Currently our printers are Original Prusa MK3S+ and Fysect MK3S+ clones for the 8″ tops, and Voron 2.4 for larger sizes.
I have worked with several brands of printers based on the Prusa i3 design and the only i3 based printer that I can recommend is the Original Prusa MK3S+. The kit is educational to assemble, preparing the user for continued maintenance, updates, and repairs. The most intimidating task, the hot-end, is preassembled and the final result is a printer with amazing print quality that is very reliable.
The Fysect MK3S clones have worked as well as the Original Prusa printers but as a kit they rely on the Prusa documentation and the hot-end is not pre-assembled. The difference is minor but the Original Prusa is a better user experience.
The Vorons are responsible for the majority of my printing. They are fast and reliable but I would only recommend them to someone with experience and significant DIY skills. There is no entity that supports Vorons. You have to make up your mind which interface to use, MainSail or Fluidd. And you have to rework the Klipper example to fit your system or find a more complete solutions and reconfigure it to your system. I think Vorons are great for DIYers with 3D printing experience who can navigate the hurdles.
Our Printing Story
We started selling Terrarium lids on Facebook just prior to COVID. We developed a second product and expanded to an Etsy store. Both printers were running over 12 hours a day. Prusa was running a four week backlog on their orders so I decided to try a MK3S clone that was readily available in the US. That clone worked out well, and we have had no problem increase production to meet demand in a timely fashion.
Since then I’ve added Voron Printers and even picked up the Prusa XL 5-Tool printer.
Clone Review
A clone kit is just a box of part. Fysect has done a good job but there are little differences, like a meter of PTFE tubing that has the wrong inside diameter. The Prusa kit has a 44.2 mm with 2.0 inside diameter PTFE tube that is beveled on both ends. So it may not sound like much but the big difference, especially for a novice, is you must assemble the hot-end and that is not covered in the kit’s instructions. You MUST use a thermal paste (on the cooling side of the heat-break, not on the hot-end side). There is a 50 cm piece of 3 mm Nylon filament which is not supplied. I purchased a small roll of 3mm Nylon filament which I straighten with a heat gun and then cut off a 50cm piece. Another small difference is the heat-break. It is not all-metal, so I don’t use the one provided in the kit. We also use textured steel sheets.
Overall the clone kit I selected was very close to an Original and I’ve detailed the differences above. After putting together several MK3S clones it is clear that the quality of the parts on the clones is not as well monitored as an Original Prusa. Examples are: I had one rod that was just a little too long and one printer that doesn’t seem to print reliably from an SD card but never fails if I am using Octoprint. As a second printer, or for someone with experience, a high quality MK3S clone will probably work out fine.
PETG
Our lids are printed in PETG, which is rated food-safe and does not deteriorate, warp, discolor, or become brittle when exposed to UV or sunlight.
Summary
Original or Clone, the Prusa MK3S+ are good printers and Prusa’s newer printers are even better. Bambu Lab has a very nice selection of multi-color printers and Prusa has the newer MK4 model (no clones available yet) and just introduced a new Core X-Y unit. I will continue to post on equipment we use, or review for use.