I have read braille all my life. I am fully blind. And I know from lived experience how strange the situation still is: access to producing braille in daily life is still limited, expensive, and often locked behind specialist systems that cost thousands of dollars 😄

For the past couple of months, I have been building Braille3D. A full suite that lets people create 3D-printable braille objects directly in the browser 😄

Need a label for a spice jar, a medicine box, or a drawer? Done. A business card readable by sighted and blind people alike? No problem. A bathroom sign or door sign for a school or workplace? That too 😄

Because now, someone can sit at home, type a word into a browser, generate a braille label, and print it on a normal 3D printer, or at a local makerspace, or through a print service. Instead of braille production being a distant specialist thing, it becomes something practical and immediate 😄

I hope that you will check it out, and hopefully we can make the world a tad more accessible 😄

Alt text: A business card featuring braille, engraved text, and a qr code created by the generator.

https://braille3d.com

https://preview.redd.it/8gjf3i9v9g2h1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1b80c4084f79065f6281afdacb2884dcde64340a

https://preview.redd.it/td6dqi9v9g2h1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fe58d47a45fd65435f832fcb1aac1aca2b6dc0ec

Since I am blind myself, and I wanted to play with my sighted girlfriend, I made a version of Stratego that can be played by all.

I hope you like it!

You can get it here.

https://preview.redd.it/cmfdkdl4f12h1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=557391fcd303b3c10a73daf63875e2383dccc0f3

https://preview.redd.it/gylgxel4f12h1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=91cd8bc8997a920fad40836f92892b90e075f7ac

https://preview.redd.it/8ukewel4f12h1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a72e1115f91933aa90852d6ac62f39cf508e8fe8

https://preview.redd.it/3hzbsfl4f12h1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a1eb330a0085a193aa5c3044ca3d6b5b555bc4cc

https://preview.redd.it/w53dnfl4f12h1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b9b88b14ff41b2df262758c53daee3cd42b5f098

Designed using openscad and printed on my prusa XL.

https://preview.redd.it/bc9yakr1b12h1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c4bda97817d6a338af6414db3cce4ecef2a4b27d

https://preview.redd.it/u3sixar1b12h1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=67b9bd195659debfd0fb18f06403b32be2c9cea7

https://preview.redd.it/fje3uar1b12h1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7d71084983c9356021096c52c2f4558f864dfb7b

https://preview.redd.it/g6nyidr1b12h1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8755e1f11aa1b46b304ab8183f48300230630bc1

https://preview.redd.it/piws8dr1b12h1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=458fa81792ce201e85b4800aae5a6c1267d4e348

Hello again,
My Prusa XL with five tool heads, just did a successful filament notification, where my filament had run out.
I then proceeded to change the filament, and to my surprise, I could find that there were a very long piece of filament still left.
Is this normal?
Can you somehow use that because it is around 50 cm of filament that is left?

Edit 1: I have just checked the toolhead that is number 2. Nothing clogged. I unloaded and loaded the filament again, no problems. I perged material, no problem. It is now printing again, and we will see what will happen.

I am using a screen reader, so when you offer help, please be as specific as possible.

Okay.

I am printing on my prusa xl 5 t, latest firmware and latest slicer.

This is the first time I am doing something that requires 3 colours.

, I designed this accessible stratego set.

So

As you can see from the screen shot, the rank symbols on the bricks are extruded.

But, as you can see from the printed image, there is just a cut out hole in the bricks.

I have never experienced this on my bambu.

Could anyone please point me in the direction of what the heck is happening here?

Thank you.

https://preview.redd.it/9m0oqsqrur0h1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=1c1eedd3042331b5b4fee418f0abd5b0c6809366

https://preview.redd.it/xnn3hkysur0h1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bde00c1484c50d2a155c9c9e8d6751ba475c70de

Hi people,

So, I am a first time prusa XL 5 t with enclosure owner.

My question is:

how often should I recalibrate the machine?

On my bambu lab x1 carbon, I do a calibration every time there is a FW update, and or every time I move my machine.

Now, I just moved my XL from the floor to a table, should I run calibrations and which ones should I do?

So, yesterday was the big day, my Prusa XL, 5T, with enclosure arrived!

What a beast.

Holy cow, it is humongous.

When I ordered it, the owner of the 3d store said that I needed a huge car, because it wouldn't fit in a normal person car.

After saying this, he exclaimed, how about I drive it down to you?

Mind you, this is a 2 hour drive back and forth, and he did it without charging anything, so talk about extremely good customer care!

A little background

I am fully blind and run a small accessibility focussed 3d printing and design business. i mainly do custom parts for museums, hotels, public places, and occasionally, the private customer wanting something special made.

As such, I do a lot of things that require different colours, and I make large parts. You know, braille cannot be resized or scaled down. So a piece containing both braille and normal font suddenly takes up a lot of print area.

After a lot of careful consideration, and coming from a Bambu Lab X1C, i chose to buy the Prusa XL 5 t.

Price tag

For my fully assembled Prusa XL, 5 toolheads, along with 5 0.25 MM brass nozzles, an enclosure and the hours for assembling it, I payed 5348 euros. As a blind person, I had the opportunity to apply for a grant that payed the entire machine, otherwise, i would never have bought it I think. I understand that it is produced in Europe and European wages, as well as everything that Prusa stands for, but man, it is extremely hard to justify this. Who knows, maybe in 6 months, i will say that it definitely can justify the price tag.

Tactile feeling of the Prusa XL

When I first layed my hands on the printer, I couldn't help but being transported back in time. I remember my grandpa having a large, abnormally huge tv in his living room. You know, just a huge box, sturdy to the point that you almost get the idea of dropping it from the roof top of a tall building, just to proove your point that it would survive. This is exactly the kind of feeling I got by touching the prusa XL.

With that being said, the thought of cheapness kept creaping into my mind. After all, I am used to these sleek, premium feeling machines that are nice to the touch, compact, and just, beautiful. i didn't get this type of feeling when I touched the Prusa.

I have the enclosed version, and the entire thing just feels, well, not premium at all. From the top part that you flip back to open, to the bottom harmonica kind of thing, well, 5348 euro does not seem to be justifyable, based on this at least.

Audible sound and the touch display

The touch display is another thing. it is funny to hear the beaps, like sounds from a distant passed. it reminds me of my old DOS PC booting up. However, this is a good thing, at least for me as a blind person. I can actually hear that something is going on.

The turn nob or button is yet another cool thing that I will point out. Even though I have gotten used to feeling these slick and smart products, I like the manual aspect of this. God, why the hell do you need to include touch everywhere?

The placement of the display is, however, a design mistake. For someone who has to have the printer on the floor, it is really in kicking distance. pare that up with someone who is blind, and you have the coctail for something that is about to go wrong. Prusa, why the hell did you do it like this?

I mean, also for a sighted person, who is forced to having it stand on the ground. You need to crawl? This is really stupid in my opinion.

Printing on the prusa XL

Okay. I totally understand that automation and manual interfearance doesn't always go hand in hand. I also understand that the Prusa XL is aimed at a totally different segment of customers than Bambu Lab is, and I am definitely going to have to get used to the workflow.

manually feeting the filament into the extruder is not something i am used to. Furthermore, managing everything from the display is yet another thing I am not used to. Finally, inspecting everything by sight, from perge to colour, is also something that I am not used to. With all this being said, I think that i will get to appreciate all this, hopefully. Even though I would really love for Prusa to include a bit more automation and AI into their machines.

After loading the first filament, it is time for my first print!

Prusa Slicer is among the most accessible slicers with screen readers that exist out there. This is to say, that if I were to do a professional audit of the Prusa Slicer, it would fail big time. In order to use Prusa Slicer, Orca, bambu Studio or virtually any other modern slicer, you have to be extremely good with your assistive technology. By doing this, Prusa and all other 3d company is effectively taking away technology from a small, yet extremely underserved customer base where this type of technology could be life changing.

of course, the obligatory benchy was sent to my printer. And among the printers I have tried, Bambu Lab and Creality, the Prusa XL stands out as being the most silent one.

I am deeply impressed by the level of noise, or silence if you will that this machine gives off.

The benchy came out nearly perfect. it is not as smoothe as from my bambu printer, but close enough. it is barely noticeable.

My next print will be something with braille so that i can feel this.

Again, I wish that the printer would tell me what it is doing.

For instance, with Bambu, I can see on the app that bed leveling is in progress, first layer inspection, and such. here, I have to lean a bit more into the unknown and trust that it is doing it correctly.

Maybe I will do some small pauses to feel the bed at another point.

Conclusion

So, where does this leave me?

I came into this with high expectations, and a head full of questions. After spending time with the Prusa XL, I can say that my feelings are, to put it plainly, mixed.

On the one hand, this machine is built like a tank, prints quietly, and produces results that are genuinely impressive. For someone like me, who needs large print areas, multiple filament colours, and reliable output for braille work, the XL makes a strong case for itself. The benchy was nearly perfect, and more importantly, I can already see how this printer is going to open doors for the kind of projects I care about most.

On the other hand, Prusa has some serious homework to do. The build quality does not justify the price tag in terms of feel. The display placement borders on negligent design. And the lack of any meaningful accessibility features, whether that is audio feedback, app integration, or screen reader support in the slicer, is a missed opportunity that I cannot just wave away. The 3D printing industry should really talk more about inclusion, and stop handing blind users a touchscreen, a purge sequence, and a good luck.

And then there is the price. 5348 euros is not a number you type without blinking. Five toolheads, brass nozzles, an enclosure, assembly hours, and the knowledge that it was built in Europe by people earning European wages. I get it. I really do. Prusa is not cutting corners on ethics, and that costs money. But I will be honest: if I had not been able to apply for a grant that covered the full amount, I would almost certainly not be writing this review right now, because I simply would not have bought it. That says something. Not necessarily something damning, but something worth sitting with.

To be fair, I did not expect perfection on day one. I expected a powerful, open, and honest machine that would grow with me. And I think that is exactly what I have. It is rough around the edges, it is loud in all the wrong metaphorical ways, and it demands a lot from the user. But it also feels like a printer that respects your intelligence and gives you real control.

I am not done with my verdict. Ask me again after the first braille print comes off the bed. That will tell me everything I need to know.

Alt text: A man with light brown hair and a beard, wearing an olive green polo shirt, beige trousers, and black sandals, stands in a brightly lit office with blue carpeting. He has his hand resting on a large, black Original Prusa XL 3D printer equipped with a transparent enclosure. The room features white walls decorated with a colorful abstract painting of a horse and a wooden oval world map. In the background, there is a large window overlooking a brick building, a white radiator, a black height-adjustable desk with a laptop, and a black office chair. To the left of the man, a large black transport case and a silver mesh wastebin are visible.

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