Prusa CORE One - It just works, but only twice
I've been into 3D printing since February 2023 when I bought my first printer after getting hands-on at JS World 2023. I did a talk at JS World, but they had various side exhibits at the venue. One of them was Janos Kehl, who brought a couple of his printers. That was my first real exposure, and I was hooked. I bought a Sovol SV06, an entry-level printer for beginners.
Two years later, it was time for an upgrade. I wanted something that just works, came with an enclosure for better temperature control, offered better performance, and produced higher quality prints. I quickly settled on the Prusa CORE One. I had seen some Prusa printers at last year's Gamescom, where they had a tiny booth in the creators corner. Also worth mentioning is Bambu Lab, who made a splash in the scene with their printers. In the end, I went with the CORE One because it's manufactured in the EU, highly moddable, rooted in open-source, and supposedly comes with excellent support.
First experience
I ordered the fully assembled version. After it arrived, setup was quick. I only had to install the LCD display and go through the guided tests and calibration steps. As expected, the first thing you do with any printer is print. My first benchy and a Prusa keychain came out very clean and fast. So I moved on to something more useful—and that's when the trouble started.
Problems
At some point, the PLA filament broke. The extruder couldn't grip it anymore, and eventually I had a clog too. Not what I expected from a new, high-quality printer, but these are still pretty common problems in 3D printing.
There are a few standard tricks to unclog a nozzle. A cold pull is one of them, and Prusa printers support this, but apparently not yet on the CORE One. Poking with the cleaning needle didn't help either. Heating up the nozzle didn't fully clear the clog either.
Disassembling the nozzle
I followed this video to disassemble the nozzle and was able to remove the broken filament.
There was another piece stuck in the gearbox section. It had deformed so badly I had to pull it out with pliers.
After that, I tried loading a different filament. I had read that the Galaxy Black PLA from Prusa contains small glitter particles to make it shiny, but those same particles are known to cause clogs. Unfortunately, loading still didn't work. Some filament was still stuck in the nozzle, so I had to take everything apart again and use a Clog Poke to clean it out completely (see video above).
Trying to figure out the cause
While fixing the issue, I also tried to figure out what caused it. Especially surprising on a brand-new printer from a well-known brand like Prusa. It seems like this was one of those cases where a few small things stack up and cause a bigger problem.
- The Galaxy-style PLA has shiny particles that can clog the nozzle
- A 0.4mm nozzle makes it easier for clogs to happen
- The current warm weather plus the enclosed build area probably caused heat creep. That's when the filament softens too early, before reaching the melting zone, and becomes harder to push through
Lessons learned
- Don't use Prusament PLA Prusa Galaxy Black with the 0.4mm nozzle
- Keep an eye on the heatsink temperature. If it goes over 30°C, leave the door open
- Get a Clog Poke tool
- Consider switching to a larger nozzle, like 0.6mm
- Use compressed air or an electric duster to clean out the filament idler, it collects debris over time
Conclusion
Even expensive, high-end printers like the CORE One still face the same issues as cheaper models. If you want to get into 3D printing, be ready to tinker, troubleshoot, and get your hands dirty. It's part of the deal.