One of the interesting things about Prusa’s FDM 3D printers is the availability of official upgrade kits, which allow you to combine bits off an older machine with those of the target machine to ideally save some money and not have an old machine gathering dust after the upgrade. While for a bedslinger-to-bedslinger upgrade this can make a lot of sense, the bedslinger to CoreXY Core One upgrade path is a bit more drastic. Recently the [Aurora Tech] channel had a look at which upgrade path makes the most sense, and in which scenario.
A big part of the comparison is the time and money spent compared to the print result, as you have effectively four options. Either you stick with the MK4S, get the DIY Core One (~8 hours of assembly time), get the pre-assembled Core One (more $$), or get the upgrade kit (also ~8 hours). There’s also the fifth option of getting the enclosure for the MK4S, but it costs about as much as the upgrade kit, so that doesn’t make a lot of logical sense.
In terms of print quality, it’s undeniable that the CoreXY motion system provides better results, with less ringing and better quality with tall prints, but unless you’re printing more than basic PLA and PETG, or care a lot about the faster print speeds of the CoreXY machine with large prints, the fully enclosed Core One is a bit overkill and sticking with the bedslinger may be the better choice.
The long and short of it is that you have look at each option and consider what works best for your needs and your wallet.
I went through this upgrade (mk4 to core one). For me it was being able to print ASA. I already had an DIY enclosure, but with ASA printing with 110C bed entire enclosure became an oven and I was getting printer hauling due to cpu overheating. Of course, I could have bought a Bambu printer for the upgrade cost, but I want to stick with Prusa as a principle.
Current prices for anyone else who was curious:
* Mk4s Assembled: $929
* Mk4s Kit: $699
* Mk4s to CORE One upgrade kit: $449
* CORE One Assembled: $1,199
* CORE One Kit: $949
* Resale value of Mk4s to CORE One leftovers: $100-189 (eBay)
* Resale value of a used assembled Mk4s: $650-$700 (eBay)
For that kind of money they must have great customer support and service.
Enclosed core XY printer (Elegoo CC) $299, prints polycarb. Pure top quality Chinesium (which ain’t bad). Prints PLA like a tweaker (but right)!
Pretty dang good, helped me troubleshoot a failing extruder motor and sent a free replacement. That said, I’m not sure about the upgrade cost this time around :/ $50 more to have 1 printer, save $50 and end up with 2 printers…
For me it is the sleepwalking reliability of the Prusa slicer and printer combination. I had an MK3S+ in heavy use for 5 years. For most of the time I started a print remotely via OctoPrint, without watching the first layer. When I got to the machine after some time in 99.x% of the cases it presented a nice print. Even after updating the slicer (looking at you, Cura) or when using new features like Arachne or scarf seams. The print profiles for brand filaments in PrusaSlicer can be used out of the box, without further testing.
I have four other printers, most newer and faster, but none of them I can blindly trust like the MK3. The only one that may come close as a working horse may be the Qidi Q1, but filament change is a PITA and it can have some nasty hiccups during calibration so I have to monitor the first layer. Filament profiles in Orca are poor to non-existant. Customer support is fast and eager, but mostly helpless.
Money-wise it was a tough decision to upgrade to MK4S, but the peace of mind the Prusa brings me is worth it. If you have other experiences or feelings it may not be.
Upgradability is great when it works, until it doesn’t. I started off with a Prusa i3, since they had good upgrade paths… Except if you wanted to go from a Prusa MK2 to a MK3, which they wouldn’t support. Instead offered half an upgrade, but if you wanted a MK3, had to buy a whole new printer.
Don’t get me wrong, I do like my Prusa 2.5s, as it’s finally started printing pretty reliably, but I would love the features of the later printers.