How good is a sub ?100 3d printer ?

[curious aardvark]

Right I'll add pics in a bit.
Currently printing an articulated dragonfly at 100mm/s. Looking really good.

So a complete list of the things I've done to this printer. All added parts have been designed from scratch by me and I will put up a thingiverse thread with all the files when I've sorted the gcode, step changes and incorporated it all into a simplify3d profile.

1) added on/off switch to power cable
2) made a better mount for the y-axis end stop.
3) replaced wingnut bed adjusters with plastic knobs and locking nuts
4) made a focussed cooling duct that attached with 2x 3mm bolts. I use focussed ducts as you can get away with a smaller, lighter fan with no loss in cooling power.
5) added top mounted filament spool holder.
6) added some caps to the top of z-axis screws. current ones are temporary till I can be bothered to make something better :-)
7) made front and rear frame brackets for bolting the printer to a rigid base. I used 5mm aluminium, 8 or 10mm plywood would work just as well.
8) added an adaptor to keep the y axis belt straight. As it came the front holder did not reach the socket in the frame and was a bit twisty.
9) modified the extruder with ptfe tubing to eliminate feed gaps and make it ready for flexible filament.
10) added big rubber feet to the aluminium baseplate.
11) glued z-axis endstop with some blue light cured resin. Once you get the z-stop where you like it, without fixing of some kind it will NOT stay put by itself, the nuts just work loose. I guess I could have dismantled it and added a couple locking nuts. Glue was easier :-)
12) Added print surface from lankeda (no idea what it actually is) and then added a layer of dimafix and magigoo (seems to work well) to that - both were free from the TCT show last year.

All items - where possible - are attached with locking nuts.

All electronics and mechanicals are original. Apart from the y axis-endstop holder - I haven't replaced any original parts - just added bits i felt were missing.

y-endstop holder.

y-endstopholder_571x600.jpg

cooling duct

cooling nozzle1_800x495.jpg

cooling nozzle2_331x600.jpg

Front brackets and belt straightener

basebrackets and beltstraightener_800x289.jpg

Filament holder

filamentholder2_519x600.jpg