Intro: Overwhelmed non-tech redneck seeking multiple answers/starting points etc.

[Roxy]

Here is something i'm looking at:

http://mixshop.com/index.php?main_pa...products_id=94

That is a Prusa i2 printer. It is good. But probably, you would be better off considering a Prusa i3 design. I personally think the i2 design looks cooler than the i3 design. However, it has a problem with its build envelope. As the part you are printing gets higher and higher, a lot of people have problems with the extruder hitting the support rods that go up to the top. By picking the right extruder and such, you can work around a lot of those issues. If it was the only printer you could get, it would be fine. However, almost for sure an i3 design is going to be better for you.

Take a look at these two links. You will see the difference between the i2 and i3:

Prusa i2's (There is an i3 on this page... just ignore it)
https://www.google.com/search?q=Prus...w=1326&bih=857

Prusa i3's
https://www.google.com/search?q=Prus...nters&tbm=isch

There is no need for you to go with a kit. The most important thing is rigidity. Make the box yourself and buy the bearings, shafts, steppers, gears and belts. Do not go with screwed axis, use toothed belts. Z can be screwed if you prefer but X and Y need to be toothed belts.

If you have reasonable metal working abilities then you can make a frame that will be better than the reprap type open frame devices.

As far as the electronics go just buy that as a complete kit. However you make the XYZ part of your machine doesn't change anything as far as electronics goes.

If you are thinking big or small or tall or fast or very accurate or anything way out of the standard footprint/design then it's best to ask specifically what people would recommend in terms of stepper size, gearing ratios and so on.

It is true you can build your first printer without using a kit to do it. However there are two things to consider. First, the cost of a kit is almost negligible compared to sourcing your parts individually now. It is possible you will get a better deal because it is a kit and you get to piggy back on the dealer's volume. In other words, cost is not the reason to not go with a kit.

The other point is you will have plenty of issues to work through even with a well designed kit. The goal is to fully understand your printer so when you start using it you can figure out issues. The goal is not to climb Mount Everest with an extra 100 lbs of rocks in your back pack. If you can get a well designed kit where everything works together that is worth considering. And because the Prusa designs are open source, anything you want to change can be changed. You just start with the source code for the part of the printer you want to change and modify it to support what you want it to do.

[Mjolinor]

That is a Prusa i2 printer. It is good. But probably, you would be better off considering a Prusa i3 design. I personally think the i2 design looks cooler than the i3 design. However, it has a problem with its build envelope. As the part you are printing gets higher and higher, a lot of people have problems with the extruder hitting the support rods that go up to the top. By picking the right extruder and such, you can work around a lot of those issues. If it was the only printer you could get, it would be fine. However, almost for sure an i3 design is going to be better for you.

Take a look at these two links. You will see the difference between the i2 and i3:

Prusa i2's (There is an i3 on this page... just ignore it)
https://www.google.com/search?q=Prus...w=1326&bih=857

Prusa i3's
https://www.google.com/search?q=Prus...nters&tbm=isch



It is true you can build your first printer without using a kit to do it. However there are two things to consider. First, the cost of a kit is almost negligible compared to sourcing your parts individually now. It is possible you will get a better deal because it is a kit and you get to piggy back on the dealer's volume. In other words, cost is not the reason to not go with a kit.

The other point is you will have plenty of issues to work through even with a well designed kit. The goal is to fully understand your printer so when you start using it you can figure out issues. The goal is not to climb Mount Everest with an extra 100 lbs of rocks in your back pack. If you can get a well designed kit where everything works together that is worth considering. And because the Prusa designs are open source, anything you want to change can be changed. You just start with the source code for the part of the printer you want to change and modify it to support what you want it to do.

The other point in favour of a kit is that you will be able to call on help from the place you buy it.

[Davo]

Look for a local makerspace that has 3d printers, that's the best place to get some hands-on with various makes before you think about purchasing one yourself.

http://www.davidleeking.com/2014/01/.../#.U7rCifldV8E

[awerby]

I'm going to go ahead and press forward. My thing though is I don't have much interests in trinkets.........figurines and such. While of course I would do some just to learn the printing aspect I am more interested in mechanical parts.

[Are you sure 3D printing is better than CNC milling for the sorts of parts you have in mind? At least on the low end of the printer market, the part strength will be low and the surfaces rather rough. For mechanical parts, that can be a deal-killer. While high-end 3D printers can make parts with all sorts of odd configurations, the cheaper extrusion printers are a lot more limited in their capabilities. For either 3D printing or CNC milling the CAD design process is the same; only the production methods are different.]

While not available to someone like me my real interests would obviously be metal 3d printing. One thing that I am thinking for now is to make detailed molds that I can cast since I do aluminum parts castings. I think I can make some really cool stuff this way. Time is on my side and i'm not well off so to say but I do have more than enough resources to get into all of this.

[Metal 3D printers, while they exist, are still very expensive. I've heard of people burning out PLA, using it instead of wax in the lost-wax casting process, but I don't think it makes a good mold to pour things into, since the surfaces tend not to be smooth. Another way to go would be to print patterns for sand-casting. But this would make parts that would probably still require some machining before they would function mechanically.]

So start listing kits that you like lol. And thanks for the brutal honesty I much prefer that.

Here's a link to a little mill that might get you closer to what you want than any 3D printer you could afford at this point: http://computersculpture.com/product...ToolsMicroMill

[inventadude]

That is a Prusa i2 printer. It is good. But probably, you would be better off considering a Prusa i3 design. I personally think the i2 design looks cooler than the i3 design. However, it has a problem with its build envelope. As the part you are printing gets higher and higher, a lot of people have problems with the extruder hitting the support rods that go up to the top. By picking the right extruder and such, you can work around a lot of those issues. If it was the only printer you could get, it would be fine. However, almost for sure an i3 design is going to be better for you.

Thank you!! This is the type of info I am looking for and why I joined this site. I really appreciate it!

Take a look at these two links. You will see the difference between the i2 and i3:

Prusa i2's (There is an i3 on this page... just ignore it)
https://www.google.com/search?q=Prus...w=1326&bih=857

Prusa i3's
https://www.google.com/search?q=Prus...nters&tbm=isch



It is true you can build your first printer without using a kit to do it. However there are two things to consider. First, the cost of a kit is almost negligible compared to sourcing your parts individually now. It is possible you will get a better deal because it is a kit and you get to piggy back on the dealer's volume. In other words, cost is not the reason to not go with a kit.

The other point is you will have plenty of issues to work through even with a well designed kit. The goal is to fully understand your printer so when you start using it you can figure out issues. The goal is not to climb Mount Everest with an extra 100 lbs of rocks in your back pack. If you can get a well designed kit where everything works together that is worth considering. And because the Prusa designs are open source, anything you want to change can be changed. You just start with the source code for the part of the printer you want to change and modify it to support what you want it to do.

Thank you! This is the type of info I was looking for and why I joined this site. I appreciate it!

[inventadude]

Look for a local makerspace that has 3d printers, that's the best place to get some hands-on with various makes before you think about purchasing one yourself.

http://www.davidleeking.com/2014/01/.../#.U7rCifldV8E

Thanks. Until recently I didn't know what a makerspace was. I just found the Hammerspace site today as a matter of fact. I actually have a personal maker space here in my barn. I just don't know anything about 3d printing.

The maker movement is really nothing new or shell shocking for me. I've been building and selling various items out of my shop for over 20 years so when I heard about it I was like what the hell? There's always been people making stuff I guess just more of them now. It's kinda like the 'pickers' tv show. I was buying and reselling on Ebay since the beenie baby days then that show came on and I never even heard of the term Picker. LOL.

I can understand why the movement has formed and grown it's just that it's been a way of life for me for a very long time. I just need to get with the program as far as tech goes.

[inventadude]

Here's a link to a little mill that might get you closer to what you want than any 3D printer you could afford at this point: http://computersculpture.com/product...ToolsMicroMill

I already have a lathe and a milling machine. No cnc equipment though. For what I said I wanted to do I understand your suggestion but I want to actually get into 3d printing regardless.

Before I had a mill I actually made a jig to cut keyways on my lathe.

This idea that a 3d printer is the only machine that can replicate itself is inaccurate. A metal lathe can do the same thing if you have the skills and then you can use it to build any other machine in the shop and use those as well to create others. I've seen it done.

[inventadude]

BTW my makerspace in my barn isn't really called a makerspace. I just call it the barn lol.

[Mjolinor]

BTW my makerspace in my barn isn't really called a makerspace. I just call it the barn lol.

The proper name is "mancave".