Prusa I3 Mk3 Lead Times?
Discussion
I ordered myself a Prusa i3 Mk3 kit last night and they are quoting anything up to 9 weeks for delivery at the minute.
Has anyone else ordered or had one of these delivered recently? What kind of lead times did you experience with yours?
In the meantime I'll be jumping on to Fusion 360 (I use Autodesk Inventor day to day in my job) and get a few things modelled up ready to be printed once it turns up and gets built.
Has anyone else ordered or had one of these delivered recently? What kind of lead times did you experience with yours?
In the meantime I'll be jumping on to Fusion 360 (I use Autodesk Inventor day to day in my job) and get a few things modelled up ready to be printed once it turns up and gets built.
Big Rig said:
It’s took me 3 weeks to decide which First 3D printer to buy and now you’re telling me it’s a 9 week wait! 
I was going to order it Sunday.
Why did you choose the mk3 Prusa? Also can I ask how much you paid?
Like yourself, this will be my first 3D printer and again, like yourself it took me a little while to decide which one would be best for me. I was going to order it Sunday.Why did you choose the mk3 Prusa? Also can I ask how much you paid?
I eventually brought it down to a shortlist of
Prusa i3 Mk3
Creality Ender 5
Creality CR10 - V2
And some enclosed Flashforge one (the name escapes me right now)
In the end after watching and reading many reviews the Prusa seemed to be consistently getting the best reviews and the company as a whole getting high praise.
So after narrowing down my shortlist to just the Prusa and CR10 machines it appeared as though the quality of the mechanical and electrical components on the Prusa were just that slight bit better than the CR10, plus the Prusa has the better printing bed.
I ordered the kit which cost me £700 and looks to be on a 4-5 week lead time. Once it arrives it would appear as though there is approx 12 hours worth of assembly time.
The other option would be to buy a fully assembled unit for £900, and it is these ones which are on a 9 week lead time.
Takes a while to print a 3d printer even if you have a few printers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqQzTvvrXo8
Enjoy printing all kinds of useless stuff when you do finally get hold of it.
I started with an anet a8 kit a year ago after many years 3d printing for a living. Not doint it for a living I missed the ability to produce what ever i want. It now sports many mods and a metal frame and does all i need of it for diy use. I did have plenty of experience which helped a lot in the setup and design.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqQzTvvrXo8
Enjoy printing all kinds of useless stuff when you do finally get hold of it.
I started with an anet a8 kit a year ago after many years 3d printing for a living. Not doint it for a living I missed the ability to produce what ever i want. It now sports many mods and a metal frame and does all i need of it for diy use. I did have plenty of experience which helped a lot in the setup and design.
ARHarh said:
Takes a while to print a 3d printer even if you have a few printers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqQzTvvrXo8
Enjoy printing all kinds of useless stuff when you do finally get hold of it.
I started with an anet a8 kit a year ago after many years 3d printing for a living. Not doint it for a living I missed the ability to produce what ever i want. It now sports many mods and a metal frame and does all i need of it for diy use. I did have plenty of experience which helped a lot in the setup and design.
I do hope that we have crossed wires here?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqQzTvvrXo8
Enjoy printing all kinds of useless stuff when you do finally get hold of it.
I started with an anet a8 kit a year ago after many years 3d printing for a living. Not doint it for a living I missed the ability to produce what ever i want. It now sports many mods and a metal frame and does all i need of it for diy use. I did have plenty of experience which helped a lot in the setup and design.
I was of the understanding that the kit had all the parts supplied, they just aren't fully assembled?
So in essence there are 3 options available to buy.
1. A fully assembled, fully tested machine.
2. A kit of parts which contains everything required, but has to be built by yourself.
3. A kit of parts minus the 3d printed bits which you will have to print yourself at home on another 3d printer.
airsafari87 said:
I ordered the kit which cost me £700 and looks to be on a 4-5 week lead time. Once it arrives it would appear as though there is approx 12 hours worth of assembly time.
6 hours if you take your time to assemble a MK3.I would say, and it probably comes across as snobbish, but f
k it, if you are new to 3D printing and you don't fancy assembling a prusa, then you aren't going to like much else with 3D printing as it requires constant fiddling, or rebuilding.I posted before I finished my comment. I was curious as to why you picked this one and if it was your first.
I picked up the Creality as it was cheap and I didn't really know what I was going to do with it so cheaper was better. It's a hobby for people who like to fiddle and tweak and the Ender has good support for that. I believe the community for the Prusa is very good as well. If I was buying again I'd get a bigger build volume or maybe a Resin if I wanted to do fine details.
Get a good slicer and learn to use it.
I picked up the Creality as it was cheap and I didn't really know what I was going to do with it so cheaper was better. It's a hobby for people who like to fiddle and tweak and the Ender has good support for that. I believe the community for the Prusa is very good as well. If I was buying again I'd get a bigger build volume or maybe a Resin if I wanted to do fine details.
Get a good slicer and learn to use it.
devnull said:
6 hours if you take your time to assemble a MK3.
I would say, and it probably comes across as snobbish, but fk it, if you are new to 3D printing and you don't fancy assembling a prusa, then you aren't going to like much else with 3D printing as it requires constant fiddling, or rebuilding.
6 hours isnt so bad.I would say, and it probably comes across as snobbish, but f
k it, if you are new to 3D printing and you don't fancy assembling a prusa, then you aren't going to like much else with 3D printing as it requires constant fiddling, or rebuilding.I'm a mechanical engineer so putting this together is something I'm quite looking forward too.
It was another one of the reasons why I went for the Prusa over the others, getting hands on with the assembly and seeing how it goes together will help give me a greater understanding of how it works and should help me identify any problems quicker if and when they arise.
airsafari87 said:
Big Rig said:
It’s took me 3 weeks to decide which First 3D printer to buy and now you’re telling me it’s a 9 week wait! I was going to order it Sunday.
Why did you choose the mk3 Prusa? Also can I ask how much you paid?
Like yourself, this will be my first 3D printer and again, like yourself it took me a little while to decide which one would be best for me. I was going to order it Sunday.Why did you choose the mk3 Prusa? Also can I ask how much you paid?
I eventually brought it down to a shortlist of
Prusa i3 Mk3
Creality Ender 5
Creality CR10 - V2
And some enclosed Flashforge one (the name escapes me right now)
In the end after watching and reading many reviews the Prusa seemed to be consistently getting the best reviews and the company as a whole getting high praise.
So after narrowing down my shortlist to just the Prusa and CR10 machines it appeared as though the quality of the mechanical and electrical components on the Prusa were just that slight bit better than the CR10, plus the Prusa has the better printing bed.
I ordered the kit which cost me £700 and looks to be on a 4-5 week lead time. Once it arrives it would appear as though there is approx 12 hours worth of assembly time.
The other option would be to buy a fully assembled unit for £900, and it is these ones which are on a 9 week lead time.
airsafari87 said:
devnull said:
6 hours if you take your time to assemble a MK3.
I would say, and it probably comes across as snobbish, but fk it, if you are new to 3D printing and you don't fancy assembling a prusa, then you aren't going to like much else with 3D printing as it requires constant fiddling, or rebuilding.
6 hours isnt so bad.I would say, and it probably comes across as snobbish, but f
k it, if you are new to 3D printing and you don't fancy assembling a prusa, then you aren't going to like much else with 3D printing as it requires constant fiddling, or rebuilding.I'm a mechanical engineer so putting this together is something I'm quite looking forward too.
It was another one of the reasons why I went for the Prusa over the others, getting hands on with the assembly and seeing how it goes together will help give me a greater understanding of how it works and should help me identify any problems quicker if and when they arise.
I have a top tip: print out another set of the whole extruder assembly - all the files are on the prusa support site. I think the prusa parts come in ABS, but the prusament PETG is nearly equally as strong and If you get into a situation where the you get a massive filament blob and it destroys your plastic parts, then you have another set on hand to rebuild.
Building the printer is great fun, it is well thought out and I haven't needed to 'mod' it in any way. It is the closest to an appliance that you'll get for a 3D printer right now. What pisses me off a lot is people who are new to 3D printing who immediately start modding their printer without understanding the quirks and features as is.
devnull said:
Welcome on board then
I have a top tip: print out another set of the whole extruder assembly - all the files are on the prusa support site. I think the prusa parts come in ABS, but the prusament PETG is nearly equally as strong and If you get into a situation where the you get a massive filament blob and it destroys your plastic parts, then you have another set on hand to rebuild.
Building the printer is great fun, it is well thought out and I haven't needed to 'mod' it in any way. It is the closest to an appliance that you'll get for a 3D printer right now. What pisses me off a lot is people who are new to 3D printing who immediately start modding their printer without understanding the quirks and features as is.
Excellent, thank you.I have a top tip: print out another set of the whole extruder assembly - all the files are on the prusa support site. I think the prusa parts come in ABS, but the prusament PETG is nearly equally as strong and If you get into a situation where the you get a massive filament blob and it destroys your plastic parts, then you have another set on hand to rebuild.
Building the printer is great fun, it is well thought out and I haven't needed to 'mod' it in any way. It is the closest to an appliance that you'll get for a 3D printer right now. What pisses me off a lot is people who are new to 3D printing who immediately start modding their printer without understanding the quirks and features as is.
I have ordered a roll of their PETG as well so I will do that and set them aside.
devnull said:
Welcome on board then
I have a top tip: print out another set of the whole extruder assembly - all the files are on the prusa support site. I think the prusa parts come in ABS, but the prusament PETG is nearly equally as strong ...
I have a top tip: print out another set of the whole extruder assembly - all the files are on the prusa support site. I think the prusa parts come in ABS, but the prusament PETG is nearly equally as strong ...
I could be wrong, but I think they are printed in PETG.
Prusa is an excellent choice.
I have both a Prusa MK3S and a Ender 3 Pro.
The Ender is amazing for the price, but you have to be prepared for zero customer service, once sold they mostly seem to not be interested in helping, especially if there is a faulty part. I’ve been lucky, no issues, though I swapped the extruded out for an aluminium one, as it’s a weak point.
The Prusa however is in a different league, yes, it’s not cheap but I think all in, it’s the best value printer out there for home use. I’ve not had any real issues with it apart from a broken thermistor on the hot bed. I had the foresight to buy a few spares, so actually had one, so no big deal.
Assembly instructions are the best I have seen for anything, just be sure you leave a nice loop or cable on the extruded motor (Makes disassembly easier when changing the PTFE tube).
It’s useful to have a set of needle files, I found that just a couple of parts were a bit tight, I just had to file them down a bit.
I have both a Prusa MK3S and a Ender 3 Pro.
The Ender is amazing for the price, but you have to be prepared for zero customer service, once sold they mostly seem to not be interested in helping, especially if there is a faulty part. I’ve been lucky, no issues, though I swapped the extruded out for an aluminium one, as it’s a weak point.
The Prusa however is in a different league, yes, it’s not cheap but I think all in, it’s the best value printer out there for home use. I’ve not had any real issues with it apart from a broken thermistor on the hot bed. I had the foresight to buy a few spares, so actually had one, so no big deal.
Assembly instructions are the best I have seen for anything, just be sure you leave a nice loop or cable on the extruded motor (Makes disassembly easier when changing the PTFE tube).
It’s useful to have a set of needle files, I found that just a couple of parts were a bit tight, I just had to file them down a bit.
mph999 said:
I’ve not had any real issues with it apart from a broken thermistor on the hot bed. I had the foresight to buy a few spares, so actually had one, so no big deal.
Thanks for the advice.I was wondering if it was worth buying a couple of additional spare parts to keep on hand.
Does the Prusa have any common parts that are prone to failure?
Or are there any other parts, other than filament of course, that could be considered as consumables and worth keeping a couple of spares?
And I am guess that Prusa themselves are the best place for purchasing replacements from?
Just to mention, reddit has a couple of fairly active subs dedicated to Prusa printers in case you want to tap into some community experience/advice.
https://old.reddit.com/r/prusa3d/
https://old.reddit.com/r/prusa/
There is also a general 3D printing sub: https://old.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/
as well as one for Fusion360: https://old.reddit.com/r/Fusion360/
(in hindsight I doubt you'll be needing the Fusion360 sub given your Autodesk Inventor background!)
https://old.reddit.com/r/prusa3d/
https://old.reddit.com/r/prusa/
There is also a general 3D printing sub: https://old.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/
as well as one for Fusion360: https://old.reddit.com/r/Fusion360/
(in hindsight I doubt you'll be needing the Fusion360 sub given your Autodesk Inventor background!)
Edited by ReverendCounter on Sunday 9th August 13:47
I just had a Creality Ender 3 v2 delivered. Ordered in May, delivered August. For the price and the reviews, I decided it was a good starter point (£200ish from Banggood), and if I get into it and use it for useful things instead of just making X-Wings or Viper models I will look to upgrade in a year or so. £700 for an experiment/toy is a bit too much to start.
Haven’t had a chance to build it yet, so have no idea if it is all ok etc. Box is big though.
Haven’t had a chance to build it yet, so have no idea if it is all ok etc. Box is big though.
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