RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
I'm sure that if you are buying a clone 3D printer that has the "Original Prusa" branding on the front that any implication that a quality Meanwell power supply is included simply means the power supply will have an "Original Meanwell" sticker on it. I wouldn't take any assurance from claims made on their advertising.
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
I email another seller and asked if MW means MeanWell and the seller said no. I ask what it means and have yet to get a response.
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Chuck H
3D Printer Review Blog
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
There are PSUs branded as MegaWatt:
http://www.megawattpowersupplies.com/
https://www.amazon.com/MegaWatt-S-350-12-9-5-15-Adjustable-Supply/dp/B00JZBE97U
and this Ebay listing highlights it is not a Chinese Clone:
So it sounds like the clone Mini comes with a Chinese knock-off of a MegaWatt Ham Radio PSU.
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
I think it's probably up to everyone to experience clonware and then decide what to do in the future.
I, for one, never buy cloned goods because I don't appreciate product piracy.
Statt zu klagen, dass wir nicht alles haben, was wir wollen, sollten wir lieber dankbar sein, dass wir nicht alles bekommen, was wir verdienen.
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
I've always believed in 'You get what you pay for', in the decision to buy an original or a clone.
Back in February when I ordered the Original Prusa MK3S, they had I3 clones going between US$200-300 on Ebay and since this was to be my first and probably only 3d printer, and since I was getting it as a tool to do a job and not a toy to play with, I wanted one that had a solid reputation with people to stand behind it if need be.
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
@jsw
I have to agree with you. All but one Mk3s make me money. One is a Bear Mk3S clone from China. I bought it to put a Bondtech on and tinker. I really need another printer for my jobs. I have elected to take that Bear Clone printer offline and make a bunch of swappable hotends to tinker.
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Chuck H
3D Printer Review Blog
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
@charles-h13 - did you order one and try? I am really curios about it. I have 2 minis that are just amazing but i don't have time to wait 7 weeks for a bunch more so i am seriously thinking about buying two of them. I am looking at the Fystec ones.
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
I think it's probably up to everyone to experience clonware and then decide what to do in the future.
I, for one, never buy cloned goods because I don't appreciate product piracy.
A clone of an Open Source design is by definition not piracy. It is specifically allowed for in the license. If the license does not allow cloned products, it is not an Open Source license.
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
I have not ordered a Prusa Mini clone. I elected to buy another Mk3S which I have up and running. The Clones are nearly as expensive as a Prusa Mini when you include shipping and they do not come with printed parts.
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Chuck H
3D Printer Review Blog
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
To be fair I used their assembly videos to disassemble and re-assemble my MINI when changing to upgraded parts 😊 Since there are no detailed walkthroughs like for MK3S.
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
That's correct. But you as a customer decides with your money which company should survive. The one which is doing R&D (research and development) or the one which is just making copies and making profit with it.
They only reason why PR stays Open Source is because the majority of the people choose the original one and supporting the company with it. If the fact will change, they will obviously would need to change their politics.
Often linked posts:
Going small with MMU2
Real Multi Material
My prints on Instagram
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
I may buy one down the line just to write a blog post or forum post to document for folks. I have not seen much on them.
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Chuck H
3D Printer Review Blog
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
This is the reason why I support the developer so that he can maintain or increase his quality on the one hand and on the other hand a good support can be guaranteed. This applies to me worldwide for all companies. Mental work and diligence should be paid fairly.
For me this is a basic principle which I will not change.
Whether you call it piracy, copies or anything else, it has eaten up many local small and familiy companies in my home country.
Too bad about it 🙄
Statt zu klagen, dass wir nicht alles haben, was wir wollen, sollten wir lieber dankbar sein, dass wir nicht alles bekommen, was wir verdienen.
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
@charles-h13
I did not read much about it here in the forum. But I would still be interested in unbiased experiences about the cloned products.
Statt zu klagen, dass wir nicht alles haben, was wir wollen, sollten wir lieber dankbar sein, dass wir nicht alles bekommen, was wir verdienen.
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
@karl-herbert
On one of my website, I posted that we are saving money to build a clone and auction it off after testing. More to come. I am almost there. I am not planning on keeping it, but I am curious.
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Chuck H
3D Printer Review Blog
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
I did not read much about it here in the forum. But I would still be interested in unbiased experiences about the cloned products.
In FB groups people are posting from time to time. If you search for prusa clone on youtube, you should get a lot of results. The last I've seen showed a difference in fan, power supply and nozzle temperature off by ~15C for the MK3s clone.
The thing with the reviews of such a clones is that they vary a lot. You never know what kind of product you get. Even if you buy from the same store, you might get completely different components.
Often linked posts:
Going small with MMU2
Real Multi Material
My prints on Instagram
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
A clone of an Open Source design is by definition not piracy. It is specifically allowed for in the license. If the license does not allow cloned products, it is not an Open Source license.
That's true so far as the hardware and software licensed as such. What sucks is when the low-dollar cloners start referring their customers to Prusa for support and use Prusa trademarks. Those are not open source. It's an ethical consideration.
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
@charles-h13
Is there more information or a short insight into your project? Our students have also realized some 3d-printer projects as final work. However, these were not sold but are presented in workshops and partly used.
Statt zu klagen, dass wir nicht alles haben, was wir wollen, sollten wir lieber dankbar sein, dass wir nicht alles bekommen, was wir verdienen.
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
@karl-herbert
I run several websites as a second job or hobby. A few of them are 3d printing related. I have begun doing reviews on a couple of them. I share some of the reviews here. On one of the hidden sites, visitors donate money to see rocket products reviewed. We hide it to avoid kids getting some idea that borders on unsafe.
A lot of them are considering using a 3D printer to print hybrid rocket fuel grains. These grains are often made with ABS, NYLON, or PVC. I did a review of Prusa Mini and the cloning topic came up. I am halfway to the purchase price with donations in 3 months.
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Chuck H
3D Printer Review Blog
RE: Prusa Mini Clone from China
did a review of Prusa Mini and the cloning topic came up. I am halfway to the purchase price with donations in 3 months.
The thing with the reviews of such a clones is that they vary a lot. You never know what kind of product you get. Even if you buy from the same store, you might get completely different components.
I'm not sure how useful a clone review will be, as I've found many instances where you order something and get completely different things each time. I ordered four solar panels and three were not anything like what was advertised. Luckily, eBay refunded my money. The seller was unresponsive. I have seen instances where they send one thing to a reviewer and then after a good review start shipping something completely different. With a company like Prusa they have to support their products and could never get away with such antics.
Lately I just buy from either a company that will replace parts under warranty at no cost, or a seller in my country that it won't cost more than the product to ship it back if there is any issue. I would say that now a majority of third party Amazon, eBay and Aliexpress sellers are shady and you are only likely to get a good deal if you know them and they know you.
As someone who occasionally sells a product, the worst case is when you are called upon to support something you did not sell. Not only did you not make a small profit, but it costs time or salary for support people for something you did not sell. That is not free. You have to make up for it by raising the price of what you do sell, which could put you out of business. The server for this forum costs money, even if no one from Prusa responds. If someone does, they are paid a fair wage to do so.
So, I'm a big fan of my Mini and creators and entrepreneurs like Josef Prusa. Clones, not so much.
Regards,
Mark