PRUSA Mini. I am in love.

[erionParticipant 1323xp 3]

The PRUSA Mini announced over the weekend looks like a dream for people who want to start up with 3d printing but don’t necessarily want the additional hobby of constantly tweaking a low-cost 3d printer.

I already have (and love) a PRUSA I3 Mk3, but at $350 this thing is less than a new gaming console with all the bells and whistles of the higher-end model.

Original Prusa MINI

[sundancer 42928xp 0]

369 Euros is way more than a brand new PS4/Xbone or Switch 😉

It’s a nice form factor. 18x18x18cm seems a bit small at first sight or is that a “normal” size compared to other printers?

 

[erionParticipant 1323xp 0]

Playstation 5 is gonna be in the neighborhood of $500. 🙂

The I3 Mk3 is 20x20x20cm, so the mini is only about 10% smaller in any dimension. The vast majority of files for gaming terrain will fit into that volume easily. It’s certainly plenty of space if you’re doing things like figures or tokens.

[shingen 13941xp 0]

I second @erion ’s sentiment. This is very nice printer for not so much money and from reputable European developer.

The 18cm build plate is on the small side as @sundancer noted, no question about that, but at the same time in 99% of hobby prints it is sufficient. Not long ago 20x20x20 was industry standard for mid-sized machines, with smaller models sporting 15 or even 10cm plates. This affects general size of the device, so some will consider this a plus rather, and rightly so, the Mini looks to be really compact.

What is the main quality of that printer, however, at least for me, is that the owner of the company – Josef Prusa – says they developed it for people who want to 3d-print and not get involved in 3d-printing hobby. Considering my experience with the Prusa machines and their post-sale customer service I’m quite sure they will deliver on this promise. I use my I3 mk3 for almost 2 years now and can’t say anything bad about it even tho I put it together by myself. Also consider, that with this product you get 2 years of European warranty and all safety features required by European laws, which is not the case with many cheaper units.

In short if anyone would ask me about beginner, hassle-free printer, I’d recommend this one.

 

And one last thing: the I3 mk3’s print volume is 25x21x21 cm.

[limburger 21680xp 0]

Maybe it’s me, but that thing looks flimsy … especially that arm.

OTOH it is well within what I’d call a hobby budget for any kind of machine.

Then again … that’s comparing it to an over-engineered machine that’s easily 4-5 times the cost of this one :

Home

(20 cubic cm print volume … so it’s not that much bigger)

[erionParticipant 1323xp 0]

I also had my doubts, initially, about the stability of the cantilevered arm. But there was live video from ERRF(?) over the weekend of multiple printers doing their work and the print quality was solid.

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