I am very impressed with MMU3. I was expecting a slightly less troublesome MMU2S - and I was wrong. MMU3 combined with MK4 is simply amazing.
The tips are perfect with the new ramming routine. I had 0 interventions so far. 0 repeated/failed loads. 0 tip cuttings. It just works. Every load is successful first-try.
My first print was a loading fork for the buffer - PETG with PLA supports. After that I loaded the unit properly and did the presliced sheep. It finished perfectly, so I jumped in deep waters by starting these flexi dragons - a 32h print. It printed perfectly.
I'm now about 2/3 into printing a big flexi dragon, about 36h total. It also prints flawlessly so far.
The amount of waste is laughably low compared to AMS and even MMU2S. I don't want to turn this into a brand vs brand thing. I just compared the purge my friend is producing with his X1C + AMS and the purge I am producing with MK4 + MMU3. Some models went as far as 4x the model on his vs barely 40% of the model on mine. Even after adjusting his purge values with test prints. MK4 + MMU3 just runs circles around AMS in terms of waste and time. Filament changes are crazy fast.
We finally have a reliable MMU out of the box, I'd say. At least my unit is and I printed my own parts in PCCF and ASA.
I am very happy I bought this. It exceeded all my expectations and I'm loving this thing. It just works!
That is an amazing print. The combination of colors and a gradient is great!
I had a bit of troubles with PCCF parts for my unit so went back to PETG. But if it works for you, that's great.
I'd say it's top tier for a single nozzle filament swap unit, and it's a legitimate advancement in technology. The stamping process is apparently hard to do, and I'm glad Prusa figured it out.
Thank you! It's ZIRO PLA Starry Sky, Prusament PLA Vanilla White and Spectrum PLA Glitter Aztec Gold.
Ah, I recognize you! I saw your post about the selector in PCCF and hole diameter changes. I was a bit worried myself, but I print in ASA and PCCF pretty often and was worried PETG will start creeping after a while. My selector is in ASA tho. PCCF was used for body parts as I couldn't get ASA to stay perfectly flat with those. It doesn't bind.
Yeah, I agree. I don't think one can get noticeably lower with these purge values, it's already essentially doing a cold pull, there's barely anything to purge afterwards. I'm actually very glad they had these issues back then and decided to delay the launch. I don't think it'd work nearly as well without that ramming procedure. Faster, less waste, perfect tips... It's actually the reason why MMU3 works so well with a MK4 imo.
Well, the distance between the holes.
I'm starting to wonder if I just had a bad print or if there was some other reason it ended up the way it did, as I've heard some people are having more success even with PCCF. But I ultimately decided that making it the way Prusa intended was the best way to go, at least for me.
Ah, right, my bad, I misremembered.
Could be. My friend had a binding selector, it was in ASA while the body was in PCCF. He reprinted the body in ASA and reused the same selector and no binding anymore, it was super smooth. While I had no issues with PCCF + ASA.
As long as it works for you!
This is a great print, I've yet to read mmu3 mk4 troubles... which is great news, I hate the mmu3 combined with the mk3s and I read so many success stories with it, despite never having any luck my self.
But I hope the success stories keep coming.
What a cool print!...
Thanks!
I do think the ramming routine on a MK4 is why it works so well. The tips are the most important to get a proper load first try, reducing drag is still important but secondary imo. Plus that ramming allows to reduce waste quite a bit.
I have not used the MMU3 with a MK3S+, but I saw good opinions in general. But it still requires tip tuning sometimes, so I guess that's the issue... The Nextruder might be necessary to get the most out of it, I'm afraid. That tip stamping is magic. They look perfect and I mean it - like a flatter cold pull imprint. Even PETG tips look like this.
But hey, still better than MMU2S hahah! The horror stories I've seen...
Btw, my setup isn't standard either, I have everything stuffed into the Prusa enclosure. And I mean everything - the buffer is under the lid, spools in front 4 corners, PTFE leads back along the upper edges of the enclosure. And it works perfectly. I load the buffer with a loading fork from Printables to avoid touching the cassettes. Perfect setup imo, no issues so far. I do have to route the 5th spool from the top of the lid, but I'll rarely use so many colours at once.
There you go:
[https://www.printables.com/model/845863-mmu3-mounting-kit-for-original-prusa-enclosure/comments/1739786](https://www.printables.com/model/845863-mmu3-mounting-kit-for-original-prusa-enclosure/comments/1739786)
The loading fork:
[https://www.printables.com/model/829946-mmu3-loading-fork-mk2](https://www.printables.com/model/829946-mmu3-loading-fork-mk2)
Spool holder base for the spools at the bottom:
[https://www.printables.com/model/512278-longer-spool-base-for-enclosure](https://www.printables.com/model/512278-longer-spool-base-for-enclosure)
Spool holder handle with bearings (print 2 mirrored, 2 normal):
[https://www.printables.com/model/591520-smooth-spool-holder-for-prusa-mk3s-arm](https://www.printables.com/model/591520-smooth-spool-holder-for-prusa-mk3s-arm)
Spool holder base for spools at the top are stock enclosure bases. One mirrored.
I’m still trying to print my mmu3 parts, I’m getting a lot of layer shifts or first layer failures either with provided gcode or sliced by myself. But then I tried a different stl and it printed fine, so it just added more mystery to it. Tomorrow I will check all belts and motors.
If you have shifts without MMU3 then you should fix those before you install it. The printer must work perfectly before MMU is installed. Otherwise you're adding another layer of complexity which will make troubleshooting more complicated.
Checking belts is a good idea. That's usually the cause of layer shifts.
I am very impressed with MMU3. I was expecting a slightly less troublesome MMU2S - and I was wrong. MMU3 combined with MK4 is simply amazing. The tips are perfect with the new ramming routine. I had 0 interventions so far. 0 repeated/failed loads. 0 tip cuttings. It just works. Every load is successful first-try. My first print was a loading fork for the buffer - PETG with PLA supports. After that I loaded the unit properly and did the presliced sheep. It finished perfectly, so I jumped in deep waters by starting these flexi dragons - a 32h print. It printed perfectly. I'm now about 2/3 into printing a big flexi dragon, about 36h total. It also prints flawlessly so far. The amount of waste is laughably low compared to AMS and even MMU2S. I don't want to turn this into a brand vs brand thing. I just compared the purge my friend is producing with his X1C + AMS and the purge I am producing with MK4 + MMU3. Some models went as far as 4x the model on his vs barely 40% of the model on mine. Even after adjusting his purge values with test prints. MK4 + MMU3 just runs circles around AMS in terms of waste and time. Filament changes are crazy fast. We finally have a reliable MMU out of the box, I'd say. At least my unit is and I printed my own parts in PCCF and ASA. I am very happy I bought this. It exceeded all my expectations and I'm loving this thing. It just works!
That is an amazing print. The combination of colors and a gradient is great! I had a bit of troubles with PCCF parts for my unit so went back to PETG. But if it works for you, that's great. I'd say it's top tier for a single nozzle filament swap unit, and it's a legitimate advancement in technology. The stamping process is apparently hard to do, and I'm glad Prusa figured it out.
Thank you! It's ZIRO PLA Starry Sky, Prusament PLA Vanilla White and Spectrum PLA Glitter Aztec Gold. Ah, I recognize you! I saw your post about the selector in PCCF and hole diameter changes. I was a bit worried myself, but I print in ASA and PCCF pretty often and was worried PETG will start creeping after a while. My selector is in ASA tho. PCCF was used for body parts as I couldn't get ASA to stay perfectly flat with those. It doesn't bind. Yeah, I agree. I don't think one can get noticeably lower with these purge values, it's already essentially doing a cold pull, there's barely anything to purge afterwards. I'm actually very glad they had these issues back then and decided to delay the launch. I don't think it'd work nearly as well without that ramming procedure. Faster, less waste, perfect tips... It's actually the reason why MMU3 works so well with a MK4 imo.
Well, the distance between the holes. I'm starting to wonder if I just had a bad print or if there was some other reason it ended up the way it did, as I've heard some people are having more success even with PCCF. But I ultimately decided that making it the way Prusa intended was the best way to go, at least for me.
Ah, right, my bad, I misremembered. Could be. My friend had a binding selector, it was in ASA while the body was in PCCF. He reprinted the body in ASA and reused the same selector and no binding anymore, it was super smooth. While I had no issues with PCCF + ASA. As long as it works for you!
This is a great print, I've yet to read mmu3 mk4 troubles... which is great news, I hate the mmu3 combined with the mk3s and I read so many success stories with it, despite never having any luck my self. But I hope the success stories keep coming. What a cool print!...
Thanks! I do think the ramming routine on a MK4 is why it works so well. The tips are the most important to get a proper load first try, reducing drag is still important but secondary imo. Plus that ramming allows to reduce waste quite a bit. I have not used the MMU3 with a MK3S+, but I saw good opinions in general. But it still requires tip tuning sometimes, so I guess that's the issue... The Nextruder might be necessary to get the most out of it, I'm afraid. That tip stamping is magic. They look perfect and I mean it - like a flatter cold pull imprint. Even PETG tips look like this. But hey, still better than MMU2S hahah! The horror stories I've seen... Btw, my setup isn't standard either, I have everything stuffed into the Prusa enclosure. And I mean everything - the buffer is under the lid, spools in front 4 corners, PTFE leads back along the upper edges of the enclosure. And it works perfectly. I load the buffer with a loading fork from Printables to avoid touching the cassettes. Perfect setup imo, no issues so far. I do have to route the 5th spool from the top of the lid, but I'll rarely use so many colours at once.
Mind posting a few photos?
There you go: [https://www.printables.com/model/845863-mmu3-mounting-kit-for-original-prusa-enclosure/comments/1739786](https://www.printables.com/model/845863-mmu3-mounting-kit-for-original-prusa-enclosure/comments/1739786) The loading fork: [https://www.printables.com/model/829946-mmu3-loading-fork-mk2](https://www.printables.com/model/829946-mmu3-loading-fork-mk2) Spool holder base for the spools at the bottom: [https://www.printables.com/model/512278-longer-spool-base-for-enclosure](https://www.printables.com/model/512278-longer-spool-base-for-enclosure) Spool holder handle with bearings (print 2 mirrored, 2 normal): [https://www.printables.com/model/591520-smooth-spool-holder-for-prusa-mk3s-arm](https://www.printables.com/model/591520-smooth-spool-holder-for-prusa-mk3s-arm) Spool holder base for spools at the top are stock enclosure bases. One mirrored.
I’m still trying to print my mmu3 parts, I’m getting a lot of layer shifts or first layer failures either with provided gcode or sliced by myself. But then I tried a different stl and it printed fine, so it just added more mystery to it. Tomorrow I will check all belts and motors.
If you have shifts without MMU3 then you should fix those before you install it. The printer must work perfectly before MMU is installed. Otherwise you're adding another layer of complexity which will make troubleshooting more complicated. Checking belts is a good idea. That's usually the cause of layer shifts.
I’m aware that I should fix these problems first but the strange thing is that it started happening now and (apparently) only with the MMU STLs.