Reprap buying guidance and Soliddoodle

Hello!

Well in a few days ill be buying a 3D Printer but im not sure which one to get. Due to my budget ill be getting a ReRapPro mendel kit or a Solid doodle 2. I was wondering if you guys could help me decide.

Initially i was all for the diy Reprap as i like tinkering around and building stuff but as i did some research ive come across people discouraging me from buying reprap as they take months and months to make nice prints. Apparently you need to do a lot of tinkering aroubd to get it working too.

Recently i saw the Soliddoodle 2 its a pre assembled ready to run 3D printer. The only down side i see is that i have to wait much longer to get it shipped to the UK (4-7weeks) but im leaning towards it as i thnk its more reliable.

I was wondering if you guys could help me out and recommend me to go for the Diy Reprap or Soliddoodle. This will be my first ever 3D printer experience. Cheers!

P.s i want to go for the Reprap but i want to be sure i can get it making decent prints.

Solidoodle is no different quality wise as a reprap. All FFF printers can with the right calibration and parts can print the same. No matter which one you buy, unless it is a cubex, replicator 2, or Lulzbot will require calibration and or building.

If you feel comfortable building your own and are not afraid to read and ask questions then build your own from a kit.

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Initially i was all for the diy Reprap as i like tinkering around and building stuff but as i did some research ive come across people discouraging me from buying reprap as they take months and months to make nice prints. Apparently you need to do a lot of tinkering aroubd to get it working too.

Getting decent prints is less a matter of assembling a printer frame, more a matter of calibrating it ... and this applies to kit-printers as well.

When collecting/making parts on your own you trade a number of euros/dollars for the time to do the collection. No more, no less.

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Generation 7 Electronics	Teacup Firmware	RepRap DIY

Take a look at the Mendel90 from nophead (in the UK).
He sells complete kits for a reasonable price.

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

As this is going to be my first experiment with reprap do you guys think i should by the cheaper Huxley or the bigger Mendel?

I personally prefer a Mendel variation since a Huxley costs almost as much and if you are looking for a portable computer there are better models such as the the FoldaRep.

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

And generally after building it how long does it take to make it do decent prints? Im buying one from reprappro.org, their kit seems very well documented, supported and organised.

I just started building my RepRapPro Mono Mendel and I started a tumblr for the process, noting some of the mistakes I have made along the way. I am maybe about 1/3 of the way built after about a week of having the kit.

I have so far been impressed by RepRapPro and the kit.
Feel free to follow along.

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