How I bought the Prusa XL and what I really got instead

Have a seat, grab a drink and listen, while i try to form some coherent thoughts about how i got a Prusa XL, why it happened to be a Prusa in the first place, how I started out with 3D printing, a valuable lesson in human factors, buyers remorse and how this might be relevant for you too!

All the purely printer related stuff and “review like” content is going to follow in seperate articles soon :)

First things first and how i started with 3D printing 

I started around 2015 with a Velleman k8400 kit. The learning curve was steep but the tinkering aspect got me immediatelly. Sure, instructions were accessible but all information about specific troubleshooting were centered about user exchange. The open source “mind set” was a central aspect of this. So, allthough using a vanilla printer was possible, you almost ever had to mod/cusomize it in order to get satisfactory results.

As you can see, I absolutelly modded mine to hell and back. All my understanding of the kinematics, of programming (arduino, marlin, serial etc…) and using slicer (Slic3r) was gained around this machine. Tbh, without others “already knowing and sharing” i had no chance of coming up with all this alone. All i know is basically because of the open source and sharing aspects of (early) 3D printing. So i try to keep this spirit as good as i can.

About the K8400 i have to say, the poor little fellow is to far gone now. All rods are bend, the electronics are unreliable at best and bearings an bushings are worn out but this illustrates wonderfully how, id say 80% of users experienced 3D printing. Looking back, one has to admit that we have come a long way since then.
Little fun fact here: Since heated beds were just not common enough at this time (At least with reasonable effort), I used one big candle directly underneath the bed as heating element, in order to print ABS.
Was really proud about this idea and the fact that i got one of the few machines in my area, capable of printig ABS in general ^^
Slic3r got a limiting factor soon but a similar, much better documented alternative with identical interface came along. Behold: “Prusaslicer”

Building printers, Modding and 3D printing in the real world
Since i mostly used my machine for printing mechanical parts for real world applications, it did not take long for me to hit technical limitations of the K8400. But since i got primed with “if it doesnt exist, make it”, “if it doesnt work, optimize it” and “if you dont know, find someone who does”, it felt really natural to me to build my own 3D printer to my needs. So around 2018/19 I started a new journey with building a Voron V2.4
After the same steep learning curve with this eco system, I recognized the same “proudnes” of having a printer that can do something that most (even identical printers) could not. Be it a particular clever script, a useful mod or printing ABS or CF materials with reliability and ease. Driven by that, i poured countless hours into slicer profiles, scripts, firmware mods, hardware mods and fine tuning. It got almost competitive for me. Always being on the edge but never for tinkering sake, but always in order to have the best perfomring 3D printed part for use in the  real world. 

How it came to be a Prusa XL
Although printing technical parts from “advanced” materials is one aspect of 3D printing, the possibilitys of adding some detail with manual color changes was allway interesting to me. Although bambulabs printers offered a lot of features, i never could bring myself to geting one. But since i also was not able to get a MMU runing reliable on my Voron (due to lack of time to spare, because life catches up fast) i ended up with manual color changes every time i wanted to print a sign or other design parts but thats fine, right?
At this point Im also using my vorons for thousands of hours, spend countles nights of perfecting minor aspects about them and printing away on reliable car parts and other stuff i need for my smal buisiness. So it cant get any better and im allready using the best machine for my purpose because i made it, right? right?! Oh boy, was i wrong…

I messed up the XY cable harness on my V2.4 the other day and since i needed a replacement basically immediately, i searched for used printers in my area. Only one stone toss away, a 3 year old, fully loaded XL was offered. Only 59 days worth of printing done across all tool heads and overall in really good shape. Its print area was comparable to the V2.4, it was usable with no further set up and also offered MMU features on steroids. I got used to Prusaslicer anyway and this printer has all i need and more. Maybe it’s just good marketing but the open source spirit around Prusa is something I perceive as something really great too, so why not give it a chance? At this point it was a no brainer to me. See direct size comparison below:

A masterclas about my own bias 

Same evening i did the first test print (a smal flexy shrimp). I sat there and looked a little shocked as this printer, with no further tinkering, adjusting or what so ever, grabbed one of its tool heads and started just printing this smal shrimp, with a speed that looked unnatural to me. The surface finish still was just gorgeous and i have to admit, i sat there a little offended. Is this what modern printers can do?! At this point i basically saw nothing this printer is capable of but i felt like an idiot allready. No really, i mean it!

I spend years of perfecting software and machines that didnt need no further improvement. Doing so i never questioned if the speeds or print quality i achieved, might be sub par compared to other printers. I grew so accustomed to the believe that because i worked so much with my printers and fine tuned them to death, that others cant be just better. And there I sat now. realizing all of this, and the first test print is not even finished jet. Its the (harsh) reality that no matter how many hours you pour in scripts, profiles and hardware, you just cant compete with a bunch of engineers and technicians, whomst job it is to do exactly that. Who get paid for that and who can do it 10h a day. This does not mean that one cant add something valuable too but this is just an other league. This is one realization to be had, believe me XD

But back to the Printer. I ordered some additional print sheets, some spares and nozzles the same day i picked up the XL. As soon as they arrived, i started printing. No matter what material i threw at this printer, it just printed. ABS? no biggie. ABS-PC? (always warped like hell) give me more of that!, CF? allready done!, PA? Say no more! 
This printer has not even an enclosure and still does just print. Its hillarious if i think about it. I started to get this feeling of “Wow, this printer is basically build just for me”. It hits all the sweet spots. I can thinker if i want to but i dont have to. it prints everything with no fuzz, the documentation is awesome and learning about its inner workings felt like an nicely curated experience to me. But then it happened…

Buyers remores and human factors

Black Friday 2025! A fully loaded Prusa XL, NEW for only some hundred bucks more than i payed for my used one?! Damn, the timing could not be worse. The genuine joy i felt using this printer only one week ago, immediatelly vanished. It got replaced with this feeling of “but this new one must be better, because its new” and i got the worse deal for sure. I suddenly just felt really bad about it. What a mess.

Thinking about this, i could not have been more wrong. Marketing just got me! The printer i got, does not only everything it needs to be, i experience genuine joy using it. The “new” one does the exact same stuff. Not faster, not better and not cheaper. I have all i can ask from a printer at this point and still got more. This printer is not only the right one, it is my one. I dont want to be a fan boy here but i mean it if I say: Thank you Prusa. Thank you for building this printer for me! (….and maybe also for playing a roll in me reconcidering some mayor view points of mine)
 

Smal disclaymer and final words
I work in aviation and so, all thought processes around human factor are a key aspect of improving things for me. Reconcidering, knowing about biases and acting acordingly. So i have to admit that i was really suprised that a 3D printer, i had to buy because i messed up something, got me reconcidering some important view points i held for Years. Truly a smal revelation i got there. 

Never the less, the Prusa XL comes with its own limitations and caviots. Im absolutelly aware of this. I also see that this printer just does not fit all use cases. But still, for the context of this article i just wanted to put a spot light on my own jurney, my bias and positive aspects of this 3D printer, the Prusa XL, in general. 
More ramblings and review like contend, more focused on the Prusa XL is going to follow of course.

Until then, i hope you enjoyed this smal overwiew about my journey in 3D printing and maybe you can take something usefull away from this to your own benefit.

cya