New build with children My children have decided on our next project, and they want us to build a 3D printer. We have done extensive work with the Raspberry Pi, including plenty of electronics, soldering, and circuit board work. We have a decent electronics and woodworking workshop, and love to take things on. I've done extensive reading on this site and think the best way for us to proceed is by purchasing a kit. I'm thinking the Prusa i3, but I am open to suggestions. We have no real significant "requirements" for what we want to print. I suspect it will be used for prototyping all sorts of things, christmas presents, etc. Any suggestions on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated. My most important criteria, with the kids involved, is that we end up with a successful project. We are, however, not afraid to have failures (or the occasional burnt fingers from the soldering iron). Failing is how we learn..;) Thank you in advance, Matt https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,317799#msg-317799 Sat, 11 Jul 2026 11:18:46 -0400 Phorum 5.2.23 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,865293#msg-865293 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,865293#msg-865293 VDX General Sun, 05 Jan 2020 14:31:12 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,865286#msg-865286 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,865286#msg-865286 mappler General Sun, 05 Jan 2020 13:29:33 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,865282#msg-865282 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,865282#msg-865282 VDX General Sun, 05 Jan 2020 12:53:16 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,865268#msg-865268 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,865268#msg-865268 minecraft server hosting, special for him and me. He is so happy when he plays together with his father ^_^]]> blackd1 General Sun, 05 Jan 2020 10:35:42 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,442878#msg-442878 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,442878#msg-442878 dave3d General Fri, 12 Dec 2014 16:35:06 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,442846#msg-442846 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,442846#msg-442846
[www.printcraft.org]

-Matt]]> mappler General Fri, 12 Dec 2014 14:15:34 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,442840#msg-442840 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,442840#msg-442840 However, after an initial surge of interest, he has switched off a bit. He is very much hands on though. He has used my wood lathe and I have taught him to solder, but with 3d printing, there is nothing much for him to do. Maybe a bit too young. Older kids, that can do coding as mentioned, can then actually design and build their own things.]]> dave3d General Fri, 12 Dec 2014 14:00:45 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,442805#msg-442805 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,442805#msg-442805 I've been thinking about one of those Roomba Create robots that you can hook to a Raspberry Pi or Arduino (or both I'm sure) to experiment with.]]> mappler General Fri, 12 Dec 2014 12:12:04 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,442231#msg-442231 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,442231#msg-442231
Once all the parts for my delta printer are in hand I am sure I will get both kids to help build it. The eldest wants me to print the Eifel Tower and the youngest a castle for her Friends Lego.]]> d3delta3d General Wed, 10 Dec 2014 19:14:28 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,326753#msg-326753 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,326753#msg-326753 Beekeeper General Tue, 18 Mar 2014 14:02:51 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,326736#msg-326736 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,326736#msg-326736 mappler General Tue, 18 Mar 2014 13:25:22 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,326704#msg-326704 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,326704#msg-326704
Quote
mappler
This weekend we had the opportunity to attend a local Maker Fair. Many 3D printers were on display, many of which were MendalMax 2's or derivatives of that design. I can see why we may ultimately want an MM2. However, I think for the first version the kids build I was even more convinced the Prusa i3 is a good place to start. They are interested not just in the novelty of things, but they truly want to use it as a tool in other things they are experimenting with. The cost difference between the Prusa and the MM2 is significant (probably $500-$700 additional), and I would rather they build the cheaper one first and see how much use it gets. I think we are very close to pulling the trigger on a kit or parts to get started.

-Matt

At the MidWest RepRap fest there were a couple of Mendel Max 2.0 printers and a few i3 printers also... the guys with the Prusa i3s were getting excellent prints, as good or better than the MM2... so it's going to be a matter of how well you fabricate or how well you assemble a kit that is going to make a difference. Probably can't go much wrong with either... Don't rule out a Delta style bot... the SeeMe CNC Orion printer kits were darned nice for the $$$... and are just facinating to watch and get great results with.]]> Anonymous User General Tue, 18 Mar 2014 12:18:54 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,326697#msg-326697 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,326697#msg-326697
-Matt]]> mappler General Tue, 18 Mar 2014 12:06:55 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,319313#msg-319313 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,319313#msg-319313 Bill Clark General Mon, 03 Mar 2014 18:50:56 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,319229#msg-319229 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,319229#msg-319229
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Bill Clark
That's great your kids are paying attention to all that Mappler. It certainly will be part of their future. My son is 10 and I cant get him interested in whatever I am doing yet. he is deep into minecraft and learning to code so I'm letting him run with that cuz dad needs help in the code department. I was helping him with his homework tonight and was surprised they are teaching him what a basic electrical circuit is. 5th grade? they didn't teach me that in 5th grade.


If you want to try a round-about way to get your son more interested in 3D printing, you can try printing one of his minecraft creations with printcraft.

[www.printcraft.org]]]> PeteD General Mon, 03 Mar 2014 16:20:32 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,319079#msg-319079 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,319079#msg-319079 -Matt]]> mappler General Mon, 03 Mar 2014 11:55:36 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,319074#msg-319074 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,319074#msg-319074 umdpru General Mon, 03 Mar 2014 11:51:23 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,318978#msg-318978 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,318978#msg-318978
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Bill Clark
That's great your kids are paying attention to all that Mappler. It certainly will be part of their future. My son is 10 and I cant get him interested in whatever I am doing yet. he is deep into minecraft and learning to code so I'm letting him run with that cuz dad needs help in the code department. I was helping him with his homework tonight and was surprised they are teaching him what a basic electrical circuit is. 5th grade? they didn't teach me that in 5th grade.

No, they didn't teach electronics in my 5th grade either. I have definitely had to modify my projects to focus on ones that catch their interest. However, finding something that they are interested in is sometimes hard. I send them e-mail all the time with cool projects hoping to inspire something. I find that, for the 10-year old boy, if it is a project that he can make for someone else, particularly a gift for Mom, he is very interested. The 12-year old girl is more interested in any project that allows her to blend technology with creativity. This has been tough for me to learn, because I don't feel I am particularly creative. I think this is her interest in a 3D printer. She has ordered a few items printed commercially, and she likes the creative process.

They both like using the soldering iron, multimeter, and other electronics tools.
They REALLY enjoy using any woodworking power tools they are allowed to use. Jig saw, bandsaw, and drill press are great tools for kids from a safety perspective.

-Matt]]> mappler General Mon, 03 Mar 2014 07:53:37 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,318842#msg-318842 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,318842#msg-318842 Bill Clark General Mon, 03 Mar 2014 00:16:26 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,318819#msg-318819 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,318819#msg-318819 garyhlucas General Sun, 02 Mar 2014 20:48:31 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,318561#msg-318561 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,318561#msg-318561 mappler General Sun, 02 Mar 2014 12:14:23 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,318295#msg-318295 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,318295#msg-318295 mappler General Sat, 01 Mar 2014 22:50:42 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,318286#msg-318286 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,318286#msg-318286 I have the i3 and it's kinda more pro than fun, did you checked the SmartRap? easier to build, less parts, assembled from plastic, easier to operate and use (from my opinion).

good luck]]> yasrkasem General Sat, 01 Mar 2014 21:50:20 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,317810#msg-317810 Re: New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,317810#msg-317810 How old are your kids?]]> garyhlucas General Fri, 28 Feb 2014 20:14:35 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,317799#msg-317799 New build with children https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,317799,317799#msg-317799
Any suggestions on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated. My most important criteria, with the kids involved, is that we end up with a successful project. We are, however, not afraid to have failures (or the occasional burnt fingers from the soldering iron). Failing is how we learn..;)

Thank you in advance,
Matt]]> mappler General Fri, 28 Feb 2014 19:22:15 -0500