Right now looking into bang for the buck workhorses with a small footprint/build volume. A description that fit the Prusa mini+ perfectly in the past, but it feels like Prusa is a dinosaur that hasn’t moved with the times.

So who is still buying the Prusa mini+ and why?

Personally: While Prusa has outstanding support, good data protection, and does good things but there is now the Bambu Lab A1 mini.

Prusa mini is at the moment 500€ plus 20€ for a filament sensor (sic., it’s nearly 2024 and that’s an paid upgrade on half a grand printer) and another 7€ for WiFi.

Bambu Lab on the other hand is 320€.

Looking at the specifications, the A1 looks like a clear winner: For maintenance, there are three tasks: 1. cleaning and lubricating the mechanics (both are the same in this respect); 2. cleaning the build surface (both are the same); 3. maintaining the hotend and here Bambu Lab is clearly the better system as you can replace the nozzle in just a few seconds compared to Prusa’s E3D v6 hotend, which requires hot tightening.

The operation is not that different. Both support network, web interface, and automatic bed leveling probed at the nozzle. Bambu Lab has a camera built in, but this requires the printer to be connected to the BambuLab cloud, which may not be possible as the model data is shared with/uploaded to China. I would say this is still a strong point for Prusa as privacy is not an issue with their printers which means they can be easily deployed.

Performance should be close with input shaping enabled, but the A1 mini has the higher flow rate hotend, which means BambuLab is once again the winner (still no highflow at only 28 mm^3/s but twice the flow of a Prusa V6).

The build volume is identical and the footprint is also almost identical, so again no point where Prusa beats BambuLab.

Value? I have already mentioned it. 1.6 Bambulab for the price of 1 Prusa is a clear answer. If Prusa still had the 400€ original launch price and a filament runout sensor included, maybe the answer would be Prusa due to privacy/easier integration. The 200€/printer price difference is so significant that I don’t see who is still buying multiple Prusa mini+.

Btw. is there another printer on the market that just works paired with a small footprint and excellent value?

Today E3D launched their latest extruder. What's your thought on the Revo roto?

only/first Reviews: Made with layers (formally Thomas Sanladerer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5UpN0QaxGY E3D launch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6GxPZUM0k4 product page: https://e3d-online.com/products/roto-extruder

155 GBP (without tax) for the sensor version. Equipped with a normal brass nozzle and a low-power heater core.

The pushing force isn't great as it can't do more than 6mm/s (14mm^3/s, approx. 60g/hour) limiting it to 0.15, 0.25 and 0.4mm nozzles. That's significantly short of the E3D Hemera XS Revo performance they claimed this extruder matches.

Is 14mm^3/s enough for 200 USD+ extruder for 2024 and beyond if you could trade approx. 20g more weight for 4x the max. flowrate?

3D-model collections like Printables or Thingiverse are awesome. Required (ASAP) a CPU socket cover to ship the motherboard. Found it online and 15 minutes later I had the part on hand.

Three years ago I looked into properly wiring hotends with quick toolhead swapes and came up with this: Combining the entire hotend wiring into 3x shielded 4-conductor cables (thin cables for small drag chains with tiny bending radius) and options to terminate the shield. The static side features an USB-port to retrofit Raspberry Pis and a step down to generate the 5V supply from a single 12 or 24V power input.

For the moving side/hot-end PCB it's a similar story:

• stepdown to 12V for fans and LED lights
• stepdown to 3.3V and 5V
• selectable logic voltage (3.3V, 5V)
• temperature and humidity sensor (feedback for heated chambers: adding a measurement point close to the print or being able to measure any point within the chamber to check for uniformity during development)

Why did it all fall apart? BOM cost.

Those connectors with locking lever for easy removal cost a fortune and the 3D-printing world moved on to CAN.
For the active version of this, it's a different story. Never figured out how to make it plug-and-play/foolproof (active circuit for safety features (contact resistance, overtemperature, fan failure, etc.) as well as preemptive maintenance (heater wear, fan bearing degradation, and more).

Some holders or adapters I made moons ago.

Pen holder with an integrated ruler and USB-stick storage in the top cap.

Years ago when I was building this CNC machine, I decided to design and print a NEMA23 stepper motor cover to wire the machine neatly. Today, I upgraded the stepper to an servo. All I took was a screwdriver.

If you want to build or remix it: https://www.printables.com/model/96550-nema23-stepper-cover-hut-wago-terminals

Have you ever wondered if the yellow/orange plastic windows that all resin/SLA 3D printers have are sufficient?

Here's your answer:

interesting data points:

• 500nm: 54.9% (transmission)
• 490nm: 37.9%
• 480nm: 16.9%
• 470nm: 1.6%
• 460nm: 0.3%

**What does this mean? Feel free to comment. **

My take:

First of all, this instrument is not designed to measure OD, so it can barely measure down to OD3. The actual value for 400-450nm could be lower (e.g. 0.001-0.0001% transmission).

SLA 3D printers work at 405nm. This means that the enclosure will likely protect you from the UV radiation of the printer. This is good news.

Does it also protect the resin from sunlight? To answer this question, it is important to understand how the resin behaves to wavelengths above 460nm (not measured). In my practical experience, it does not provide adequate protection. Clean the vat after each print or add another light-blocking layer for (short-term) storage.-

Personal opinion:

While the tool changer is a great development kit it never was a finished product and with the Prusa XL, which E3D likely assisted with, it's time might has come. Nonetheless, I think there is still value for the toolchanger: Nicely CNC-milled aluminum parts paired with 200°C heatbed at half the price of Prusa.

Not to long ago they sold the toolchanger at a massive discount (approx. 1500 GBP for the 4 tool head hemera xs revo) and assured it isn't discontinued. Claiming it was a mistake they will fulfill and did fulfill.

With this sad this might be another nail in the coffin for hybrid subtractive-additive manufacturing (what E3D calls ASMBL) in the hobby/budget sector.

Btw. This product started as a passion project of Sanjay Mortimer and others. If you want to learn more (MERF 2018, Sanjay): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRkF-D0fEbQ

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E3D announcement:

TLDR: Discontinuation of the E3D ToolChanger and Motion System

We are writing to inform you about an important update regarding our ToolChanger and Motion system - a showstopper product that has been an integral part of our innovation journey over the past seven years. It is with sadness that we must announce the end of life for this remarkable machine. Read on for what this means, open source details, spares availability and what’s next.

Throughout its lifespan, we have been amazed by the incredible ways in which our customers have utilised the machine. The passion and creativity demonstrated by the 3DP community in creating their own tools and pushing the boundaries of research and development have been truly inspiring. It was their innovative spirit that motivated us to take what was initially a ‘weekend passion project’ (as dubbed by Sanjay) and turn it into a commercially viable machine. What was our objective with the E3D Toolchanger?

We’ve always been passionate about the possibilities with multiple toolhead machines. With the E3D Toolchanger platform, our objective was to encourage adoption of this type of system. And we’ve succeeded. Looking at the market today you will see many examples of multi-tool systems, from the first Jubilee printer, to the Prusa XL 5-tool system, to the recent successful Proforge British Kickstarter by Makertech.

We are also really pleased to say you’ll be seeing even more toolchanging 3D printers in the future – of course, they’re hush-hush for now, and we’ve said nothing, but keep your eyes peeled.

There are now 1000’s of E3D Toolchangers out there in the wild, being used in state-of-the-art research and development facilities, universities, and leading tech companies. We’re very proud to be enabling incredible R&D, some of which we’ve been lucky enough to see for ourselves. However, as E3D evolves, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue the ToolChanger and Motion system. While it brings us sadness to part ways with such a remarkable product, we recognise the importance of focusing on our core expertise in FDM extrusion systems. This strategic realignment will enable us to better serve you with our primary product offerings and ensure continued excellence in those areas.

We want to assure you that although we will no longer be manufacturing the ToolChanger and Motion system, the machine remains entirely open source. All the files related to the system will continue to be available, allowing everyone to leverage its design and build upon its foundation. We believe in the power of collaboration and the spirit of open source, and we are confident that the legacy of the ToolChanger and Motion system will live on.

We understand the importance of ongoing support for our valued customers and will continue to offer spare parts for the ToolChanger and Motion system until the stock run downs. We will also continue to sell blank tool plates for the foreseeable future. This commitment ensures that ToolChanger users can still maintain and repair their machines, providing longevity and reliability even after the discontinuation.

We will also be continuing to work with 3D printer manufacturers wishing to develop their own systems, now that we’ve spent years developing in-house expertise in this area, and a strong, reliable supply chain.

Thank you all for your support of our ToolChanging journey over the years and an extra special thanks to Rene Jurack for all of his awesome ToolChanger videos - you helped so many kick off their ToolChanger journey, truly earning the TC Guru title!

While we say goodbye to the ToolChanger and Motion system, we are very much looking forward to the future and can't wait to share details about our product roadmap with you all very soon! Some ToolChanger highlights over the years:

There are still a handful of machines if you want to get your hand on one of the last-ever ToolChangers, but you’ll need to be quick! We love to see your ToolChanger content so please continue to tag us across all of the socials using #E3DToolChanger.

Team E3D

PETG:

resin: ___

sidenote: 315-400nm is UVA.