Prusa Research has announced a new version of its multi-material unit, the MMU3, to be released in mid-April. Though somewhat overshadowed by the company’s launch of its latest 3D printer, the Original Prusa MK4 – which was revealed in the same announcement – the MMU update seems a promising bid to achieve reliable multi-material prints from Prusa’s single-nozzle 3D printers.
Previous MMUs from Prusa Research, up to the latest MMU2S, have been received as somewhat finicky at best, and as requiring a perfect setup to achieve consistent results. Problems with the system were communicated through often unclear LED error codes that made issues difficult to diagnose, and troubleshooting a frustrating task. Prusa acknowledged these challenges in its announcement and pointed to the MMU3’s new firmware as a solution.
The new MMU3 has a completely rewritten firmware, says Prusa, including “full two-way communication” with both the MK4 and MK3S+ that displays full error messages on your Prusa printer’s screen should the system be unable to solve a problem on its own by, for example, repeatedly attempting to load a new filament. That should go a long way toward making the system more user friendly.
“Plus, some of the parts are beefed up,” said Josef Průša, founder and CEO of Prusa Research, in an interview with All3DP. “I would say we nailed down every possible failure point.”
Průša and Mikolas Zuza, co-host of the Prusa Live livestream, added that the upgrade path for existing MMU2 users is straightforward, with users of the previous MMU version receiving the firmware update with improved communication, and a hardware upgrade path that consists of mostly 3D printed parts.
More about the MMU3 will be revealed in the coming days, with “extensive” details promised in an upcoming developer diary. Until then, check out the announcement on Prusa Research’s blog or read about the new Original Prusa MK4.
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License: The text of "Prusa’s MMU3 Has An Easy Upgrade Path for Existing MMU Users" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.