This might be a hard question to answer, but here we go. In your opinion, what is the most popular and/or best reprap model? Factors may include build volume, price, difficulty, functionality, etc. There's so many that its getting hard to choose one to build.

Most popular would be the Prusa i3 I think.. At least at this moment.

To be honest, I find this a bit of an impossible question as it comes down to personal preference instead of factual information. Don't you agree?
There are so many factors that make one option more popular than another.

For me,
the most elegant machine is the Berrybot,
the most viable one, the MendelMax and derivatives/evolutions of the MendelMax,
the easiest to get your hands on is the Prusa i3,
the cutest one is the Huxley,
the one with the most personal care and love in it is the Mendel90 hands down,
the most overpriced one is the Aluminatus from Trinitylabs,
the easiest to build might be the Reprap Air 2, however it's not very stable,
the most interesting might be Simpson,
the most interesting to watch is a Delta model,
and the most fun is to design one yourself.


This is my personal list of opinions about the machines, I have left out the price tag because I think that for 450~500€ you cannot get decent parts like chromed hardener linear rods and other good parts, unless you buy in bulk, which is what companies do, but for a one-off project it will always be more expensive.

I can respect that response. It is a hard question, almost impossible.

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gman
I can respect that response. It is a hard question, almost impossible.

As cliche as this sounds, the best printer for you might not be the same as the best printer for someone else. It depends on what features you need, what build size you want, how much you're willing to spend for quality parts (the list goes on and on).

On the other hand, there are a lot of people who have a stake in selling printers on pretty much any 3d printer forum, and any good salesman is going to try to convince you that their printer is the one you want.

IMO, pick the one you like best/fits your needs and go for it. There are a lot of capable 3d printers out there these days. Even a well-tuned i2 is capable of beautiful prints, but perhaps requires more upkeep and tweaking than most newer designs.

MM 1.5, prusa i3 or rostockMAX seem to be the most popular im0.

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I didn't test international brand but I have bad experience with some China brand. One 3D printer was purchased only 1 year and now it stopped working. Price is no high.

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I don't think MM1.5 is very popular, there is virtually no activity in that subforum for extruded alu printers

That might also mean that a lot of people who work with extrusions know what they are doing, in contrast to the 'new' people I see coming around all the time saying they can't get their Prisa i3 to function (this is not a complaint btw)

And for that reason, the Prusa i3 seems to be the most popular printer.

I have built an Ord Bot. It is a very flexible design which I have modified quite a bit.
It uses Makerslide extrusion, which is used on CNC machines as well. It makes for a neat and rigid design.
I don't know why they are not more popular. The rest of the machine uses standard reprap bits.
A royalty is paid for the Makerslide to the inventor which maybe why.

Well, makerslide is always sold-out every time I've been looking for it, which has been multiple occasions last year and now again in europe it's sold out. Shipping cost for a single batch is too high, so that leaves us with using those smooth rods again.

Should be back in stock end of Feb !

[makerslideeurope.com]

I got mine as part of a kit from the States. There is a supplier in Hong Kong also.

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dave3d
Should be back in stock end of Feb !

[makerslideeurope.com]

I got mine as part of a kit from the States. There is a supplier in Hong Kong also.

Hopefully their new supplier will be able to make perfectly straight makerslide, instead of slightly bent like the piece I got from them!

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