What you need to know
- Prusa Research is one of the top names in 3D printing.
- The Prusa Mini has a 7 x 7 x 7-inch build plate.
- It comes with a lot of advanced features
- It's $349 plus shipping.
Today Prusa Research has announced its first new FDM form factor in a long time, called the Original Prusa Mini. The Mini is a smaller printer designed for beginners and schools, but with the same quality the Prusa brand is known for. With a build plate area of 180mm x 180mm x 180mm (7-inch x 7-inch x 7 inches), the Mini is significantly smaller than the Prusa Mk3s but is still a decent size compared to the Monoprice Mini Select. The Mini Select is a great small printer with only a five-inch cubed build area, so the Prusa mini is a great middle ground.
The Prusa Mini comes with a lot of advanced features too. Not only does it have auto bed leveling — a must in any printer, in my opinion — but it also has a removable powder coated PEI sheet. The sheets work amazingly well for holding the print firm and give you a great looking pattern on the bottom of the print.
The Mini comes with a small, full-color LCD to control your printing and a feature that no Prusa printer has had before; an ethernet connection. Ethernet allows you to print remotely, which is cool, but it also allows you to set up multiple printers and monitor them as a print farm. This is a feature that a lot of people will appreciate as small businesses often use Prusa machines to mass-produce parts.
With the option to buy a filament run-out sensor and the added touch of USB input for models, the Mini is shaping up to be an exciting prospect for anyone, not just beginners. We are excited here at Windows Central, as a lot of our readers are first time buyers, and the Original Prusa Mini is likely to be right in the sweet spot.
One of the questions that asked most on the 3D printing Facebook groups is: "What printer can I get for around $300 that's decent?" By bringing its excellence into the small, budget-friendly sector, Prusa has made that question much easier to answer.
The Original Prusa Mini is set to make those first steps into 3D printing much more accessible. With a host of safety features and Prusa impressive standards, this is a machine to buy.
