Maker Bot 2 verses building a Reprap machine

I planned to buy one of the new Maker Bot 2 machines this month but I am undecided.
Maker bot claim a 100 microns best resolution which sounds good. It's still an £1800 investment.
Can I build a reprap machine that give me as high a resolution or better?
I'm still a bit new to this, building a machine is no problem for me, I'd love to spend less than £1000 though
Can I get good resolution models from a home built machine.
Regards Steve

I built a prusa i2 for £500 and it can do 0.1mm without a problem at all.

Yes, You can match or beat the MakerBot 2 resolution By building your own. But your cost will go up to meet the requirement. Also you will need to do a lot of tweaking. With the Makerbot 2 you get that resolution quickly out of the box, building your own reprap make take several weeks to get the correct resolution.

I think other than cost, your main choice should be:

Do you want to print things, or have a hobby?

if you want a hobby build a reprap, they are never finished and will always be evolving. I think i spend as much time tinkering as i do printing, but i like that.

if you want to print things, but a makerbot, set it up and that is more or less that.

Here's my take on it.

If you ask us, we're almost to a person going to tell you to build a reprap. A basic Prusa can do everything a Replicator 2 can and more (with the right tool head you can print more than just plastic). Will it have the same accuracy/precision as a Replicator 2? Probably not as a Prusa isn't the best machine out there. But there are reprap machines that can definitely compete with and *beat* a Replicator 2.

I think it's probably a good idea to go check out the makerbot operators group.

If you go over to the makerbot folks they'll probably tell you to get a makerbot, then again, maybe not...

So to conclude - don't buy anything without doing a TON of reading. Browse this forum. Learn about the different machines, and once you settle on a couple of machines talk to people who actually use them, even if one of the machines is a Replicator 2.

Good luck!

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- akhlut

Just remember - Iterate, Iterate, Iterate!

[myhomelessmind.blogspot.com]

Hear hear!
Most of the fun for me is in the building and learning. I was amazed 1 hour into use how good the quality of prints are from my reprap prusa.

I'm going to give you some slightly different advice, I've never used a Makerbot and I have 3 running machines here of various types.
Decide whether it's about the build or you just want to print stuff, the build is involved, I would guess 15-20 hours for a first time builder, a lot of people seem to struggle with at least one part of the build. When it is built,there is a debugging and tuning period that can take significant time especially if you don't have anyone around who's done it before.
I spent literally weeks chasing a one particular print quality issue on my Mendel Max (which was not my first printer) after I completed it, and I'm not sure I could tell you absolutely what change I made than finally fixed it.
Now back to the original question, yes you can build a machine with similar capabilities to the Makerbot, and with enough tuning, it will produce stellar prints, you'll also be equipped to deal with the inevitable day that something fails, but it's not like putting together a piece of Ikea furniture and it's not going to "just work".

I'm not trying to disuade you from building a reprap, I've enjoyed all of my builds, as have most here, but it's important to go in with your eyes open.

After reading some scathing reports about problems with Maker Bot 2 I have cancelled my order!
I am now quite keen to build my own, at least I'll have a better understanding of how they work.
So what to invest my pennies in folks..... I want as good quality as a makebot2 or better
Which model to choose?? I'm good mechanically but not brilliant at computers, programming etc
I make things in foam, fibreglass etc as my business and need to build something that will make parts for my new robot project
www.articolestudios.co.uk.
Regards Steve

I haven't got it runnng yet, but I am totally impressed with the Mendel90 as other here as well.
Its easier to buy one, but a lot more fun and interesting to build one.

I'm good mechanically as well, rebuilding a lathe and mill, then building a DIY CNC and now the 3D printer.
the electronics are killing me though!! my fiddling blew a pololu and a thermister LOL.

As others have said... read LOTS! and soon you'll be on your way.
Its a great , fun learning curve!

Chris

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Custom all metal CoreXY
- Duet 2 Wifi w/ PanelDue 7i
- 330mm x 360mm x 500mm
- 750w Silicon heater

Custom Mendel90
(Backup printer - Old reliable!) - Sold

I have been asked this question many times and my answer is this. I bought a thingomatic over a mendel because it appeared to be a more "finished" product. It was a good first printer. What I quickly found was that 3D printing was still evolving and my thingomatic was not. Makerbot had built to to be the best at that moment but very quickly it was out of date and I would need to spend $2k to keep up with latest. That is when I bought a prusa. I now have the latest printer on the market because my prusa keeps evolving. I keep up on what is new and make small changes here and there to make my printer even better. I always suggest the prusa to people now for jsut this reason.