3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Positron V3.2 vs Original Prusa MK4S
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Positron V3.2 comparisonsMore Original Prusa MK4S comparisons
| Property | Positron V3.2COREXY | Original Prusa MK4SBEDSLINGER |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Positron3D | Prusa Research |
| Class | COREXY | BEDSLINGER |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | LDO Positron v3.2 3D Printer Kit, revision v3.2 Rev A[1] | Original Prusa MK4S (Prusa Research, Prague). Sold as "Original Prusa MK4S 3D Printer" and "Original Prusa MK4S 3D Printer kit"[2][3] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Not documented | Announced and available to order on 12 August 2024, the date of Prusa's launch blog post, with assembled printers, kits and an MK4S/MMU3 bundle in stock at announcement[4] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | Not documented | $925.00 assembled, $657.40 as a kit, on prusa3d.com, Aug 2026. Bundles: $1,171.11 with MMU3, $1,185.65 with the Enclosure, $1,438.33 with both[3][2] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | The defining trait is the inverted geometry: the print head is below the bed and the machine prints upside down. Sold as a self-assembly kit; the complete printed-parts set is a separate purchase. A hard storage case is included[1] | The MK4S is a revision of the MK4, not a new platform: Prusa sold a $99 upgrade kit that gives an MK4 all of the MK4S features (360-degree turbine part cooling, high-flow CHT nozzle, firmware and profile changes). Watch the published nozzle ceiling: Prusa's MK4 announcement table says 300 C, while the MK4S product page says 290 C. Related family members are the MK3.5 and MK3.9 upgrades of the MK3S+, which are not the same machine. With the MMU3 the standard (non-high-flow) nozzle is the recommended one[4][5][2] |
| Market position: superseded? successor announced? | Not documented | Still sold in Aug 2026 as the entry point to the Nextruder line, positioned below the enclosed CORE One+ (Gen 2). Prusa also sells an MK4S-to-CORE One+ (Gen 2) conversion kit[3][2] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 180 x 180 x 165 mm[1] | 250 x 210 x 220 mm (manufacturer figure)[2] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 200 x 200 x 70 mm folded, 200 x 200 x 270 mm unfolded[1] | 500 x 550 x 400 mm (X x Y x Z), stated without the spool holder[2] |
| Net weight (kg) | 3 kg net; 5.5 kg with the hard case[1] | 7 kg (without spool)[2] |
| Frame construction & material | Folding frame designed to fit in a filament box; supplied with a black hard case[1] | Aluminium extrusions and frame. Prusa's MK4 announcement records that the cut-aluminium frame of the MK3S+ was replaced by a die-cast aluminium frame for the MK4 platform, which the MK4S inherits[2][5] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open frame[1] | Open frame. The Original Prusa Enclosure is a separate add-on and raises the achievable chamber temperature to 45 C; there is no active chamber heating[2] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | CoreXY, inverted — the machine prints upside down[1] | Cartesian bed-slinger - Prusa's own comparison table gives "Cartesian" for the MK4S against "CoreXY" for the CORE One and CORE One L[6] |
| Stepper motors (frame size, step angle, brand if known) | Not documented | 0.9 degree X and Y stepper motors, which Prusa states are used to prevent vertical fine artefacts[2] |
| Stepper drivers (exact model e.g. TMC2209; UART/SPI; sensorless homing?) | Not documented | Trinamic 2130. The MK4 announcement is more specific: TMC2130-LA drivers on the xBuddy board[2][5] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 250 mm/s maximum print speed (manufacturer claim)[1] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 8,000 mm/s2 (manufacturer claim)[1] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Bowden-style, single extrusion[1] | Nextruder, direct drive, E3D V6 compatible with an adapter; Nextruder planetary gear system with a 10:1 gearbox ratio; aluminium heatsink and all-metal filament path[2] |
| Gear ratio & drive gear material | Not documented | 10:1 planetary gearbox in the Nextruder[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | PS plated-copper nozzle, 0.4 mm[1] | Quick-swap Prusa nozzle system with an all-metal filament path; the MK4S ships with the high-flow Prusa brass CHT 0.4 mm nozzle. Standard (non-CHT) Prusa nozzles remain usable and are the recommended choice with the MMU3[2][4] |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 260 °C maximum (manufacturer claim)[1] | 290 C claimed max nozzle temperature on the MK4S product page (Prusa's MK4 announcement table gave 300 C for the MK4)[2][5] |
| Stock nozzle material (brass / hardened steel / plated copper / composite tip) | Plated copper[1] | Not documented |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 85 °C maximum bed temperature — the lowest in this group, and the reason the material list stops at PETG[1] | 120 C max heatbed temperature (manufacturer figure)[2] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Heated removable ITO glass bed[1] | Magnetic heatbed with removable double-sided PEI spring-steel sheets; smooth PEI sheet supplied[2] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Not documented | Load-cell sensor in the toolhead - the nozzle itself is the probe. First-layer calibration and mesh bed levelling over the print area only are fully automatic, with no Live Adjust Z step[2][5] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Not documented | Filament sensor fitted as standard; on the MK4 platform this is a built-in Hall sensor that also drives automatic filament loading[2][5] |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Not documented | High-performance turbine part-cooling fan with a 360-degree air-delivery duct - the headline change from the MK4, derived from work on Prusa's HT90 industrial machine. Fan RPM is monitored in firmware[2][4] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist) | LDO Positron mainboard[1] | Custom 32-bit xBuddy board with an STM32 MCU, designed, manufactured and tested in-house, plus a custom extruder breakout board for fans and thermistors[2][5] |
| PSU (brand, wattage, rail voltage) | DC 24 V, 200 W[1] | 240 W PSU custom-made by Delta with hardware power-panic support[2] |
| Total rated power draw | Not documented | Power consumption 80 W on PLA settings, 120 W on ABS settings (manufacturer figures)[2] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Klipper[1] | Open-source Prusa Buddy firmware. The source tree (prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware-Buddy on GitHub) explicitly covers the Original Prusa MINI/MINI+, MK4, XL and CORE One and was last pushed to in August 2026. Updates are applied from a USB drive, through Prusa Connect or through the Prusa mobile app[7][2] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen[1] | 3.5-inch 65k-colour graphic screen with touch control[2] |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Not documented | On-device colour UI with G-code preview and one-click printing; remote control and firmware updates through Prusa Connect and the Prusa mobile app[2] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Wi-Fi, USB, Ethernet[1] | Ethernet, Wi-Fi via the ESP module delivered with the printer, USB drive for print files, plus an NFC receiver used to hand over Wi-Fi credentials from the phone app[2][6][4] |
| Calibration Routines & QoL | ||
| Assembly level & time from unbox to first print | Self-assembly kit, manufactured in China[1] | Sold both assembled (plug-and-print after a 10-minute self-test) and as an assembly kit[4] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA and PETG only, per the manufacturer[1] | PLA, PETG, Flex, PVA, PC, PP, CPE, PVB; ABS, ASA, HIPS and PA only when using the Original Prusa Enclosure with the filtration add-on[2] |
| Safety | ||
| Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible) | Not documented | The xBuddy platform carries hardware overcurrent protection that disconnects heater and heatbed power when total current exceeds 15 A, and the firmware is open-source and auditable. Prusa also shipped Thermal Model protection to the earlier MK3 line[5][7] |
| Certifications (UL/ETL/CE/FCC — verify, don't assume) | Not documented | Prusa states the MK4S is the first consumer 3D printer to receive UL GREENGUARD certification[2] |
| Reliability, Support & Ecosystem | ||
| Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes) | Not documented | 2-year warranty for consumers in the EU, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland; 1 year for EU enterprises and 1 year for the rest of the world, which includes the United States. A printer bought from a reseller or privately carries 1 year from the original delivery date and is handled by the reseller. Prusa advertises 24/7 chat and e-mail support in seven languages[8][2] |
| Spare parts availability & pricing (nozzle, hotend, plate, board, belts) | Not documented | Prusa cites a perfect 30/30 print-quality score from TechRadar and a CNET "Best Printer for Quality" title; these are quoted on Prusa's own page and were not verified against the original reviews here[2] |
Manufacturer claims, independent measurements, packages and test conditions retain their source wording. FDM linear speed and resin vertical speed use different units and are not directly comparable. Unknown values are marked “Not documented”. Prices and source dates remain historical snapshots; check the linked guide for product details. Differences highlight text, not a universal winner.
Sources for this comparison
- LDO Positron v3.2 3D Printer Kit matterhackers.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Original Prusa MK4S 3D Printer product page (Technical Parameters + CORE One+/MK4S/XL comparison table) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa 3D printers category listing with live e-shop prices, Aug 2026 prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa blog - The Original Prusa MK4S is Here! (published 12 August 2024) blog.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Prusa blog - Original Prusa MK4 is here (published 29 March 2023), including the MK4 specification table and launch prices blog.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Prusa CORE One+ (Gen 2) product page (Technical Parameters + CORE One+/MK4S/CORE One L comparison) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- GitHub - prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware-Buddy (firmware for MINI, MK4, XL and CORE One) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Prusa Knowledge Base - Warranty help.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc