Prusa Research has updated its high-end desktop 3D printer lineup.The company is offering new and improved versions of the machines it targets at industrial and power users, with the One, OneL, and XL all receiving upgrades.What’s more, if you run one of these machines, you can purchase an upgrade kit to improve it.
This backward compatibility and upgrade path are key advantages of Prusa.For industrial users, continuous upgrades could be very welcome indeed and a USP for the firm.In essence, the firm is future-proofing its systems and helping its users wring more value from their machines.
At the same time, you can always get spare parts for the machines.And if parts are unavailable, you can make many of them yourself or upgrade the system yourself.This has always been a kind of cute 3D community thing.
But for firms, extending the life of systems and wringing more money from assets is important.So a key community feature can really matter for the firm’s competitiveness.The company is keeping the price of the new printers the same.
Innovations The biggest innovation is a spectacularly new device called a nozzle wiper, which you wipe your nozzle against to clean it.In a recent podcast, we joked that Prusa would never adopt wiping towers, but we were wrong, and they have them here, which will save time.The new XL+ has a “360-degree cooling system,” which should surround the nozzle with more controlled airflow, improving print results and details.
There’s a Tool Offset Sensor that should improve toolhead alignment.This could also save a lot of time, with the firm saying the sensor is “20 times faster.” New GT1.5 belts should reduce moiré patterns and other resonance artifacts.There should also be less backlash, and I think this will help them when printing different materials on one another.
There’s a new enclosure that, with a new chamber heater, will mean chamber temperatures of 60 °C.This may seem like a small upgrade, but it will actually let the printers produce ABS parts with less warping and greater strength.This is great news for people using ABS.
The company also thinks it will help with large PETG, PC Blend, and PCCF parts.The Prusas are already better at printing large engineering-plastic parts than competitors, so this may extend their lead.The XL and Core One L I’ve tested both outperformed Bambu Lab and other printers, especially for large parts.
Prusa XL+.Image courtesy of Prusa Research.The new CORE One+ (Gen 2) and CORE One L+ get the new belts and wiper.
The company hopes for faster first-layer times through better heatbed mounting, and the system does take some time to get ready, so this is a welcome improvement.It also optimized the heating-up routine, making it faster for lower-temperature materials.The top panel has been changed to make it easier to remove and perform maintenance from above, which is super nice for people like me who put their printers on the floor.
They also changed the vents.Overall, printing has been made easier.Any order will be automatically upgraded, and the kits will be available online now until September.
The Prusa XL desktop 3D printer.Image courtesy of Prusa Research.Teasers In addition to these updates, the company says that the INDX automatic tool-changing is coming to the CORE One+.
The company has also improved Pressure Advance to better align with MFI and wall-slip effects.This seems very sensible and may be the most meaningful announcement here, just slipped in between the upgrades, since it could deliver real, meaningful improvements to day-to-day extrusion across batches of material and different vendors.By looking at the filament, the “printer can then adjust extrusion more accurately as the flow changes during the print.
We are also adding extrusion-aware acceleration limits, so the printer does not ask the extruder to change flow faster than it physically can.” This, coupled with more understanding of the different filaments, can really make a difference.PrusaSlicer 3.0 is also set to receive a major upgrade, with the workflow changing in a few weeks to make it more efficient.I’m really looking forward to this since the software works well but feels clunky and slow.
The company is also offering an HT Hotend in September.Conclusions On the whole, this seems like a solid upgrade to the Prusa lineup aimed at industrial users.It probably indicates a renewed focus on the industrial side by the firm.
Prusa has made very good printers for a long time now.The firm’s integrated quality control and vertically integrated manufacturing organization enable it to make high-quality products in Europe and the US.The firm, of course, is facing lower-cost competition from Bambu.
Focusing on users who expect long-lasting machine tools seems like a very logical approach.And to use the open-source philosophy to showcase continuous upgrades is a real advantage for the firm.Prusa, as a machine tool manufacturer, will need to focus on more specific markets than previously.
In defense, manufacturing, and medical sectors, the company can find markets that value longevity, serviceability, reverse compatibility, being made in Europe, and open-source software.These markets look like they could be the future of the brand.Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.
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