[2muchcoffeeman]

This is a good point. The worst thing is that the MK4 is stuck on the i3 design even though there are some nice improvements. It seems like i3 should go the way of the low cost but reliable printer. Not that the MK series should be ended, but it should really just be upgrades and price drops where possible.

There is still a space for a high performance prosumer coreXY printer like the Bambu or the Voron, but Prusa dropped the ball on this with the XL where they could have dominated. The Bambu is just a massive refinement of the FDM printer.

I predict the next big leaps in 3D printing will be:

- Tool changers like the Prusa XL. I would have bought a MK3 sized printer with 2-3 tool heads instantly. Prusa still has a shot here. Printing in multicolours is nice. But frankly I don't care about printing toys in multicolour. I'd rather be able to design in multi materials. Imagine being able to print in PLA, PETG, TPU simultaneously reliably.

- Infinite Z axis. I backed the Creality CR-30. Creality is a shit company and really dropped the ball on this. Eventually with community support and tinkering I got mine to work well. It's no where near the quality of my MK3s, but where appropriate, I can design things to work well on a conveyor belt and not bother with stopping to pull things off. Shove a box at the end, put it on the network and you have a truly automated manufacturing system. I can print 10 of something without pausing. And one failure won't effect the other 9.

- Pellets instead of fillament. Easier to handle, easier to refill and makes recycling filament easier.