Could use some advice

[Mathew Saunders]

Opinions are going to vary... But right now a lot of people think the Prusa i3 printer is a good choice for somebody starting out in 3D printing. It might be worth while to look at pictures of the Prusa i2 and compare them to the i3. (I actually think the i2 looks better, but it has some issues with its print envelope) I have an i3 derivative. My frame is made out of MDF. Those nice printers at the high end of the price list probably use milled aluminum frames.

Alright thanks for clearing that part for me.

No matter what printer you get, if you really enjoy it, you are going to out grow it. Especially with all in one printers that have CNC milling options and laser engraving options built in. Probably you won't be able to anticipate everything you could possibly need (want). So, starting with something that does a lot at a reasonable price tag might be the right answer. And certainly, for $500 you can get a very nice Prusa i3 kit right now!

That's a good point, and the thing I find most fitting to me is that.... A: I like to build stuff, I don't feel taxed to do it.
B: With all that I do with quadcopters and computers, I've found that on the DIY things you can upgrade as needed to most fine tune it to you. Take a computer for example. If I need better graphics I upgrade the graphics card and sell the old one. If I need to stress the computer more, I upgrade the CPU and or the RAM. I feel it to be the same for the printers.

Mostly, you need to decide things like "Do I really need or want an LCD panel on my printer?" Or, "Do I care about the electronics that drive the printer?" Depending on your answers, you can shift what you buy to better meet your needs and probably lower the cost.

Really good point there. LCD panel, I feel like it's just a luxury. Sure if I can afford it and don't mind, then... Yeah it'll be nice to have. I'd rather put better electronics in to get a cleaner print. From the quadcopter aspect I personally purchase chinese parts. Yes all parts are chinese, but it's where the sticker for the brand gets put on. For the motors I spend about $25 each and get better quality than a $100 american motor. Sure there's the $150 motors that are absolutely perfect and are just so much better, but other than that anything in the $15-50 range tends to be very very similar, down to hairline differences. Now this could have been a horrible representation of the printer but hey... Maybe not!

[Mathew Saunders]

Some Prusa i3 use a laser cut, wood frame and others use a metal frame. For a host of reasons, I feel the metal frame is worth the extra cost. I have built several Prusa i3 and they print very well and gave a generous build area. Last month I built a Kosell Delta printer " just because" and it was a fun, fast build and prints nice, but not as good as the Prusa. My son send I presently have six printers in our printer farm, half are built from scratch and half are production machines, so we have some that cost around $500.00 to over $4,000.00. Done with a single extruder and some with multiple extruders. Each gas advantages and drawbacks.

if you are still thinking of building a Prusa, visit our website and check out our BOM and our build instructions. We have had dozens of our kits built and none have taken more than a weekend.

Www.botbuilder.net

Checked out some of the pictures you have on there. Those are some seriously nice prints!! Could you maybe clear up what the Prusa I3 is... Is it a design of frame or is the electronics or is it the software or maybe the size? Aside from that I was wondering if you had a good thread or video that would maybe help explain the mechanics behind the printer. Maybe that way I'll have a better understanding of what each mechanical part does. Hopefully I will be able to ask better questions such as "should I get this x or this x?"

[Roxy]

Go to Yahoo's main page and search for 'Prusa I3' After it gives a list of links, don't click on those... Go to the far left column and down just a few links will be 'Images'. Click on that. Do this same thing for 'Prusa I2' You will see the differences. You will also see the similarities. All of the plastic parts in both designs are open source and printed by the printer.

[Mathew Saunders]

Go to Yahoo's main page and search for 'Prusa I3' After it gives a list of links, don't click on those... Go to the far left column and down just a few links will be 'Images'. Click on that. Do this same thing for 'Prusa I2' You will see the differences. You will also see the similarities. All of the plastic parts in both designs are open source and printed by the printer.

I do see that, I like that you can upgrade the printer by printing newer parts.

[Mathew Saunders]

Hey so here a few printers I've found of the past few weeks:

http://www.amazon.com/RioRand-RepRap...eywords=reprap

http://www.amazon.com/MB3D101-Printe...eywords=reprap

http://www.amazon.com/Aurora-Printer...eywords=reprap

http://www.robo3dprinter.com/product...ully-assembled

[JohnA136]

Sorry, I missed this question. Yes, it is the frame design mainly. Joe Prusa designed and supplies the metal frames we use for our kits. The rigidity and simplicity of the frames is what gives us our easy build and print quality. Sometimes the wooden frames have some flex and give that affects print quality.

[Mathew Saunders]

Sorry, I missed this question. Yes, it is the frame design mainly. Joe Prusa designed and supplies the metal frames we use for our kits. The rigidity and simplicity of the frames is what gives us our easy build and print quality. Sometimes the wooden frames have some flex and give that affects print quality.

Well I'm confused, so what makes one printer better than another? I want good print quality, and I want it to last... not always fixing. Also something that won't make me yank my hair out, but I don't want to spend a ton of money as it's more or less something to teach me about 3D design and replication. But If I have a cool idea I want to amaze myself and it to look as close as I can get it to as the design I had come up with...


Would any of the ones linked out print that Prusa?

[JohnA136]

You are asking for answers but all you will get are opinions. I have found over the last 5 years that any printer that I have built that uses threaded rods for the framework did not hold resolution well. There is just too much give in the joints, be that from the plastic bits or the multiple joints. (Our first Kossel build also had to much "flex", turns out we printed with 35% fill but needed to reprint all the parts at 80% and now they are both rock solid. Also, if you do not get a printer with a heated build plate, you will be limiting your choices of filaments you can print with.

[Mathew Saunders]

You are asking for answers but all you will get are opinions. I have found over the last 5 years that any printer that I have built that uses threaded rods for the framework did not hold resolution well. There is just too much give in the joints, be that from the plastic bits or the multiple joints. (Our first Kossel build also had to much "flex", turns out we printed with 35% fill but needed to reprint all the parts at 80% and now they are both rock solid. Also, if you do not get a printer with a heated build plate, you will be limiting your choices of filaments you can print with.

That's a valid point, all there are is opinions because it's how you tune the printer.


I can't seem to find a heated bed prusa... and if you would recommend a prusa, which one would you?

[Roxy]

Any printer that has one of these will have a heated bed: http://www.ebay.com/itm/RepRap-3D-Pr...item19eebecdbd

And that is what most Prusa kits use so if you can see a picture of the printer and it looks like that... You'll have a heated bed. But really, the specifications for the printer should say if it has a heated bed.