Own design vs existing design

Hey Guys and Gals!

I need some opinions please.
Initially I intended to build a 3d printer from scratch and I kind of failed. I went wild and bought parts left right and center and ran into some fundamental issues. I realized that buying accessories and brackets that mount onto 20x20 Alu extrusion alone will not work. Small problems like 8UU bearing housing slided onto an 8mm chrome rod mounted with a steel rod mount is lower than the rod mount it self which means the bed wont clear and a few other stupid problems like that.

So I went and got my self an Anet6 , I have only had it for about little less than 2 months. Now that I have an Anet A6 I can complete the initial printer.

I started off designing and printing the parts that I needed, couple of prototypes later and things a looking great! But now I developed some doubts. I spent allot of time designing the parts and fee I dont want to continue if its a waste. I keep thinking I should have rather built a Prusa I3 Mk2 clone.

In the end I want to be able to share all the parts that I have designed with people so that they can easily make their own printer. But That kind of re-invents the prusa wheel. I know plenty people who would like to get into 3d printing but just dont have the cash.
My design is cheap and you dont need specialized tools or services such as laser cut frames.

Below I have some pictures. What do you think ? I have some doubts on the design not sure if its going to make a good printer and I'm considering canning it for the prusa i3. Laser cutting the frame will be an issue for me as I dont find any companies that's willing to do small jobs.


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Cheers

given that you can now buy a full i3 clone kit for £99
I'm not sure how big the market is for full diy plans.

By the time people have sourced all the motors, belts, pulleys, wheels - 20 different kinds of nuts and bolts & washers, structural parts and then printed plastic parts. Not to mention printbed and heat pads.
And I am currently building a big delta totally from scratch - so I know whereof I speak.
It's much easier to just buy a complete kit.
Particularly for an i3 clone.

Hey! Thanks for the response. Seeing I'm from South Africa I'm curious to know why your forum name is Aardvark ? :-) Part of my plan was to source the parts and distribute it locally so that people don't have to source it from 100s of different suppliers. And yes make a buck or 2 to sustain my hobby.

FYI , Currently you CANNOT buy a 3d printer locally for 99 quids I wish!. , more like £350 if I take an under estimated guess from local retailers. If you import by your self a little less but you will most probably wait 3 months or more for it.
The cheapest PrusaI3 I can find http://www.3dprintingstore.co.za/3d-...d-printer-kit/ for £380 NO LCD, Standard Threaded rod for the Zaxis once you add all those it goes over £400. Its a complete rip off!
The only thing making it better than my cheap Anet A6 it has a steel frame. other than that mine comes with LCD , proper leadscrews ect ect.

But Your response kind of make it clear for me. I think making up my own parts is nice and everything but , the Prusa has been tried and tested a million times.

Hmm, don't the chinese sellers on ebay/banggood etc ship to south africa ?

If you want to make your own machine deltas are much simpler to build.
The firmware and levelling can be tricky. But they are pretty straightforward to build.
Unless you snap your threading bit in one of your struts - but that's another story :-)

Aardvarks - My favourite animal - ever !
Also the only animal that has it's own order: Tubulidentata. Everything else has at least one other member of it's order - not Aardvarks.
Add that to curiosity being my main driving force in life, and there you have it.