Prusa i3 Where Are You?

Does anything really get out of beta nowadays? There are Prusa i3 kits on sale, and even modified Prusa i3 kits already, so it appears mature enough to sell/modify. Pricewise seems to be more expensive than a Mendel 90 kit.

The Prusa i3 does look like a hybrid of Prusa Mendel and Mendel 90 The design is so similar it seems like you could swap parts. Despite taking different routes, Prusa I3, Mendel 90 and MendelMax 2.0 seem to be converging on the same design concept. I think that is down to engineering reasons, it is the nature of evolution to create variations but also converge on a similar design within a certain niche.

Perhaps the lack of support/interest for Prusa i3 is not down to documentation, but that it doesn't seem to add much to the table design or price wise.

I built a Prusa i3, but I could not get an Aluminium frame, so a friend cut it out from acrylic. I used another hotend as prusanozzle was not available.

Z-rods connection is made with a piece of plastic tube with an internal diameter slightly lower than 5mm that, after you heat it up a bit, will fit both the rod and motor shaft.

I could have used some help determining the lengths of the rods or details about the compact extruder but other than that, I used Google and figured things out. A few days ago I saw Josef apparently has shifted githbub jo-final y-corners file to 10mm threaded rod on the long end of y-axis. I asked about it in the IRC and I've got an answer from Josef (yes, he did change that, and I guess he'll be changing the frame file accordingly).

Last February I built a Printrbot using original files, again, some guesswork was needed on my side and I ended up with a squared bed base, which later, I learned, it was not a good idea.

Mendel90 has a superb set of documentation and full kits are available from nophead, I think no guesswork is needed here.

The guys at Reprapsource have developed a kit based on (Kliment's?) wooden frame and they have a lot of pictures about the build process: [78.47.92.212] but please note the use of a larger extruder prevents them to have a 200x200 print surface.

bobc Wrote:
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> Does anything really get out of beta nowadays?
> There are Prusa i3 kits on sale, and even modified
> Prusa i3 kits already, so it appears mature enough
> to sell/modify. Pricewise seems to be more
> expensive than a Mendel 90 kit.
>
> The Prusa i3 does look like a hybrid of Prusa
> Mendel and Mendel 90 The design is so similar it
> seems like you could swap parts. Despite taking
> different routes, Prusa I3, Mendel 90 and
> MendelMax 2.0 seem to be converging on the same
> design concept. I think that is down to
> engineering reasons, it is the nature of evolution
> to create variations but also converge on a
> similar design within a certain niche.
>
> Perhaps the lack of support/interest for Prusa i3
> is not down to documentation, but that it doesn't
> seem to add much to the table design or price
> wise.

I agree but the lack of documentation is part of the problem as well. Prusa is only 22, I believe, so he hasn't learned what an entire process really is and I hope he doesn't fall into a very bad mindset with only releasing a half done project and it is half done when the documentation and instructions are not included.

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_______
I await Skynet and my last vision will be of a RepRap self replicating the robots that is destroying the human race.

I agree that Prusa does not owe any one anything... But much like admiring a painting by a master artist, it is often more desirable to enjoy a finished work.
I applaud his work and hope he finishes this symphony.
I remain hopeful that the i3 build instructions will receive some polish and form. Maybe after his new hot-end is released?

---

FabberForge - Printing Happiness

[www.fabberforge.com]

Idolcrasher Wrote:
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> I agree that Prusa does not owe any one
> anything... But much like admiring a painting by a
> master artist, it is often more desirable to enjoy
> a finished work.
> I applaud his work and hope he finishes this
> symphony.
> I remain hopeful that the i3 build instructions
> will receive some polish and form. Maybe after
> his new hot-end is released?
One can hope so because his hot end is really fantastic looking and raises the reprap up a full notch which we badly need.

---

_______
I await Skynet and my last vision will be of a RepRap self replicating the robots that is destroying the human race.

[www.thingiverse.com]

Quote

i am working on making all parts out of aluminum.

Has RepRap failed?

i dont fully trust printed parts as a long term solution, the nut traps on the gantry support the weight of the whole gantry and the pieces are pulling apart at that joint. if i dont get up and printing soon ill have to buy more printed parts for the gantry. the parts i did buy couldn't of had more than 50% infill. i might change my mind about printed parts once i start printing at 80-100% infill and examine the quality.

bobc Wrote:
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> Has RepRap failed?

No. Everything can't be made of plastic. The initial builds weren't all plastic and as the printers scale more will be made from other materials.

vegasloki Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> bobc Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > Has RepRap failed?
>
> No. Everything can't be made of plastic. The
> initial builds weren't all plastic and as the
> printers scale more will be made from other
> materials.

So no longer self-replicating? Or are we hoping for metal (or something) printing?

Idolcrasher Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I agree that Prusa does not owe any one
> anything... But much like admiring a painting by a
> master artist, it is often more desirable to enjoy
> a finished work.
> I applaud his work and hope he finishes this
> symphony.
> I remain hopeful that the i3 build instructions
> will receive some polish and form. Maybe after
> his new hot-end is released?


Anyone can fork his design, finish it their own way and release it. This is open source, version 1.0 may never exist as we would like it. IMO the i3 is a design for people who already have printers working and want to experiment with a different platform.