on the heat block as well. In the mean time I have reduced the fan to 80% and increased the nozzle by 10c until I design something to clip onto the existing duct to direct the air to the part. Thanks for this video as it saved me from getting fed up and sending the whole thing back. Now it seems to print beautifully and I will be keeping it to work alongside my Mk3S MMU2. Cheers, Mike.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for the first “real” test of the Mini. This is very concerning for me, who ordered a Mini for delivery in mid-April. I recognize that despite these machines moving into the “mainstream” in recent years they are not yet appliances. That said, I have been spending a fair amount of time getting a DIY i3 clone design made through a maker lab group build project up and running (still tuning), including replacing the original 5-year old board and (just yesterday) replacing a heating element that stopped working all of a sudden. I have been looking forward to something that would be a lot closer to “plug and play.” Clearly, as of early March 2020, this is not it. And, this isn’t a local PBS channel - this is a major league YT channel sounding the alarm. Why hasn’t Prusa weighed in? I’m not being a hater by any means - I’ve chatted with a Prusa customer service rep who spent about a half hour with me back in December when I was weighing this purchase (which I had accidentally ordered twice - hence my outreach) and she was incredibly helpful. I could spend the extra $$ on a Mk III S but felt it was overkill for my (admittedly hobby-oriented) needs. I feel like this well-regarded channel (and it’s supporters) deserve a full “confession” from Prusa on how this adventure has gone so far and share it’s plans for taking care of us “first adopters”, if you will. I don’t want to tell my beloved spouse that I purchased a first-gen product and it had hiccups (I will never hear the end of it) :) thanks again for bringing this out into the open. And, btw Michael, you have a new Patreon supporter.
I got my Mini 3 weeks ago. I also had problems with frequent jams. I also had problems when unloading the filament due to the blob on the end being too large to fit through the ptfe tube. Increasing the length of the hotend ptfe tube fixed both problems. The prints I am getting are better than my MK3S’. I did print a different electronics cover and strain relief for the X axis, both found on thingiverse. I also printed a different spool holder that did not have to be adjusted whenever you change the size of your spools. I did wish it came with an all metal hotend that did not require a special nozzle. I do like the printer and I have gotten some excellent prints from it.
Thanks for sharing.
Oh So is hope for this machine! :) thx
can you eplain how to fix it? thanks
Aka Krai Here is the link to the instructions on how to replace the hotend ptfe tube. manual.prusa3d.com/Guide/How+to+change+a+hotend+PTFE+tube+-+MINI/1505 I used a piece of capricorn ptfe tube that was a few mm longer than the original one. The one they put in the hotend was a little too short.
I would love to see a video on solving the stringing issue (what you try, what worked, what didn't, etc...)
That assembly montage was very nicely done! Thanks for making such useful videos!
Thank you, it is a little bit different from my normal style but I thought I would give it a go.
@@TeachingTech It's not needed, but it is appreciated. Makes the video more fun.
I cancelled my Mini order when I found out how long it would take to get it. I was really upset about it until I just watched this video. Thank you
I have been just getting into 3D printing, and i've been using an Anet A8 i3 clone, that's been upgraded in almost every place besides the heat bed. (It's no longer a fire hazard, and does do a decent job printing) After doing some looking, I found the Mini and thought it would fit my need perfect. Since digging into it more, the still apparent bugs and issues still seem to be relevant in this printer. It's sad, because it's at a price point that would really get a lot of people into the hobby with a good looking sub 400 dollar printer. Still going to keep an eye on it and watch the updates as they come. Great review btw, just solid and honest person in the review.
I experienced the same issue with the jamming at the hot end. There are 3 grub screws that can be loosened and allow you to push the assembly up reducing the amount of space inside of the hot end and allowing for the stock PTFE tube to fit. I agree that I was not expecting to have to deal with an issue like that. Once I got it running again it was going well. My stringing is less than yours, and I just started to tune that away.
Still waiting on my mini, still looking forward to it! Looking forward to tinkering
Nice overview, Michael! I don't have one yet, but I have two MK3S printers. I plan on picking a mini up for my birthday in April. I've seen people have problems right out of the box but I am giving prusa the benefit of a doubt because it is a brand new product and they definitely have some issues they need to iron out. The MK3 was the same way. I'm very excited to see the Prusa XL that they have in the works.
Thanks for your video. I had very similar issues with my first 5 attempts at printing the whistle. It failed after just 1 minute or so. and the filament was building up on itself so I thought I needed to adjust Z height. Not the issue. I changed the filament to a PLA filament I already owned... when changing the filament I had the issue again. When I cleaned the extruder of the filament that was knotting up... I couldn't get it to come out of the extruder... when I was finally able to pull the filament away something that appeared to be clear plastic (which I assume was a hard build up of filament) inside the extruder and came out. After that and a good bed cleaning... 100% success on the next 5 prints of different items.
I just got my mini and it still has this problem, I used your solve and it did fix my issue. Can't say I'm not disappointed with prusa for this still being an issue over a year later
88's Club! Didn't know you were a Mighty Car Mods fan. Love it!
Same here with both of my Minis - greatly improved with a slightly longer length of Capricorn tubing inside the hotend. I’m confident that it’ll mature into a fine printer over time. But they’re not currently as inspiring of confidence as my Mk3s...
i did consider getting one, but because of the delay i went with the ender 3 and glad i did, great wee budget printer and quality of the prints i've had so far are great.
Thanks a lot for the Tips with allining - helped me to calibrate my Mini correctly
I received my prusa mini on February 5th. Mine has been working flawlessly since. I have printed about 2kg of filament through out so far. The only issue was like Michael's out of the box it wobbled on the table a bit. I loosened all of the screws on the front and rear plates on the extrusions. I firmly held the y axis assembly on a flat hard surface and re-tightened the screws and cured the issue. And with the textured pei plate they need to be washed with hot soapy water. I use dawn dish soap. Dry it well and wipe with alcohol. The soapy water only needs to be done once. I believe oils are released during the powder coating process and they are not cleaned well from the factory. I hope some of this helps you out Michael.
I was a Printrbot guy for many years, and I finally got the pleasure of putting together a MK3S kit for a student lab I work with last year. I am absolutely certain that if PB's out-of-the-box documentation were anywhere near as good as Prusa's, PB would still be in business. I am looking to get a Mini down the road, perhaps in 6-8 months. Other Prusas have also had growing pains in the past, so I'm reasonably confident that it'll be a much more solid platform a little ways down the road. I wouldn't be opposed to getting a MK3S for myself, but the price point of the Mini is what really sells it for me. I'm poor, lol.
If you're poor, you should get an ender 3
Michael despite your video i went and picked one up. However I truly respect your honest review. You are the best of the best when it comes to this.
I'm not in the market for another printer, but I do want to commend you on buying this with your own money. That makes being honest in a review/first impressions much easier and more believable.
I must have ordered my prusa mini the same time as you, since I got it last week also. I've been printing for a week straight, 12-14 hours a day without any issues or jams (knock on wood). I haven't had a single print come unstuck during printing, but I've only used the smooth pei sheet. I'm not sure about the textured sheet. Perhaps I'm the exception, but I've had great luck with my mini so far
i just ordered my first printer and i went with the Prusa mini. i have high hopes for it until i saw this video. hopefully like you said they will have fixes for the issues at hand. thanks for making the video
My mini had several of the same issues, and I was ready to send it back. I did spend an hour with Prusa support and was able to adjust the extrusion PFE tube to a perfect fit. Now it prints with the same quality as the MK3S but much faster! How could it be faster? Less print head mass to move around. Love it.
Thank you for the informative, well articulated video. Just bought my Mini the other day, so it'll be here in the summer. It is a little worrying to see issues like this, I hope they've addressed them by the time they get around to mine!
If it comes in Summer, it wont have this errors, thats the prusa Problem, you shouldnt buy in the first 3 months but because it comes in the Summer, they will have enough time to fix the Problems. Everythink will be fine (maybe some small adjustments )
Hey, I decided to get the prusa mini as my first 3d printer and it arrived on Sept 14/20. I decided to do the tree frog and dog from the included USB stick for my first 2 prints using the flat steel sheet and black pla prusament. And they both came out perfectly. I can see the little layers when the light is reflected off of the printed object. But I assume that is normal for a FDM printer. So I'm pretty happy with what I've seen so far, and I think this will suit my needs just fine.
I've got my Mini a couple of weeks ago, so more or less the same batch (already revised by Prusa) as yours. I've had the same problem of extrusion and clogging and I've solved them by following the video guide (user made) that is present on the Prusa forum (also shown here in your video close to the end). Repositioning the hotend (and of course the MINDA probe) solved completely the underextrusion and clogging issue. I've also found that printing (PLA) at a slightly higher temperature, helped a lot. So far I've printed using Geetech black PLA, and stringing is very low. By the way I'm using only the PEI sheet and adhesion is simply perfect. As you said, Prusa will improve this little great machine in the incoming months, so I'm confident that will improve a lot. MK serie was far from being perfect when initially released, and MK3 is quite good because have a lot of upgrades and rework behind.
Can you link to the post or video please?
I was one of the first ones to receive my Prusa mini. I have been printing on it since mid-December of 2019 (ordered mine immediately after the announcement at ERRF). I haven't experienced any significant issues on mine, it has been rock solid. I did have to loosen a few of the zip ties because they were overtightened. Beyond that, no problems. I have printed mostly PETG and PLA. I do notice a bit of a stronger odor when printing on my Prusa mini versus some of my other printers with all metal hot ends. I do notice some ghosting at higher speeds (100 mm/sec) but that is the case on most printers with moving beds. I haven't notice any vertical banding on mine. The MINDA sensor seems improved over the past iterations (MK3, MK2) and is more repeatable. I've had to reduce my extrusion multiplier in the mid to low 90's on most filaments to prevent over extrusion. 100mm e-step test was accurate from the factory.
check the ptfe tube could have melted pla shouldent smell
Great video! Thanks a lot, I had the same problem with my Prusa mini, it was a bummer because it just had 1 month with it. I tried everything the manual said but nothing worked. I saw this video and I replace the PTFE tube with a longer one (45 mm), since then it worked perfectly!
I received mine a long time ago, no issues at all, maybe slight stringing , However, still waiting on the networking features to be released so I can be 100% satisfied.
I experienced the same jams, dug into forums and found out the extruder ptfe tube was actually not too small, but the extruder itself was about 3 mm lower than it should. With a cold nozzle, I unscrewed the 3 lateral screws and pushed the extruder up then tighten back the screws. Also had to clean the remainents of plastic insight the extruder with a cold pull. After that it printed beautifully. Printer came on the 27th of feb, so probably the same batch as yours.
Got mine just two weeks ago, and I still had the same issue you had with the hotend being lower than it should have been. Had to troubleshoot it for 2-3 days, now it works like a charm.
exactly the same here
Any idea whether they managed to fix it already? it's June and I'm planning to order very soon
Same here. I think I'll buy another brand.
@@RoboticalHeart just got mine the other day. Not quite sure yet but I think this one has the same issue.
Thanks for keeping it real! It matches my expectations of Prusa QA. I have an MK3 where the fan pulses below 100%, and it was never fixed. Otherwise a pretty good printer.
Luckily the ptfe tube issue is easy to fix at the prusa factory. Great review, thanks 👍
Thank you for the heads up! I have just cancelled my orders. Going to wait to see if they fix these issues.
15 minutes for the assembly, nice! I'll get one once they iron out the bugs. Love my MK3S since I can just print stuff without having to fiddle with the printer. The mini would make for a great second printer while my MK3S is busy.
The mini is my first fdm printer. That being said, it's reassuring to hear that I was not the only one to have those issues. At least now I know how to handle them. Thanks for the help. I have been playing around with the hotend temperatures and extrusion rates to get rid of some of my issues but now I know where to look in the inside.
Reassured that you too have a flawed printer. That just made me laugh. I'm not trying to insult you, but it seemed kind of funny.
You got my attention (And thumbs!) with the mention of Delta Mini! I want to replace the hotend with a E3D V6 hotend, and that part looks like something I would love to have!
This is an adaptor for a SKR mini 1.1. The advantage being silent stepper motor drivers, ability to use the main Marlin 2.0 branch and compatibility with TFT35 touch screens. Video coming in future.
Dang, now backordered into September, you wrecked their supply chain, Michael!
A great and honest review. Thank you.
Nicely done man. I’m going to try using a longer ptfe tube on mine. I’m honestly pretty disappointed with my mini at this point. Just playing the waiting game on some official updates on fixes for filament grinding, my gantry isn’t level, and the constant print clogging
I have heard that for some people, removing and re-attaching the z-axis with less torque fixed uneven gantry problems
Yours was one of the videos I watched before opening mine. I was waiting for the probe problem but so far so good.
I had the same problem at first, but by raising the hotend (loosen the 3 grub screws on the side of the fan) and the probe by a couple mm I was able to resolve the clogging problem. I've since printed for over 40 hours on the printer with no jams and print quality at least as good as my Mk2s. I think it's a fine printer, and good design, but the qc during assembly from Prusa was a little lax.
@Anthony Timmers I’m going to do a followup video soon. I got a new unit shipped out from their support team. Night and day difference. Zero issues now. Amazing prints
@@UncleJessy I received one yesterday. It was produced on August 26. Do you think this issue was solved on mine? I cannot assembly It for a while.
I have had a mini since the first batch of deliveries. After the list of things that were assembled wrong at the factory were fixed, I have a printer which exceeds my MK3s in quality and have not seen a single string :) I had the over tightened idler and also the problems in the hot end though mine was solved by simply moving the hotend firmly up against the ptfe tube. I have also had the MINDA probe fail which to their credit, Prusa provided a replacement within two days. I love this little printer now but I sure wish it had been delivered as a kit.
Thanks for sharing.
Nice with a unbiased review Thanks for sharing 👍😀
Thank you for the video, it was very helpful! I too was/am a little disappointed with the Prusa Mini, maybe it's bc I've been-say spoiled with the ease of the MK3S printer, but I wasn't expecting to run into these issues either. I had got a few sample parts off the printer and they looked great but after that, it was all downhill from there with basically the same problems you ran into. However, I may have found a different solution to this issue and I'd be curious to know if anyone sees an issue with it. First I made sure my hot end and PTFE tube were the correct size and spacing as Prusa recommends but that didn't help any as it already had the recommended PTFE tube length and hot end spacing. I found turning the nozzle temp up did help but I still wasn't satisfied as that is more of a bandaid than a fix for the issue and my prints still weren't Prusa Perfect. I remembered I had read a comment on Prusa's troubleshooting page that said they moved the hot end up as far as they could, ignoring Prusa's recommendations and it fixed his problems. I don't normally go against the manufacturer's recommendations but since I didn't have a longer PTFE tube I tried it anyway and I have had much, much better results, feeling a bit of relief and keeping my fingers crossed as I'm still on my first couple test parts since the change. But I think it did the trick! I'm not a novice but I'm no expert either and as I sure can't think of a reason why moving the hot end up would cause any long term issues, I would love to know if any of you guys do think it's a problem or could be a problem. If you think moving the hot end up is the wrong solution let me know and I'll order some PTFE tubing. Thanks again for the tutorial!
Great information. Looking to get into 3D printing as a project source for my little nerdlet. She can't stop asking me to get one. I was looking at prusa but still not certain on a good first printer.
Love your reviews Michael, they show that your thoughts are YOURS. 👍🏻. Just another overhyped Prusa product IMO. The MK3 was the least favorite, least reliable printer I’ve owned. I’m aware my results may not be the norm and am glad others have good experiences with theirs.
the stringing on the vampire castle actually looks pretty cool lol
To everyone who likes the X3D sparkle filament and is not from australia: Check out the twinkling filaments (blue, red, white, black) from Ziro 3D on Amazon. They seem to be practically the same. I use their filaments for years and am very happy with the print results. Also they come with a zip lock bag to store the spool in. The issue with the teflon liner not butted up on the nozzle is something I would'nt have expected from a Prusa printer. Overall a bit sad to not have an all metal hotend anyway. The production cost is tied to that. But the print quality is pretty good I'd say. I do not wonder about the fit of the polypanels a bit looser than on other printers. My guess is that the Prusa just prints a bit more accurate than other printers. BUT: from my experience the Prusament PLA preset in slicer is underextruding a bit. So even when I use Prusament I choose the Prusa PLA preset. For the stringing? It is either the cooling not strong enough or your print temperatures too low. The preset Temperatures in Prusa Slicer are a little low. But that depends on the modification of the PLA. Usually I print PLA with 215°C.
Mine came today. Like you, I had high expectations for her - at least because of the good experience with Mk3S MMU2S. And to put it mildly, the first experiences are disappointing. Some of the printed elements were already broken in the box, the first few self-tests were unsuccessful just for the next one to go, for no apparent reason. This is still to be swallowed but the clogged nozzle in such equipment is a total failure. Until now, even one printout failed. Those parts that somehow printed had massive vertical banding. I guess I have to apologize to the Ender.
Collective Judas When I found out it comes with a ptfe lined hot end I totally lost interest. This thing is literally a worse designed ender 3 with maybe 100 bucks worth of mods.
I got my MINI in first bunch of sends (= before xmas), as i ordered in first 3hrs since announcement, I had only small issue with loose belt under Y which i didn't check from start, a side from that i had no issues at all. With PLA i recomend smooth plate, it holds perfectly for me on mini (not so awesome on MK3s for me). I do have MK3/s also over 2years now working perfectly for over 300 run hours now. I cant say anything "bad" towards Mini as i print only PLA and PETG on that, marvelous results with those, on smaller prints most likely better than from MK3s. A bit expectable thing to consider, if you are about to do lot multicolor prints based on layers, bit more complicated filament change (bowden related) than at 3s, so its only thing to mind. In conclusion : For that price? probably no brainer for me, simple, reliable, heavily supported and documented. For total beginer? same thing, just go print and dont waste your money on trying to learn with overcomplicated printers with issues, and various needs about this or that. What i would love more? if it would be capable doing two "multimaterial" switchnig to be able to print with soluble supports.
recieved my MINI a week ago. Have not had a single issue so far. It just works. This is my first 3D printer, and I must say it is money well spent, not having to spend a week finetuning a chinese budget model with no prior experience. Looking forward to riding the steep learning curve :)
Very nice overview. I was bit disappointed to see the under extrusion issue that you had out of the box. Looks like Prusa is having some startup manufacturing issues with the mini.The print quality was a bit underwhelming even after you fixed extruder issue. I like that X3D filament you use, I wish it was available in the US.
It’s a premium product at a premium price. I was thinking of buying one but want all the bugs to be fixed first
So did you get it? any problems? thinking about getting mine :D
Looking forward to an update on your prusa mini
I have also bought the Prusa Mini, and this was my very first printer. I bought the printer with the expectation that it would be very easy to setup and print without much hassle. And actually, that was the case as I was able to print a perfect benchy using the prusament filament. However, problems started to develop as soon as I went to use eSun PLA. I came across a few of the same problems TeachTech did. 1. A piece of filament broke off and got stuck in the bowden tube. It took a very long time to diagnose the problem because the only symptom showed was that the printer would load filament but not be able to purge or print. The filament would also be grinded, like shown in the video. 2. I had to adjust sensor position to let the hot end reach the textured plate because it was just that small amount thinner than the smooth plate. 3. The textured plate has been much more challenging to work with suffering similar problems that the benchy prints had in the video. 4. The smooth bed did not present tuning issues, but the textured one has. I am now figuring out how to fix warping, due to print not adhering to bed properly, ghosting, and a small amount of banding. Overall, the prints have been high quality (with smooth bed sheet), but my expectation of not having to tinker too much with the machine was not met. A part of me cringes at the possibility that I could have had a better experience with an Ender 3 Pro for literally half the price and 1 week wait time instead of 2 months.
Thanks for taking the time to share. much appreciated.
Following up with this comment it is important to state that the textured sheet and non-prusament filament are the primary causes of my troubles. The textured bed has generally been quite difficult to get prints to stick on it. The PEI sheet that I also bought with the printer has behaved exceptionally well! All-day operations with this printer and it has behaved greatly. I do reckon the source of my initial discontent is due to my expectations from this printer. They were simply too high in that I expected no tweaking whatsoever. Given how often it has been printing though, the time spent tweaking the printer has been very minimal, probably less time spent than assembling a Prusa MK3S!
Here's a good forum post about the textured sheets: forum.prusaprinters.org/forum/hardware-firmware-and-software-help/nothing-sticks-to-textured-sheet-not-even-petg/
I just got the prusa mini + and the first print with the tree frog was good, then the second print with prusa slicer failed horribly, and when I came back in the morning the print was supposedly 100% finished yet the printer kept the bed and nozzle temperature as high as it gets.
Thank you for the excellent (not a) review. While I understand the stated caveats, I can't overstate how disappointed I am with the results. I'm really still rather a noob at 3D printing but I've always been under the impression that if you don't mind a little tinkering and hands on you got a Creality CR10 or Ender 3 and if you wanted a printer that "just works" (tm) you paid a not-insignificant-amount more and got a Prusa. I don't want to be a fanboy for any particular company. At the end of the day I just want a good printer regardless of who makes it. I can understand minor bugs in the firmware or unexpected part failures in a first revision but basic assembly issues like gaps in the ptfe/nozzle assembly causing clogs seem pretty egregious to me. It's something I would expect from some no-name, generic $100 printer from a company you've never heard of in Kazakhstan.
I have a CR10 and looking for a smaller 2nd printer. Given Prusa's outstanding reputation, I was hoping this printer would be solid out of the box. Looks like I will wait a bit to see if they work out the bugs.
Very good unbox and review ;)
Love my Mini, no problems so far! over 40hrs on the printer so far
same here, no problems at all.
Yours might differ because theyre working hard improving the problems people report
I just got the Prussian mini+, and I can safely say that it seems like they have fixed all the issues that you mentioned :)
I just received mine about a week or so ago. Haven't updated the firmware but printing with Prusament galaxy black PLA and all test prints printed with no major issues using the original PEI sheet. Some minor stringing was seen on the 3D benchy but no other issues. The test prints printed really well first time with z offset of -0.872.
Just finished assembling mine. I couldn't get it to load filament and eventually noticed the extruder idler tension screw loose and dangling out the side. Once I got that fixed it seems to be running great, hopefully that's the worst of my issues.
I've just been browsing the forums and it seems quite a few rceived printers with loose x/y belt pulley grub screws.
I spoke too soon, after printing for a bit I ran into extrusion issues. Ended up having to replace the PTFE tube as well to get it working again, they have this exact issue and the fix documented on their website so I'm really not sure why they can't manage to assemble them correctly to begin with.
I sent my back, too many problems, spent 6 hours with Prusa support but was not able to resolve the problems. I have a Prusa MK3s that I assembled from the kit; had some issues at first but were easy to resolve and now printing nicely. I was expecting the same quality of print from the Mini but just couldn't get there, so back to the factory it went.
Thanks for a great video! did you found a solution for the retractions?
I'm thinking of getting one, the issues are a bit of a bummer so thinking I'll hold off a few months to allow for the production and teething problems to be resolved.
I hope to see more of this printer in a month or so, from you :) I trust your feedback on printers and since i just ordered one about a month ago that will get delivered end of May, I'm a bit concerned if this was the right move as I've seen many others with issues with QC. It seems like almost every single KZheadr have had minor or massive issues with this printer, and I'm starting to wonder if my money is better spend elsewhere. this is not my firs printer, i just had a long break and my old printer was 100% DIY so that doesn't scare me. Tho i like the ready to print no tinkering approach prusa seems to give you on some thing like the MK3. In my mind is just wrong to pay for old control system (8-bit) just to upgrade it after the fact to be able to take advantage of all the features in something like Marlin 2.0, hence why i went the Mini road instead of a cheaper option like Ender 3 + some upgrades
If it puts your mind at rest a bit, most of the issues reported look really bad but are in fact, for many people, simple to fix when you know what they are. I was one of the first to receive a mini and it took fully two weeks of forum conversations and Prusa chat sessions to get to the root of the problems. If I received the same machine now, it would print perfectly by loosening three grub screws, pushing the hotend up, tightening them again and the unscrewing the idler screw a bit. five minutes work and all done with the supplied allen key. I agree it shouldn't be like that but it is less work that I did with my CR10s and my Artillery sidewinder
I agree that if you know the issues exist from the start and check for them right away, you'll likely avoid the headaches.
@@g0balot Thx for the indepth reply :) I will give you, as I've seen quite alot of yt about the CR10 end Ender 3 that all of them have a lot of tinkering here and there to print optimal, and what i'm looking for, to get back into printing is a more, set and forget, kinda setup, where most of my time is spend modelling rather than tinkering with the printer
@@TeachingTech some thing that I haven't seen on YT is a, "Check this before your first print with the Prusa Mini" where some one, like you, with great knowledge about 3D printers summarize the list of things to check before printing the first print on the mini, just to make sure that you have checked the most common issues with the prusa, and maybe some less common but still game breaking issues that is known even going over issues that should have been fixed but would be easy to check for the end user. I don't know, just throwing stuff out there that i would personally like to know when i get my printer. I know it's not likely even if you go with the idea as it's only 2-3 months until i get mine, but with all the things getting discovered all the time, like the probe acting because the cable strip is too tight, or if you tighten the screws in the wrong order or too tight the z-axis will not be parallel with the bed, plus the stuff you encountered and a whole lot more
I have the Prusa i3 mk3, and I've loved using it, it's been an amazing printer, but when I heard about the Prusa mini, I kind of wanted to sell my i3 mk3, and grab the mini in its place. However, after watching this video, I think I'm going to stick to the i3 mk3 at least until all of these issues are fixed. One of the things I loved about the i3 mk3 is that It's never given me issues (not counting print failures due to something stupid I did). I just don't think I can trade the mk3 for the mini if the mini is going to have issues. Also, my printer is still in great shape, do you think to sell a Prusa i3 mk3 assembled, in great shape is worth $750, if not, what would you price it at? (just in case I later do decide to sell it)
I also had a similar experience with prints not sticking to my textured PEI sheet. What ended up working for me was cleaning the sheet with warm water and dish washing soap by hand, drying the sheet, and then going over the sheet with a little bit of IPA. I've had good success printing with Yoyi branded PETG on the textured sheet so far! After the bed cools, the print released without having to remove the sheet. My Z-offset hovers around -1.080 or so, which is roughly 0.3mm lower than my smooth PEI sheet. While I haven't come across any major clogs or extrusion problems yet, I re-seated the hotend PTFE tube as shown here: manual.prusa3d.com/Guide/How+to+change+a+hotend+PTFE+tube+-+MINI/1505?lang=en during my initial build of the printer. Some users on the Prusa forums reported that they received a shorter PTFE tube inside the hotend than specified ~43.5mm. Additionally, as a sanity check, I also adjusted my MINDA probe height since I read that there may or may not be issues with the height due to shipping. This was done by moving the nozzle until it just touches the build plate, loosening the screw holding the probe to the hotend, placing an old credit card that's ~0.8mm thick under the probe, and adjusting the height until just touches the credit card. I followed Step 29 of Prusa's MINDA changing guide here: manual.prusa3d.com/Guide/How+to+change+a+M.I.N.D.A.+sensor+-+MINI/1514?lang=en#s41055 I hope you can resolve any further issues you may have with the printer, Michael!
Love the MCM shirt!
Oooooh I wanted one of these badly as my first printer...But baulked at it when I worked out there were no retailers in Aus. Ended up saving some coin and bought a Cocoon Create based partially on your previous videos. Yet to even see it but Im feeling comfortable with the choice. Especially given the price!
That should hopefully be a pretty solid machine for you.
@@TeachingTech It arrived today actually. And while absolutely early days. This is fun! Im looking forward to the journey! Thanks again
I've had my Mini for a few weeks now. Sticking was an issue in the beginning, but with a little bit of PVA mixed with IPA that stopped being an issue. I installed gregsaun's improved parts and that fixed strain relief and cable lengths, so the last issue for me has been the extrusion. It seems like the teeth aren't deep enough, so the gear isn't biting into the filament as well as it should. Stringing has been present as well, but I was expecting that as the printer is bowden. Further tests are needed, of course, and it doesn't really compare to the mk3s (I have a bear/pullybox MMU2s, and it is amazing). Still a good budget option, far better than others in the price range, but not quite plug-and-play.
Have you adjusted the tension on the mechanism?
@@TeachingTech I just did. The teeth on mine are oddly shallow, appearently a known issue. Hopefully a little tightening fixes it.
@@TeachingTech I'm about to help a school install two new ones, so I'll be able to see if any significant changes are present.
I don't have one of these but that issue with the ptfe tube and the hotend is a issue I've dealt with on my Ender3Pro.. I that issue right now in fact. No matter how clean I get the inside of the hotend and how flush I press the ptfe into the hotend it seems to slip upwards even when it is clipped in place and seems tight. I end up having to disassemble the hotend every time now in order to change filament. I've tried new press fittings and even a new hotend. The sprinter still prints great even though it does this. I really only have issues with it when trying to change filament. Still I may just end up swapping out the creality mk8 style hotend for something completely different. I'm really thinking of getting a masquito but really can't afford it. I wish it wasn't so darn expensive. 🥴
I've been running the micoswiss all metal hot end for a long time now. Straight swap and as you would expect the PTFE tube does't run anywhere down near the nozzle.
Great walk through Thanks for sharing :-)
Best feature of the Prusa: mandatory Haribo!
I had a pre-order since Dec '19 then I canceled it in Feb. I just ended up picking up E3D Hemera for my Tevo Tornado.
Another great video. Iv never used a Prusa printer, but Prusa Slicer is my go to slicer for my Ender 3. Mind you I have only ever tried it and Cura, but Prusa Slicer is just easier to learn and more intuitive, at least it was for me.
I used the original Slic3r for a long time back in the day. i agree the interface is quite intuitive.
Hey Michael I use Superslicer with my Mini+ that I just received and no matter what I try I can't get rid of the bloody stringing. Did you get yours right in the end and if so would you mind sharing your retraction settings please mate. Thanks so much for the amazing content.
my orginal prusa mini arrived probably a week after yours, and so far, i have only printed the whistle and pug, but it appears to have far less problems. I also only used the flat surface
Hello all...wanted to report that I received my mini finally at the end of april and have just started using it in the last week. I'm relieved to report that I have not had issues with the hot end. I have seen the parts for extending the x-axis wiring on thingiverse; apparently Prusa noticed this problem as well because there is plenty of slack there on the one I received. Not sure whether the electronics cover parts were redesigned, but mine went together without too much of a fight. This is my first printer, but as far as I can tell I'm getting quality prints right out of the box. Hopefully that means anyone getting one from here on will have the same experience I'm having. I'm curious: has anyone has determined a way to reduce stringing? I tried playing with retraction and wiping to no avail. I felt like I took the retraction far enough to cause under-extrusion and still there was stringing. It is very minor, wispy stuff that almost just wipes off so it isn't bothering me too much. That said, I'm concerned that it may not bode well for the time when I try some other types of filament. For anyone still waiting for a mini, I hope that my happy experience is the one you get as well.
I recieved my mini May 31, 2020. Works great. no issues.
I also had clogging with my Mini. Yesterday my new heatbreak from Bondtech arived. The full metal part is longer, the PTFE tube shorter. So no softened filament reaches the point there the PTFE begins anymore -> no clogging. So the heatbreak definitly is something Prusa should change. I also changed the feeder to the new Bondtech BMG for the Mini. Not necessary, expansive - but hey, what should yo do in the crisis but tinkering on your printers. Trianglelab already made a clone of the BMG 4 Mini, but I prefer the original. With this two changes the Prusa seems pretty nice to me. Hope they get up network functions soon. Only one think I do not like: the filamentsensor. I prefer rotary encoders to detect stuck filament. But maybe with the new heatbreak the simple Sensor from Prusa is o.k. now
You're supposed to use the smooth hotbed surface for printing with PLA. That's why it detached for your benchy prints.
Great video! I have a MakerTech Axis 3D printer. I am really disappointed in it because the hot end tends to clog easily. I have not been able to run it for more than about 30 or 40 hours without having to tear down and rebuild the hot end. I was hoping that the Prusa Mini would be a good replacement but it sounds like it might have the same problem. Once you rebuilt the hot end on your Prusa Mini did it stay fixed?
With my Prusa Mini I had no problems out of the box. Maybe because I used the smooth PEI bed. I did try with the textured bed later but the print detached like yours did. I just went back to the PEI bed and I'll try to figure out the textured bed out later. I also didn't have any problems with the print quality at all. But that's just my experience. The firmware could have been better too because I only got it in March.
I noticed your benchy not sticking to bed for a couple of trys. I have been using PEI on my print bed for PLA. Love PEI once I started heating bed to 80c. after that increase in print bed temp, all my prints stick every time. Even if the nozzle is to far from bed. Have tried to knock prints from hot bed, they don't budge. I have the flex steel plate on Magnetic sheet. The release is great when bed cools. Have come back to a finished print with the bed cool and simply pick up the model, no prying, no flexing just pick it up.
Thanks for the tip. Self release on cooling is a great thing.
I want a Prusa Mini but im going to wait until they fix all the problems because I see a lot of people reviewing the Mini and all of them have some type of problems with the Mini. I prefer and wait until september or latest to get a Mini and I hope by then all the problems are fixed. I really want a combo of Prusa Mini, Artillery x1 and a Resin printer like the Eleego Mars or something like that.
@npgoalkeeper _ then more reason to me to wait after summer, I hope Prusa dont die of success.
I now have that combo as my phrozen sonic mini arrived last week. It's an excellent set of printers and the sonic mini is a fantastic machine!
I agree with the same three issue : the bolt with nut very difficult to catch. The cover of PCB but that is fine. And the under extrusion issue... but now it is fixezd, the print quality are the best from the 4 printer I have, so without the underextrusion issue it would have been an amazing experience, but it was disapointing. Eventually I am quite happy to have it. Even ABS printing is not an issue !
The "warrior statue" is called Gallos, It's from Tintagel Castle in Cornwall (the supposed seat of King Arthur)
Hmm was thinking to upgraded from a heavily modded ended 3 but was these many problems guess I'm sticking to the ended.
I've had my Prusa Mini for almost a month and it's a fantastic printer. Very high quality. Nearly silent. Large print volume compared to the size of the printer. And very reliable. I ran a detailed print that took six days and it completed it without any issues. I highly recommend checking out the Prusa forums to see what other users are experiencing. This link is to the "Prusa Mini wait thread" where we were chatting while waiting for our printers to arrive, and have continued to chat since we received them. forum.prusaprinters.org/forum/general-discussion-announcements-and-releases/unofficial-prusa-mini-wait-thread/paged/120/#post-195726
Same exact issues here. Just threw one together last night and was up to 2am trying to figure out why it'd print for a bit, then jam up. I was assuming it was a better setup than a standard Bowden tube setup, but nope. A real shame since the regular prusa we have at work is amazing! Can't recommend this one to anyone at the moment...
So I was looking for a small 3D printer, but seems to be very limited on choices. How many other are there on the market? I know of the Monoprice one and this. I want to be able to print small tpu part for my racing drones.
Wow! So this is the Prusa experiment to emulate the stock Ender 3?! I just replaced my LAST PTFE style hot end with a MicroSwiss on my Ender 3. My Hypercube will get one now also. All Metal is the only way to go.
I really want to see that mini delta mod. I have 2 mpmds and always want to see more about them
opinion on this vs the cetus mk3? considering a budget ish printer willing to go higher price budget as well, would you say prusa mk3 is worth it, I am looking for high long term reliability but willing to tinker to adjust to likings short term.
It appears that you are printing with PLA on the Prusa Textured build sheet. My understanding is that the textured build sheets are for other filament types such as ABS. I have been using the smooth PEI sheet with few problems with the piece not adhering to the bed. I find that I do need to wipe the PEI sheet down with alcohol before each print else I run the risk of the piece sliding out of position during printing. It's still fairly new with the PEI build sheet having only completed a couple dozen prints, however I have yet to remove the built plate and flex it to release the printed piece. I suspect that over time with wear, the pieces will adhere more readily and I won't need to be so diligent with wiping down the build sheet between prints. Also regarding the clicking/nozzle clogging... I tried several different spools of filament that were of the same manufacturer and they all resulted the same -clicking, then under extruding, followed by a nozzle jamb which could not be "unloaded". The easiest way I have found to remove the jamb is to undo the Bowden tube by removing the fitting nearest to the extruder with the supplied wrench/spanner. slide the PTFE tube up & out. Then cut the filament you should now be able to unload, but note that approximately 10" of the filament that you just unloaded will not be smooth. Be sure to cut the portion off before reloading. Now, you will have a small piece of filament remaining in the extruder where you cut it. Heat the nozzle to 170C and once up to temperature has been reached, it should pull out cleanly. You may need a pair of needle nose pliers for this if you didn't leave enough filament to grab on to with your fingers. Now push the PTFE Bowen tube down into the fitting as far as it will go, and re-thread the the brass fitting on to the compression fitting. Note: it just needs to be snug. In fact, mine is "finger tight" so I don't need to use the wrench the next time. Lastly, after much frustration with the clicking/nozzle clogging, I changed to a different filament manufacturer (ERYONE) and the problem is GONE! I can only say that this is my first experience with a Bowden type extruder, and that the Mini must be less tolerant to Filament (size) tolerances than direct extruders. I am now using those problematic filaments in my other 3D printers which all have direct extruders as it doesn't seem to cause those issues.