Option on a 3D Printer on a $500 budget

[Shankman]

I second the nomination for the Two Trees Sapphire Pro. Here is what I did to modify it to get some really nice ABS printswith all of these additions I'm about $ 450.00 in.Changed out the hot end to a E3D V6 all metal changed out the firmware to MarlinAdded BL Touch sensorAdded glass plate to compensated for the concave aluminum plateAdded corrugated plastic sheeting to all sidesI drilled a hole in the top left hand corner to route the cables through.this helps to get a good seal on the back coverWhat needs to be done but there is no hurrychange out the noisy power supply fan

[rongee]

Hi,So, after some adventures, I've almost got the Sapphire Plus assembled. But, I've still got a couple of questions.The printer came with 2 z-axis limit switches, as well as a component labeled "3D Touch". The interesting thing about the 3D Touch is that it's not on the list of components in the inventory for the assembly instructions and the cable that is supposed to attach it to the motherboard is, well, really really wrong, ie, too short, wrong connectors. It's also not included in the instructions. And, it doesn't actually fit where it's supposed to be mounted on the extruder, which required some finagling as well. I managed to fabricate a cable that will work, but Two Trees tech support is telling me that it uses the same slot as the plugs for the z-axis limit switches, so it appears that you have to pick one or the other. Do you guys know if the 3D Touch is supposed to be superior, or just different? I'll try to add a couple of picture so you can see what I'm talking about.There's a part in the inventory called "material detection" which is supposed to determine when you've hit the end of the filament spool, but there's no instructions for using it, and no bracket for attaching it to the printer. From what I've seen online, people have used their 3d printer to manufacture a bracket that they used. From looking at youtube videos, I've kinda figured out where it goes, but right now I've just got it attached with a zip tie. The instructions for the 2 timing belts are kind of sketchy, but I've been able to find enough info on youtube to I think get them installed. Next, while the printer did come with some semi-useful assembly instructions, there are no operating instructions at all. I can see the power switch and a place to plug in a flash drive. it came with the flash drive that is supposed to have some examples to print. I can see how the filmanet needs to feed, but not sure if there are any tricks to loading it. Are the operating instructions based on the firmware and are those documented anywhere? I'm happy to do the homework, just need a place to start. I did find a video that describes how to use the print head and a piece of paper to get the printing platform set up, so that's something. (That's a process similar to what I do with my milling machine to get it set up). Whew! Anyway, the plan at this point is to the put the 3DTouch aside for right now, attach the timing belts, and see if it'll fire up (well, not literally). Any guidance would be really appreciated. Thanks for your time and reading my sad story. :-)Ron