Prusa Research has shipped 1,000 CORE One INDX Founder Edition units, putting Bondtech’s toolchanger upgrade into the hands of early buyers before the broader retail release. The limited run is aimed at Prusa users willing to install unfinished hardware, file feedback, and tolerate the usual first-batch nonsense so later customers have less of it.
The INDX system, invented and patented by Bondtech, turns the Prusa CORE One into a multi-tool printer with a separate nozzle for each filament path. That design avoids one of the uglier parts of many multi-material systems: pushing old filament out of a shared nozzle every time the printer changes color or material.
Toolchangers still need to get filament flowing correctly before printing with a newly selected nozzle. According to Tom’s Hardware, the INDX handles that by dropping small bits of waste into an internal tray and wiping the nozzle on a silicone pad, rather than building a prime tower beside the model. That should mean less wasted plastic and more usable build area, assuming the tuning holds up outside controlled demos.
Bondtech’s design uses induction heating to bring individual nozzles up to temperature in a few seconds. Tom’s Hardware said that approach gave the Prusa CORE One with INDX some of the fastest color-change behavior it had seen.
The Founder Edition is not the finished retail kit
Tom’s Hardware received an eight-tool INDX kit and said installation took most of a weekend. The process required removing the CORE One’s Nextruder, fitting the INDX carriage, adding a rack for eight toolheads, mounting eight spool holders using existing screw holes, installing a calibration sensor near the front corner of the build platform, and adding the internal waste catcher.
Prusa asked Tom’s Hardware not to publish a full review of the Founder Edition, saying the retail version will be more polished. Reported changes include improved visibility through the front grille and firmware updates. Prusa Research is collecting feedback from Founder Edition owners before the wider launch.
The retail INDX kit for the Prusa CORE One Plus is expected by the end of July, according to Tom’s Hardware. Prusa lists a four-tool conversion kit at $749 and an eight-tool kit at $999. Bondtech also sells an INDX development kit for other machines, including Voron and Sovol builds, starting at $487.50 for one toolhead.
A retrofit, not a beginner accessory
Bondtech originally showed INDX as a more general add-on rather than a Prusa-specific system. Tom’s Hardware said it saw Bondtech demonstrate the device on a Voron 0 at Rapid/TCT in April 2025. Prusa Research and Bondtech announced their partnership seven months later at Formnext, where they showed a working CORE One fitted with eight toolheads.
The CORE One was not originally designed around INDX. That makes the Founder Edition closer to a serious retrofit than a clip-on accessory. Tom’s Hardware said Prusa is examining assembly issues reported by early users as it prepares the retail version.
Prusa has also published an eight-color INDX calibration model called Otto, the Calibration Butterfly. Tom’s Hardware said the test print took 1 hour and 14 minutes. Its two-layer wings check first-layer behavior, while the color boundaries expose alignment errors, belt-tension problems, and extrusion-flow issues. Tom’s Hardware reported that its first Otto print completed correctly after firmware and calibration hiccups were addressed.
This story draws on original reporting from Tom's Hardware.
