Prusa Research
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| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| Legal Structure | Public |
| Industry | 3D printing |
| Also known as | |
| Official website | https://www.prusa3d.com/ |
Prusa Research a.s., commonly referred to as Prusa, is a Czech company that produces 3D printers and adjacent accessories. It was founded in 2012 by Josef Průša, a developer in the RepRap project which has a strong emphasis on open-source hardware. In the past, all printers produced by the company were open source, providing design plans which allowed users to modify and/or improve existing printers.[citation needed]
Consumer impact summary
[edit | edit source]User freedom
[edit | edit source]In the past, all of Prusa's printers alongside their design plans were made open source. Allowing users the freedom to modify and/or improve existing printers.[citation needed]
Despite the continous open-source marketing, starting from 2025, Prusa started releasing files under their[1] non-commercial "Open Community License",[2] which does not meet the OSI's open source definition,[3] nor Josef Pruša's endorsed open hardware definition.
Incidents
[edit | edit source]This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the Prusa Research category.
Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act concerns (2021—2024?)
[edit | edit source]The main controller of Prusa's 3D printers, beginning with the Prusa Mini+, the Buddy board, was initially released with a "warranty void if seal is broken" mechanism. Prusa incorporated a electronically-entailed mechanism, in conjunction with their embedded software, that prevents users from altering the embedded software without physically breaking a portion of the Buddy board (the so-called "appendix"). Prusa initially told that breaking the appendix will void warranty, but has since changed their stance on this issue, noted in a 2024 post.[4]
Alleged violation of Marlin's GPLv3 license (2021—Present)
[edit | edit source]The main firmware for a number of their printers' controller, beginning with the Prusa Mini+ Buddy board (which is used in many/all subsequent models), are released under the GPLv3, as it is based on the GPLv3 Marlin firmware. However, Prusa does not release the source code to the bootloader for these boards.[5] This allegedly violates the GPLv3 clause that requires the release of the source code for the entire work if they are combined to form a larger program in or on a storage or distribution medium, such as the flash memory of the STM32F407 micro-controller on the board, and more recently in the update images Prusa supplies (BBF firmware update files; historically, the bootloader image was separately packaged therefrom).[6]
Non-open-source "Open Community License" (2025—Present)
[edit | edit source]Despite marketing its printers as open source, in 2025 Prusa began releasing files under the non-commercial "Open Community License"[2] that it created.[1] This license does not meet the OSI open source definition[3] nor the open source hardware definition endorsed by Josef Pruša, the founder of Prusa Research.[7] This has been criticised as misleading consumers who could believe they are purchasing a printer that is open source when it is not.[8]
Bondtech INDX misleading advertising (2026—Present)
[edit | edit source]- Main article: Bondtech Nozzle Gate
In 2025, Bondtech and Prusa jointly unveiled the Bondtech INDX upgrade kit for the Prusa CORE One. The INDX nozzles were marketed for their use with abrasive filaments citing the hardened steel construction.[9] But the nozzles shipped with the Founders Edition units measured at roughly 30-32 HRC on the Rockwell scale, as stated by Bondtech in a news post on their site,[10] versus the 60 that is typical for abrasion-resistant printing.[citation needed]
As response to the incident, the 3D printing community coined the term "Nozzlegate" and maintain an open source documentation regarding the incident and its timeline.[11]
Products
[edit | edit source]3D printers
[edit | edit source]- Prusa CORE One
- Prusa MK4/S
- Pursa Mini+
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Průša, Josef (19 Dec 2025). "Open-sourcing CORE One CAD Files Under the New Open Community License (OCL)". Prusa Research. Archived from the original on 19 Dec 2025. Retrieved 6 Jul 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Open Community License (OCL)". GitHub. Archived from the original on 5 Jul 2026. Retrieved 6 Jul 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The Open Source Definition". Open Source Initiative. 16 Feb 2024. Archived from the original on 1 Jul 2026. Retrieved 6 Jul 2026.
- ↑ Průša, Josef (19 Nov 2024). "Introducing Prusa CORE One: Our new fully-enclosed CoreXY 3D printer with active chamber temperature control!". Prusa Research. Archived from the original on 18 Aug 2026. Retrieved 14 Aug 2026.
- ↑ Průša, Josef (29 May 2023). "The state of open-source in 3D printing in 2023". Prusa Research. Archived from the original on 17 Aug 2026. Retrieved 14 Aug 2026.
- ↑ matthewlloyd (25 May 2021). "[QUESTION] Where is the source code for the actual bootloader shipped with the Prusa Mini+?". GitHub. Archived from the original on 7 Jul 2026. Retrieved 6 Jul 2026.
- ↑ "Open Source Hardware (OSHW)". Freedom Defined. Archived from the original on 5 Jul 2026. Retrieved 6 Jul 2026.
- ↑ "Prusa's "Open Community License" is neither open nor for the community... a lawyer explains why". Adafruit. 19 Mar 2026. Retrieved 17 Aug 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Prusa Research and Bondtech introduce 8-Material INDX upgrade for Prusa CORE One". Prusa Research. 19 Nov 2025. Archived from the original on 5 Aug 2026. Retrieved 17 Aug 2026.
- ↑ Bondéus, Gustav (29 Jul 2026). "INDX - Hardened Nozzles Update". Bondtech. Archived from the original on 17 Aug 2026. Retrieved 5 Aug 2026.
- ↑ "Nozzlegate". Nozzlegate. Archived from the original on 5 Aug 2026. Retrieved 5 Aug 2026.