# Specific 3D Printers, Scanners, & Hardware > RepRap Format Printer Forum >  Looking for a reprap kit for around 500$

## Stigern

I'm on the search for a reprap kit, I have around 500$ in my budget. From before I own a Flashforge creator pro, and I want a second printer on my workbench. And I thought this time it would be a reprap kit  :Smile: 

I've currently been looking at this kit: http://www.replikeo.com/en/KIT001

Anyone has some recommendations? Or comments about the i3? good or bad  :Smile: 

Doesn't need to have a heated bed, and dual extrusion is not something I want.

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## paradiddle65

The i3 and its variants are incredibly popular so its hard to go wrong with this kit. Plus it has a heated bed which does help a lot. I can almost guarantee that some kind of repair or upgrade will be needed down the road so the extra $150 would come in handy for that.

I would recommend going for one of the metal frames instead of the plexiglass.

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## Stigern

> The i3 and its variants are incredibly popular so its hard to go wrong with this kit. Plus it has a heated bed which does help a lot. I can almost guarantee that some kind of repair or upgrade will be needed down the road so the extra $150 would come in handy for that.
> 
> I would recommend going for one of the metal frames instead of the plexiglass.


Alu or Iron frame?

Iron seems like it would flex less than alu.

Thanks for your reply.

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## paradiddle65

> Alu or Iron frame?
> 
> Iron seems like it would flex less than alu.
> 
> Thanks for your reply.


Its hard to tell, the iron is 3mm and the aluminum is 6mm. Personally, I'd probably go with the aluminum because of the way it looks. Also, not sure where you plan to used the printer, but iron will rust. If you're going to keep it in a damp basement or garage it'll rust pretty fast

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## jaguarking11

I know you said you want a desktop printer. But why not a DELTA printer? They do take very little desk space, at the expense of height.

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## Stigern

> I know you said you want a desktop printer. But why not a DELTA printer? They do take very little desk space, at the expense of height.


Space is not a concern, but I must admit a DELTA printer got some nice looks.

But whats keeping me from it is the thought of calibrating it. To my mind it must be much more difficult to calibrate, or?

paradiddle65: Oh, then it's alu. Didn't know there was a difference in thickness.

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## JohnA136

It is a little challenging to calibrate it initially (it took me about 40 minutes), but I have never had to go back and recalibrate mine?  We ran my son's Kossel for 30 hours at the NY Maker Faire in September and it was flawless!  Admittedly, it is not the best printer we have but it does print as well as our Prusa's and is cheaper to build.

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## Geoff

Do not buy an Aurora Z605 (i3 clone)  whatever you do, waste of money.. 

Honestly go for a Kossel mini mate, much easier first build and you can make most of it on your Flashforge.

I Went FF -> Prusa -> Kossel

I wish I had gone FF -> Kossel -> Prusa 

The kossel made alot more sense when calibrating it and took half as long and the beauty of the delta rig, as soon as you build one - you instantly know how to build a bigger or smaller one, and you can.. It's like a parametric design almost.. with some exceptions.

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## jaguarking11

My first 3rd printer is a Delta. For all intense and purpose I was a complete newb. Not only that but I took the path less traveled and customised the design right off the bat. My printer prints very well. However I'm much less focused on resolution than plain speed. Recent experiments have given me fairly accurate parts in less than 1/3 the normal time. 1.5 hours I printed a part that would have taken me nearly 7 hours. Deltas if built right can be very quick. I cheated on mine by using an over sized nozzle.

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## Stigern

Are there any reasonable priced kossels?

Geoff: The printer I linked to is that a Aurora Z605? And why not? :P

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## Geoff

> Are there any reasonable priced kossels?
> 
> Geoff: The printer I linked to is that a Aurora Z605? And why not? :P


Kossels can be bought for well under $400, the components can be bought for even less, if you can buy all the parts minus the plastic thats what you want.


That is not an Aurora (they have a clear perspex frame) and the reason I say don't buy one is because it was an utter waste of $600 and has taken me months to build new parts for it just to get it working.

They advertise it as 3mm / 1.75mm ... it isnt. Its only a 3mm head. They also advertise "good quality moulded parts!" BS!! they are the worst plastic parts Ive ever seen, your flashforge is capable of much better.

Alot of the cheap prusa's are using The Melzi mini board, which does not support an LCD display, so if you want a display, you need to then go buy a RAMPS kit and replace the default board.

MY z605 so far, I have had to buy a new hobbed bolt, build a new geared extruder for it, new idlers, carriages,* new hot end...* If I wanted to spend $800, I would have gone and bought a second hand FF, but I wanted a 500-600$ DIY kit, and holy crap, was the the Aurora DIY.

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## Stigern

Geoff:

So the one I linked to is not a Aurora, and is more like the makerfarms prusa kit? 

Could you point me in the right direction for a kossel kit? If only the hardware and I print the plastics. Or both  :Smile: 
I'm kind of in a tired, wait for my Solidoodle Press for a long long time. So I tought I might have more use for a Prusa i3 or a Kossel.

To put it, is the i3 from the link i provided not recommended?

Seems like a nice deal, cheap and alot of options. And upgradeable with a LCD and such later on. Or does it have the same mainboard as the Aurora?

PS Sorry if I'm asking the same questions several times, I just don't want to waste money on a kit.

EDIT:

Just found this one:

http://www.makerfarm.com/index.php/3...extrusion.html

It that a recommended kit? Seems like a good combo.

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## Geoff

> Geoff:
> 
> So the one I linked to is not a Aurora, and is more like the makerfarms prusa kit? 
> 
> Could you point me in the right direction for a kossel kit? If only the hardware and I print the plastics. Or both 
> I'm kind of in a tired, wait for my Solidoodle Press for a long long time. So I tought I might have more use for a Prusa i3 or a Kossel.
> 
> To put it, is the i3 from the link i provided not recommended?
> 
> ...


From what I've seen the makerfarm machine is pretty good, and Josh who runs it is a really nice guy, down the line, you won't have any service complaints or problems. Sure, it might take a little while to ship, but they can't help being popular I guess.
At least your build will be well instructed and plenty of resources to help. The Auroraz605 .. you only find poor suckers like me that hate the thing when you go forum searching.

The I3 in the link you provided is also a good one, but I'd probably go the makerfarm and simply because more people own it and have made upgrades for it (oh so many) and the hot end seems to be better in it.

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## Stigern

Thanks, I went for the 10" version of the makerfarm Prusa i3  :Smile: 

What really sold it for me was the detailed build videos. I also ordered a full graphical lcd kit from eBay, and a Meanwell 30A 12v power supply.

Now I only need to find a 10x10 glass piece for the bed. If I'm printing with PLA is it possible to just add bluetape to the bed without a glass ?

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## MiniMadRyan

> Thanks, I went for the 10" version of the makerfarm Prusa i3 
> 
> What really sold it for me was the detailed build videos. I also ordered a full graphical lcd kit from eBay, and a Meanwell 30A 12v power supply.
> 
> Now I only need to find a 10x10 glass piece for the bed. If I'm printing with PLA is it possible to just add bluetape to the bed without a glass ?


Congrats, you will love that printer, I know I do! Regarding the bed for PLA, I would personally still source glass. most Home Depot's or Lowes or any home improvement store should be able to cut you a piece for $5-10. The problems I had with mine was that the heat bed itself had a warp in it, something Colin says is to be expected on larger heat beds. My wooden bed frame too, has a slight warp to it, so printing directly onto the carriage wouldn't be advisable either. Really, the glass makes sure everything is true and flat. 

One other thing I've noticed, I know a lot of people print PLA without a heated bed, and I did too on my printrbot, but I find keeping the bed around 50-60 degrees while printing PLA just makes my prints stick that much better. I found that printing PLA on a cold bed without any heat would occasionally result in curling and separation from the bed

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## Stigern

Well a broscillate(how is it written again?) is very expensive to get here where I live. Do you use regular glass?

That I can get at a fair price :-)

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## jaguarking11

I am using regular glass on my build. I run it as high as 100c, although mostly in the 80c to 90c range. One thing I did with my build is use an aluminum heat spreader, It is necessary for me because the bed is much smaller than my glass (I used a round mirror), you may be able to get away without the heat spreader. I also use thermal paste between the bed and glass to ensure even heating.

I find that proper thermal transfer prolongs the glass life-cycle as it provides even heating, therefore less shock to the glass, and less likely to crack. You can buy a piece of glass and a glass cutter for less than 10$ combined and cut 2 or 3 pieces out of the same glass piece. Just be careful with the edges.

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## KDog

I've run regular glass for years now and have never had it shatter or break.  Specifically, I use mirror tiles cut to fit using a regular glass cutter and a straight edge.  They are 3mm thick and I like the look.  My bed goes up to 120C for ABS.  Never a problem and I don't baby them at all.  I can't attest to the advantage of borosilicate as I've never used it.

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## Geoff

> Well a broscillate(how is it written again?) is very expensive to get here where I live. Do you use regular glass?
> 
> That I can get at a fair price :-)


I have used a few different materials now..

for PLA, I have used (non heated)
Pyrex(Borosciliate or however you spell it...) Normal Glass, Blue Tape, A Mirror, MDF board, Slate (yes slate from an old billiard table) and they all worked very well, except on super big parts where they would lift a bit. You just want a flat surface really.

 If it's going to be heated, well so far nothing has cracked for me that I heated up, even the mirror - but that being said I _have_ seen it happen before, I have even seen people crack pyrex by not regulating their hotbed temp and just letting it go wild (plugging it in and hope for the best type people) 
But it is not expensive stuff, I bought 3 x 20x20cm pyrex plates for $30

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## Stigern

Bought me a set of glass cutters  :Wink: 

Will try to cut me a piece of glass or mirror when my Prusa arrives.

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## PixelPusher

I just received my Prusa i3 from Replikeo. $100 shipping and it arrived in 8 days. Aluminum frame is really nice... so my total was $415. Packaged well, plastic molded parts are very nice. The rods, unfortunately, were horribly machined. no bevels, just raw saw cut ends which produced sharp "lips" i did not notice until it ripped out a few ball bearings as I was assembling it.
Just ordered a new set of rods from a U.S. company, much nicer.
Also, don't expect to hear back from Replikeo after they got their money. Fortunately, it was an inexpensive kit, there's lots of assistance online, and all pieces are there and look good (except for the rods of course).

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## njic

I'm searching 3D printer kit around 500€ for a while. I found prusa i3 kit from createc3D as best option:

http://createc3d.com/shop/en/3d-prin...1_75_mm_direct

Recently I found two cheap, dual extruder, acrylic frame kits:

http://www.reprapmall.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=24&product_id=99
and
https://www.3dprintersonlinestore.co...r-prusa-i3-kit

I can't decide should I go for dual extruder for my 1st build. If I do, is it good solution to buy one of these cheap acrylic kits and replace frame with steel or Alu?
Reading this forum, I'm not sure any more should i go for prusa i3 at all...  :Big Grin: 

Does anyone know any information about those 3 web shops? Is any of these recommended?
Every suggestion is welcome.

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## 3DPBuser

I'd recommend steel:
http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...eatec-in-Spain

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## Roxy

You can get a very nice dual extruder Delta on eBay.   For example, check out this link:   http://www.ebay.com/itm/Geeetech-Kos...item419bd38573

If you bid $380.00 and don't win the auction, they will send you a 2nd Chance Offer and you can do a 'Buy it Now' for $380.

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## Stigern

I'm revisiting the idea of a DELTA printer, and I'm currently looking at this one:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/MICRO...386471666.html

Seller says for 30$ extra I can get a heated bed.

Also this kit has linear guide rails instead of pulleys, I guess those white wheels in pictures are pulleys? Seems like seller forgot to update the picture. Does this kit look okay? Anyone got some pointers?

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## JohnA136

We have 3 Prusa i3s with his aluminum frames and they are awesome.  You can also now buy a full kit right from Josef Prusa, and it is quite reasonable.  We have 3 dual nozzle printers and never use the dual extruder feature. Back in the day ('09-'10) we had plywood and acrylic printers and they did not last long.  I would advise everyone to stay away from Acrylic at all costs.

Our Kossel Minis are awesome, we gain some print height over the Prusa at a small loss in build area (X-Z Axis).  Both prints well with the same quality of prints.  I do love watching the Delta print though!

We have linear rails on both of our Kossils (I have the cheapo Chinese ones and my son has high quality ones).  I would not build one without them!

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## Stigern

I'm going for the Micro-make kit, but I'm concerned about the lack of documentation. Seems like the only build guide are Chinese speaking videos. But these printers are similar to other deltas?

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## curious aardvark

well - I'd personally buy a kit from someone in my own country. 
And for $500 you should be stuck for choice. 

Not saying there's anything wrong with kits from china. It's just a bugger to sort things out if parts are missing or damaged, and language can also be an issue.

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## Stigern

> well - I'd personally buy a kit from someone in my own country. 
> And for $500 you should be stuck for choice. 
> 
> Not saying there's anything wrong with kits from china. It's just a bugger to sort things out if parts are missing or damaged, and language can also be an issue.


Yes, true. But shipping from USA is costly for me as I live in Norway. And chinese sellers are good at lowering value on shipments hehe.

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## PixelPusher

Since my last post above, I've had to replace a few electronic pieces as well as new rods and bearings. I'm not sure where you're buying from, but I strongly suggest going through a reputable outfit. I chose the "cheap" route buying from China and I'm paying for that mistake. I've invested about 8 hours building it, and 20 hours troubleshooting/calibrating, and I still have not had one successful print! I should have just bought a Taz5.

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## Stigern

> Since my last post above, I've had to replace a few electronic pieces as well as new rods and bearings. I'm not sure where you're buying from, but I strongly suggest going through a reputable outfit. I chose the "cheap" route buying from China and I'm paying for that mistake. I've invested about 8 hours building it, and 20 hours troubleshooting/calibrating, and I still have not had one successful print! I should have just bought a Taz5.


Yes, it is risky. But I'm willing to take my chances on this one. (famous last words)

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## PixelPusher

Understood. Let me add that this is really about time too. I've got kids and a full time job so I can't devote as much time as most. All these parts and pieces are available online to order for replacements. My two biggest problems (besides faulty hardware), was learning the firmware code and what does what (I'm an artist, the furthest thing from an engineer!), and my extruder is a very poorly 3d printed piece which is causing headaches. I might switch to something good like a Bowden? Need to research that more.
I'm sure you will do better than I (again, I'm less of a "techie" type).
Good luck!   :Wink:

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## 3DPBuser

> I would advise everyone to stay away from Acrylic at all costs


Fortunately I figured this out before buying one; the black acrylic China ones looked great though. My choice of the Createc steel i3 seems good... I even let part of the frame hang off the table to give me more table room, and the frame does not move.

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