Josef Prusa Announced the Release of the New 3D Printer Original PRUSA i3 MK2

Prague, CZ - 16.5.2016 - Prusa Research announced the release of the new generation of successful Original Prusa i3 design - Original Prusa i3 MK2. The kit is currently available for preorder for 699 USD (or 739 EUR with VAT) and will be shipped worldwide during May 2016.

“We had plenty of time and a few thousands printers to collect all the feedback on the already awesome Original i3“, said Josef Průša, CEO and Founder of Prusa Research. “We decided to push it even further. This is not just a simple upgrade. This is a new generation with completely new or highly upgraded features. We’ve created the ultimate i3 design.“

Prusa Research grew 10 times during the period of the last 12 months since the release of the Original Prusa i3 kit. Producing 500 printers a month with a team of 37 people as of May 2016.

New features:

31% bigger build volume
New HeatBed MK42
New hassle free PEI print surface - no glass, no glue, no ABS juice!
Up to 40% faster printing and more materials with E3D V6Full
Automatic mesh bed levelling
Integrated leadscrew Z axis
Improved construction
Improved firmware and printer self test
Slicer support including Windows 10
Upgradability

New HeatBed MK42

We finally got to finish our idea of compensating for cold corners. The final design uses three power zones where the corners heat couple °C more than the center to form warm air shield at the edges of the print bed. This is a game changer in printing of bigger parts!

Hassle free PEI print surface

The glass was finally replaced with indestructible Ultem PEI. We even laminate it directly on top of the heater traces. Heatbed substrate is also much thicker at 3mm, which insulates the bottom side. These changes allow true edge to edge printing. It is 31% larger at 250x210x200 mm (9,84 x 8,3 x 8 in) and fits into the same frame! That’s a bigger volume than Ultimaker 2+ and Zortrax M200!

This also led to a possibility of ditching few more annoying things: binder clips, glue and ABS juice.

Integrated leadscrew Z axis

This new construction means no coupling, no wobble and awesome layer alignment! Z axis got also way faster and more wear resistant which leads to possibility of using Z-Lift where the nozzle lifts up on travel moves and prevents scarring.

Full mesh bed auto levelling

The feature our users wanted the most is auto-calibration. We rewrote Marlin and developed specialized 9 calibration points on the bed substrate to get great repeatability. As it turns out, you can’t just use induction probes on normal PCB heated beds. The printer then approximates 15×15 3D grid, basically a 3D model of the bed tilt and curvature and uses it to compensate in Z axis. This way, you will always get perfect first layer and the heatbed can be completely bolted to the printer frame. Hassle free.

Improved construction

We improved the frame stability.

The bed is now completely bolted to the Y carriage with classic corner screws and two more in the center. This makes it easier to safely transport and ship the printer.

Electronics cover is completely reworked and gained an easy access door.

LCD cover has radically improved too, mainly to easily guide the SD card into the slot.

Faster printing and more materials

We upgraded the hotend from E3D V6Lite to E3D V6Full. This way we can push more plastic out faster which is very handy with the now increased build volume! Temperature limit is increased to 300°C which allows us to print with few more advanced polymers like PC and more Nylon blends.

Improved firmware and printer self-test

We continue to improve our fork of Marlin to be usable by less experienced users.

The most notable new feature is printer self-test. The printer is able to diagnose itself after you finish building it and guide you to fix the problems on it’s LCD! We never saw a 3D printer kit which is able to do that.

We added printer statistics counting the filament used and time elapsed. Both for actual print and also for the lifetime of the printer.

Upgradability

If you own an older Original Prusa i3 with Rambo Mini you can upgrade to MK2 without buying the whole printer. We are extremely proud of this, to keep thousands of our users up to date with latest hardware and not forcing them to buy a new printer. And we can promise, MK2 will be upgradable in the future too!

About Prusa Research

Prusa Research s.r.o. is a Czech 3D printing company founded by Josef Průša in 2009 as a one-man startup. Within next few years, it has evolved into one of the most innovative and growing companies in the 3D industry.

Prusa i3 continues to be the most successful RepRap design and according to 3DHubs trend reports Prusa i3 is the most used 3D printer on Earth. https://3dhubs.com/trends#printers

For further information please visit http://prusaprinters.org/original-prusa-i3-mk2-release/

Press photos: /downloads/press/mk2_press.zip

Product page: http://shop.prusa3d.com/en/3d-printers/59-original-prusa-i3-mk2-kit.html

Contact: [email protected]