What options are there other than pc power supply? 12v is easy to come by but do we really need 8 amp?

i'm not sure if we really need all of it. i think that number there has alot of padding with room for growth, etc. unless you have a weird situation, why not just use a pc power supply?

A PC power supply is one of the cheapest power supplies you can get that has a reasonable power output, so it's a good way to go. A 12V lab supply is much more expensive, for example. Although a car battery will work just fine too.

The heater element consumes 2 to 3A, and all the motors together use at least a few more, depending on the model you choose, the top speed you want to run at and the maximum head weight you want to support. 8A doesn't even leave a lot of room spare.

sai Wrote:
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> A PC power supply is one of the cheapest power
> supplies you can get that has a reasonable power
> output, so it's a good way to go. A 12V lab
> supply is much more expensive, for example.
> Although a car battery will work just fine too.
>
> The heater element consumes 2 to 3A, and all the
> motors together use at least a few more, depending
> on the model you choose, the top speed you want to
> run at and the maximum head weight you want to
> support. 8A doesn't even leave a lot of room
> spare.

Ahhh - the heater element! Of cource. Thats why the fab@home model uses low power - it just uses a syringe.
Ok I'm happy now - A minutes thought would have brought that one to light. Time to rip apart my old computer then.