Buying my first printer!

[J-ROD12]

Hello all! I just signed up on the forums. I've been wanting to buy a 3D printer for many years now, but there is SO MUCH
out there that i am afraid that I am going to buy a junky printer because I didnt ask enough questions or something lol
I know there are tons of threads already about "which printer to buy", but i have a couple of specific questions that I couldnt find answers to, so i figured Id start a new thread to try to find answers (or opinions;-) and to introduce myself:-)
I am going to use the printer for all sorts of things, I am in to every facet of radio controlled hobbies, i love robotics, i love to design and build, so its safe to say that i will be printing non stop!
So i have some questions... I have been doing tons of research but i would still like to hear from the guys that actually use the printers and know what they are doing:-)
first question: Cartesian, Delta, or Polar?
I really love the delta style for the large print area and well, it looks awesome:-) but ive heard that the print quality from a delta is not quite as clean as a cartesian setup. Is that true or a myth? I just recently heard about the Polar style, i honestly dont know much about that one. anybody using these?

Second question: To build a kit, or buy complete? i really love to build things, and ive heard that building a printer kit is a great way to understand the mechanics and how everything works, but the downside is that it takes longer to setup and hard to tweak the printer to get it working right.
saving money buying a kit sounds great to me, but not if its going to take me forever to get the thing working correctly lol
I want a high quality print, but my budget is not very much, im looking somewhere between 200 and 300 bucks most likely, so I guess that limits my options. So here are a couple printers I have been looking at, if any of you guys have any comments on any of these or suggestions
on printers I have not listed, please let me know!
FLSUN 3D Metal Frame Kossel Delta DIY KIT – Auto Leveling – Sells for $225
HE 3D K200 SINLGE/DUAL EXTRUDER DELTA 3D PRINTER KIT $239
Monoprice Select mini $220
Reprap Prusa I3 MK8 DIY kit around $300(apparently theres a ton of prusa i3 clones, any certain ones to get or to stay away from?)
I am kind of leaning towards either a prusa I3 or maybe one of the delta kits that I listed above.
Please, if there is a better printer that i dont know about, let me know!
Thanks so much guys, any help will be much appreciated!
Jared

[J-ROD12]

i was hoping for a little more feedback than this...;-) lol

[Sebastian Finke]

What's your budget?

Personally I recommend the Up Mini 2 and the Up box. After that the next one up the list would be a Stratasys. The Up proprietry filament is a bit more expensive although its worth it in my opinion. There are hacks to allow for other filaments. Print quality is amazing.

[J-ROD12]

thanks! my budget is probably between 200-300 bucks this time around.after i gain some experience i would like to upgrade to something closer to the 1000 dollar range but from the research Ive done so far, 200-300 should get me a decent enough machine to get started with.
I'll look into the Up mini 2!

[curious aardvark]

a well calibrated delta should give at least as good a print as any other printer - generally they seem to be better.
BUT the cheaper the kit the more you'll have to do yourself.
Also bear in mind that most delta's are bowden setups so can have problems with flexible materials.

have a look in the reprap section for self builds.

personally I wouldn't recommend one, on the gorunds that a kit of parts is NOT a factory tested machine and has no guarentee of actually working.
Throw another $100 bucks at it and get a wanhao duplicator i3 2.1 model.
Solid metal frame, good machines. http://wanhaousa.com/products/duplicator-i3-steel-frame

You'll learn plenty by doing the odd modification.
But personally I'd rather start with a tried and tested machine than a bunch of parts, any one of which can have a fault that stops things from working.

[J-ROD12]

That's great advice, thank you! I could probably save up an extra 100 bucks if I wait a little longer to buy one, looks like the wanhao duplicator i3 might be worth the wait, looks like a great machine!

[J-ROD12]

I've been looking alot at the tevo tarantula Prusa i3. It is within my budget, and reading the reviews it seems to be a pretty decent printer for what I need it for. I like the fact that its part of the reprap so I would have alot of support if I have problems or want to upgrade parts. Does anyone have any experience with tevo or the tarantula printer?

[ralphzoontjens]

The He 3D printers are good value and the $99 3D scanner option is fantastic - although I would stick to a trusted brand and from what I have seen the Wanhao i3 is the prime choice.
On that note, are there any printers at this value available that use 3mm filaments?

[Richard Rich]

seldom see printers using 3mm filaments, mostly it's the 1.75mm filament.