New User With Some Questions

Hi,
I've just made the decision to get/build a 3d printer, and would like some help figuring out what the hell I'm doing. I've searched the web for a bit, and have decided on getting either of these 2 Prusa Mendel kits:

1. [romscraj.com]
2. [www.makergear.com]

Before I take the plunge, I've got a few questions:

1. Why is #1 $220 cheaper than #2? Is there some sort of difference in quality or performance?
2. I don't have any contacts who know anything about Repraps, so if I build it, I would go it alone. Is this a feasible option?
3. The primary purpose for this machine will be creating architectural models and rapidly prototyping product designs. Will a Prusa Mendel be appropriate for these applications?
4. How difficult is "calibration" for someone with no experience? How will I know when my machine is "calibrated"?
5. How difficult is the software to use? I have extensive experience with a variety of CAD packages, if that's relevant.

Finally, are there any other options in the sub-$800 price range I should be considering? I've heard good things about Printrbot, but have also read that its somewhat difficult to build. Similarly, I am interested in the Solidoodle, but there seems to be a lack of information about it on the web, and the delivery schedule seems pretty crazy.

Thanks for the help.

Cheers,
Alex

Also, is THIS possible with a Prusa Mendel?

Hi..

Not sure about the first but makergear make a very nice printer, his hotend is one of the best out there and his printed prats look great.
The price could be the quailty of of printed parts, high layer high, less infill making the parts not as strong, cheap motors, diffrent electronics. It could be a number of things.

Just remebr you get what you pay for.

Other printers to look at are Rostock, Prusa i3.

Chow
Auzze

Quote
azaslavsky
Also, is THIS possible with a Prusa Mendel?

YES.

---

Bob Morrison
Wörth am Rhein, Germany
"Luke, use the source!"
BLOG - PHOTOS - Thingiverse

If your a serious architect I wouldn't really bother - it will take up way too much time in order for it to be profitable, easier to just get it done by the pros.

For eaxmple for drafting a domestic house youd charge $1500, on first go and upto $4000, after that your customer gets a bit narcky....

....If you start printing them options - they get more choosy and will never get the plans finalised! - thats my experience at least.

...consider spending a full day to print out a house. (of YOUR time - not the actual print time)

....and if your house design has overhangs - consider that you will have to do the cleaning of the model.

*I WAS considering giving my clients the option to see models of what I design - but had a rethink (I usually end up doing about 20 iterations of designs as it is - imagine having to have todo iterations of prints aswell, and Its not like I can charge for it, they (the customer) won't care, they are happy with drawings...printing is a bit gimmicky.

Hello guys. I am new in this forum. I can see that are people with a lot of mechanical experience. I got an idea. What about making a hight temperature nozzle from an used old benzine engine spark plug. It is cheep, sustain very hight temperatures,
mechanical stress, vibrations etc. It may hold easily 550 C for a very long time.It has a cooper or a metal inner rod which can be drilled to make a nozzle. It is somebody wiling to try and post the results?
Best regards,
Octavian

Azaslavsky,

As someone who is in a similar position to you, I'd expand my list.

When reading all the rest of this, take into account that I don't yet own or have any experience building a 3d printer. That said, having a M.S. in mechanical engineering and a Ph.D. in physics give me some knowledge and insight into, well, anything mechanical.

I'd steer away from the triangular designs. They seem to require considerable time and effort to adjust the frame to get everything in the right place (even after completed, if you move them around). Given that there's a lot of other parameters and details to adjust and fine tune to get good prints, my gut feeling is that the frame geometry is one that shouldn't be added to the list. I suspect nop head agrees with this sentiment; please see his writing on his Mendel90 design at HydraRaptor - [hydraraptor.blogspot.com]. His explanation of the design choices is succinct and dead-on accurate. (IMO that page should be required reading before posting anything in these forums.)

I'd recommend considering the Mendel90, Prusa i3, and similar sheet based printers. Of course, if the notion that a printer can print itself appeals to you, these designs move away from that ideal in exchange for working better with less effort and readily available non-printed materials.

Finally, idolcrasher has pointed out a $200 (basic small model) printer from Makibot, which you can see for yourself at [www.makibox.com] . AFAIK there is no word about the quality and/or durability of this printer, but it could be a great option in place of a time consuming RepStrap (bootstrapped RepRap printer made from whatever one can find arount the house to print parts to make a better printer), and leave one with several working motors and electronics even if it fails after printing a few sets of printed parts for a bigger printer. And at 2-4 times the price for a single set of printed parts, an almost complete printer is a very good deal. See this forum thread for more preliminary info on this printer - [forums.reprap.org] .

The state of the art is changing rapidly in this area, making it an interesting time to be involved. Of course, "May you live in interesting times" is also a Chinese curse. So be sure to keep up with what's current as you decide. You wouldn't want to buy a $500 Edsel and find that in 2 months everyone else is driving $300 Porsches.

And finally, consider the usefulness of what you want to print for your work, and the time investment on your part to make it happen. Do that cost-benefit analysis, and you should be steered to the best choice (even if that choice is to outsource a small amount of 3d printing). You might also consider having a local maker type with a printer do some of this work for you - that would probably be a lot more economical than commercial outsourcing, and give you more local expertise to draw on, as well as supporting another member of this community a little.

Good luck with it all.

Regards,
aeronaut

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/06/2013 01:53PM by aeronaut.