Last year, in the Spring of 2023, we announced and started to ship the successor to the MK3, the Original Prusa MK4. The MK4 quickly became our fastest-selling machine ever, which also meant that we spent a good portion of the last year boosting our production to fulfill all the orders. We have nearly 200 new colleagues and our manufacturing runs like never before. This is why we now have MK4 printers, both kits and assembled, in stock!
To celebrate MK4’s first birthday, we prepared a special bundle with the iFixit Mako Driver Kit and a Limited Edition PEI Sheet (more details below). Also, during the first year of its existence, the MK4 gained a lot of new features including Input Shaper and Pressure Advance to double the printer’s speed, and G-code streaming for instant network printing (and much more). Furthermore, we’re now releasing the new 6.0.0 firmware that brings even more features – it enables touch controls on the MK4 (and MK3.5/3.9), adds Stealth Mode and a new Load-Cell-based clogged nozzle detection system, and other useful improvements. Below is a summary of all the major news from the past 12 months. But first: the gifts!
Gifts with MK4
On the occasion of MK4’s birthday, we have prepared a special offer featuring Original Prusa MK4 with two awesome gifts! When you get MK4 as a kit or assembled printer or in a bundle with Original Prusa Enclosure (add it on the MK4’s store page in the right panel), you will receive the following items for free:
- iFixit Mako Driver Kit – the ultimate driver kit for all makers out there
- Limited Edition Smooth PEI Steel Sheet with a special design – you will get two sheets in total: one that comes with the printer by default and one Limited Edition sheet
Please note that this promo ends on Tuesday, 30th April, 11:59 p.m. PST (or May 1st at 8:59 a.m. CET).
iFixit Mako Driver Kit
We love to assemble, build, and repair stuff as much as you do! Besides, one of the most important aspects of our printers is that their maintenance is a breeze thanks to their easily accessible parts, so you can tune or repair anything you need. This kind of job is even easier with the right tools, so we reached out to the team from iFixit. They are well known for their ongoing community support and for strongly voicing their opinion that access to parts, tools, and repair information should be fair and affordable. We can completely relate to that! iFixit has joined our Printables Brands section, and we also offer their superb toolkit in our e-shop. To celebrate the first anniversary of MK4, we have decided to add one of these amazing toolkits to your MK4 order for free.
The MK4 assembly kit continues the MK3 tradition: it’s immensely popular because with our easy-to-follow instructions it allows you to build the entire printer from scratch. It’s the best way to learn how a 3D printer operates, you can then easily carry out any sort of maintenance… it’s simply a joy to build (you can even build it with your kid) – and with the iFixit Mako set even more so! 🙂 Once you’re done building it, with 64 bits inside the box, you can tackle any project requiring precise work. From assembling a 3D-printed car to disassembling a retro videogame console! Plus, You can download a ton of accessories for iFixit products at Printables.com, including the official Mako Driver Kit Box Frame.
Limited PEI Steel Sheet with MK4 Design
We also wanted to do something special just for the first anniversary, so we created a limited edition of 2,000 print sheets with a unique design featuring the MK4 blueprint.
This print sheet has the same properties as our proven Smooth PEI Print Sheet. It’s perfect for materials such as PLA or composites and since it’s chemically resistant, you can easily apply a separation layer onto it, so you can print PETG, ASA, PC Blend, and many others.
Feature-packed firmware 6.0.0 out now!
And there is one more birthday gift – this time it’s something for ALL MK4 owners. 🙂 We have recently released a new 6.0.0 firmware version and it’s absolutely jam-packed with new features and various improvements. We’re preparing an article that will cover everything in detail, so just a quick summary:
- Vastly improved Cancel Object function
- Load-cell-based stuck filament detection
- Cold Pull wizard (MK4 only)
- Touchscreen now enabled
- Stealth Mode
- MMU3 firmware auto-update
- …and more! We’ll publish an article covering the details in the upcoming days.
This is just another addition to an already great list of features of the MK4 – we support our products years after they are released. For the MK3S+, we kept releasing firmware updates adding new features and capabilities (print sheet profiles, Thermal Model Protection, Hardware checks and more) for six years. Let’s look at some of the things we added to the Original Prusa MK4 so far.
MMU3 for MK4 Now Shipping
The MMU3 (MK4 version) left the final testing phase in March. We started shipping a couple weeks ago and you can get it from our e-shop here.
We made extensive changes to the MMU3’s hardware and firmware to further improve the reliability of the unit. It has full two-way communication with the printer and we also took a lot of the community’s feedback into account to add various improvements. The new unit is also less prone to assembly-related errors. Everything has been described in detail in our blog articles.
Input Shaper & Pressure Advance
Input Shaper and Pressure Advance are fully supported by the MK4 since the release of the 5.0.0 firmware last year. Thanks to these technologies, the MK4’s speed doubled while retaining outstanding print quality. In our opinion, print quality matters the most and we described this in detail in our comprehensive article with a “slightly” provocative headline: Original Prusa Printers — Now Printing at 20,000 mm/s!*.
Input Shaper is a feature designed to reduce ringing (also known as ghosting) by canceling resonance vibrations. It analyzes the printer’s movements and applies a filter to the input signals, improving print quality at high speeds. Pressure Advance improves the quality of printed parts by compensating for the pressure changes in the nozzle during printing. Together with Input Shaper, it enables the printing of better-looking models, reducing ringing, overshoots and issues with inconsistent filament extrusion.
*) The printer’s speed is directly affected by the model’s shape and also slicer settings, such as infill, layer height, the material used, the distance between models placed on the print bed, and more. Due to this, the speed difference between the MK3S+ and MK4 may slightly vary.
Prusa Connect: Instant printing
Prusa Connect allows you to manage your 3D printers from anywhere. This includes uploading print files, controlling and monitoring one printer or a whole print farm, monitoring the status of a print job using cameras, or tracking the printing history and detailed printer statistics, including filament usage. You can also connect this service to your communication app and receive real-time notifications. Prusa Connect has been in a public beta stage for some time now and we have released the initial public version with many new features, including Cancel Object support and plenty of quality-of-life improvements.
One of the recent additions that vastly improve network printing is G-code streaming. When you upload a G-code to Prusa Connect, the printer starts streaming the data from Connect to its storage. Once the first few blocks are in, the printer immediately starts printing – this is usually instantaneous, so this is why we call it Instant Printing. Another nice addition is the option to remotely update your printer’s firmware over the air (OTA) when a new version is released.
Touchscreen
We prepared a little surprise: a touchscreen layer has been secretly a part of the MK4 from the very beginning, however, we didn’t advertise it anywhere. Now, with firmware 6.0.0, we’re enabling the support for touch controls as a little bonus. 🙂 For years, the main control device for our FDM printers has been the physical knob alone – and it’s great! It offers snappy and precise controls and you still easily control your printer when you are, e.g., wearing gloves in your workshop. We spent a good amount of time optimizing the touchscreen controls to make them a worthy and useful addition to the existing control scheme. Don’t expect an extremely smooth smartphone-like experience, but I’m happy to say that the current implementation is really good.
The option is available in the User Interface menu where it can be turned on or off. Even with the touch support enabled, you can still control the MK4 with the physical knob, so you have the best of both worlds. Some features are accessible faster with the knob, others with a touchscreen. Simple gestures are also supported (e.g. simply swipe left to go “back”).
Cancel Object
The MK4 supports the Cancel Object feature – during a running print, you can open a special menu where you can select which object(s) should be skipped. This is great for, e.g., situations where you print dozens of objects at the same time and one of them detaches from the print sheet. Instead of stopping the print, you can simply skip printing the selected object. With the latest 6.0.0 firmware and G-code generated in PrusaSlicer 2.7.4 (or newer), you even get a nice graphical interface for Cancel Object in Prusa Connect.
As always, you can download the firmware either from prusa3d.com/drivers or GitHub. Please note that the new 6.0.0 STABLE release is available for the MK3.5/MK3.9/MK4 and MINI. For the XL, the 6.0.0 firmware is available as a Release Candidate 3 build – pretty stable but some small bugs may still be present.
More Things Coming to the MK4
It has been a pretty busy year since we launched the MK4, and our devs didn’t stop for a single day. We have published many firmware releases (see above) and we will continue to update the MK4 as often as possible.
We have some more things planned for this year, so we will definitely keep you updated. You can meet us in the meantime at various places around the world – including Australia! Check out our event schedule to see where we’re planning to go. We’ll be happy to meet you in person! 🙂
Happy Printing!
6.0.0 and still without crash detection ?
Man, I just bought my bundle last week. Would have waited if I knew it came with some extra swag. Finally got it assembled and I am blown away with this thing. Very impressed.
@5dpinball same o_o
include The swags in the mmu3 box we are waiting for please. 🙂
To quote Maxwell Smart: "Missed it by that much!"
I bought an assembled Mk4 and an Mk3.9 kit within the last month. 🙁
Maxwell Smart said it best!!! Same here.. just upgraded my mk3s to a 3.9 and bought a 4.0.
Very nice firmware update for the Mk4! Any news on the high flow Nextruder nozzles??
I'm excited about the touchscreen, but the cancel object is a dream! I can't tell you how many times I've had to cancel an entire print because one part messed up.
Giving gifts for new purchases instead of rewarding current customers has never been impressive to me.
You should at least give gifts for the machines purchased this year. If I had known I would have bought it sooner
Awesome! The new 6.0.0 Firmware has been working flawlessly on my MK4.
Question: I've ordered an MMU3 for my MK4 a while back, and afaik I'll have to order some special parts to make it compatible with my MK4, but can't find these parts (a cable?) on the webshop.
God Damn , Built my Second Mk4 Last week , thats not fair 🙁
Very disappointed that you choosing to reward only new customers, Especially since some of us waiting for the MMU3 to ship.
Any love planned for upgrade kits to get (smaller) bonuses? I'm having a hard time on the price of the upgrade (vs a full new printer), a bit of incentive might get me to finally make the purchase.
Somehow I missed the fact that the MK4 came out on my birthday. That's a whole year of jealousy right there.
I build my MK4 last week, I'm realy angry right now
I asked prusa for the promo parts – they denied my request.
A friend of mine received his MK4 KIT last week. He asked prusa as well – and he will reveice the promo parts with express delivery the next days.
Prusa seems to differentiate between costomers … thx for that
I am upset to see this announcement as I bought the MK4 bundle recently…
The printer arrived on Monday. We missed this… 🙁
I think its leaving a bit of a bad taste just offering these special things for new Buyers.
The community and early adopters helped to fix the MK4 "teething issues" which, in my opinion, was a rushed release.
Don't get me wrong i do not expect Free Stuff and think the MK4 is a solid Printer now – but I'm a bit bitter that i would have to buy a Complete Printer Kit to get a neat PEI Sheet that should be a nice little Extra (even Paid) for early Adopters
Selling these to Early Adopters would just be Fair.
Neat. Such extras are kind of lost on me though. Using such a neat looking sheet for actual printing seems like a waste and i just bought a Mako driver kit a little over a month ago….
Well. Was planning to buy next week anyway. So placed the order today. Looking forward to see if 3D-Printing and the Prusa Printers are worthy of the reputation. I have no idea what to do with the extras. But I'll figure something out when the time comes.
For now. Gotta start polishing up my CAD skills. For there be lots of electronics housings, projects and mechanisms in the future to be done.
Yes, I "Missed it by thaaaaat much"! Bought an MK4 and an MK3S to MK4 about a month ago. But having been into 3D printing since day one, these work so well even given that I assembled them that I don't really care about the missed swag. If I need a steel sheet, I'll buy one. And I've got enough tools for an army.
Thank you Prusa–these things are amazing… 🙂
How is the touchscreen supposed to work? I updated my MK4 to Firmware 6.0, I have the new options like Stealth mode… but touching the screen does nothing. Do I have to enable this somehow or does this only work in certain screens?
According to the github there is a little toggle under Settings>User Interface called "touch". You gotta turn that one on to enable the touchscreen.
Thanks. It was not actually directly in the settings but "settings -> User Interface -> Touch" (or similar, I have it in German language).
And now I see the
> The option is available in the User Interface menu where it can be turned on or off
Text in the blog post, did not properly read that before. Was a long day.
If we can't buy that print sheet, can you please make a high quality poster of it?
I wouldn't actually print on that sheet, it would end up hanging on the wall above the printer. I would still love to have one anyway.
Enabling the touch screen has been a huge quality-of-life improvement. It sounds like such a little thing, but it has had a direct impact on my printing.
Ahoj, taky zatlačuji slzu. MK4 jsem pořídil cca před měsícem. Ten plát je fajnovost.
Jinak tiskárna šlape jako víno. Mám i MK3 a rychlost se zvýšila dvojnásobně.
Hezká práce.
Okay, so I'm running a MK4, a MK3.5 and a Mini, all on the 6.0.0 firmware now, and I do not see any way to cancel objects from the PrusaConnect UI.
Also, with this combination, the thumbnails don't show up more often than they do – but sometimes they still do. So what's the deal?
Sehe ich das richtig, dass mit der neuen Firmware jetzt auch ein Upgrade von MK3S+ & MMU3 auf MK4 & MMU3 möglich ist? Oder doch nicht?
The order was placed on April 16 and unfortunately there was no birthday gift in the package. I'm sad.
Assembled my MK4 kit a week before the announcement. I already own a Mako kit and it would've been cool if I at least could've purchased the anniversary print plate, but support said no. Sadge.
This makes me sad that I can't get the promotional items because I ordered before April 15th 🙁
How do you know when items ship? Is a tracking number provided?
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