I'm just trying to gauge on the amount of people who build their own printers versus the amount of people who purchase prebuilt models. What are some of the best printers and kits on the market today? Pros and cons?
Cheers!
Printable View
I'm just trying to gauge on the amount of people who build their own printers versus the amount of people who purchase prebuilt models. What are some of the best printers and kits on the market today? Pros and cons?
Cheers!
I bought a makerfarm kit,
This was probably due i just wanted a great printer for a great price,
Aswell as i wanted to know how to build a printer before actualy running one,
Now that i see better prebuilt printers, i aint totaly sure if i would do the same again,
9/10 I would pay 200 euros more and buy a ultimaker 1 as its still a great printer imo, and you can install dual hotend on it.
I'm one of those people who has to tinker with everything and won't settle for not knowing the internal workings of something. So for me, customization and knowledge will always win over prebuilt. Money saved over a prebuilt machine will always win with me as well. And more importantly, once you know the internal workings of something, you're more likely to build one yourself at a fraction of the cost of a prebuilt.
You have to set your own value on your time and the knowledge/frustration of DIYing. And I think there's more to it than just the assembled/unassembled argument.
Every printer we send out the door has been machined (all structural parts are steel or aluminum), assembled, programed, tested and printed with by us before it leaves.
Every customer has already trammed the bed to within +/- .001", and made a plasticine print on our printers via skype/teamviewer session before they decide if they want to make a deposit.
Every customer has already made a CAD model, healed it, sliced it, and made an ABS print of it on our printers via skype/teamviewer session before they decide if they want to pay the balance.
Every customer can call us for up to five hours of one-on-one support after the sale if they are having troubles. There is no additional cost for this.
So when comparing DIY to pre-built printers, remember that all pre-built printers are not alike - and neither, I suspect, are all DIY printers.
Good points! Time is money! Part of me wants to understand all the inner workings of the printer I'm using but then again another part of me wants to spend most of my time making new innovative products. I guess it really depends on what your end goal is. For me, I would rather spend more time designing and creating stuff rather than spending most of my time working on building printers. However, I'm sure the learning experience of building your own rig would certainty benefit anyone in the long run.