Cheap chinese parts

Hello everyone.

I am planning to make a delta style reprap, and I want to make it as cheap as possible. However, I want the best possible quality. There are all components for repraps in shops like aliexpress.com
Does anyone have tried using parts from these cheap shops? What are your experiences? Is it worth buying?
Here is an example:

In Lithuania, Arduino + RAMPS + 5x stepper driver would cost about 170$. And I find same pieces here for 26$.
[www.aliexpress.com]
Price difference is huge.

So please share your experiences and advices on reprap parts (belts, pulleys, motors, electronics etc.)

Thanks and happy printing

Cheap Chinese electronics are great -- they're not as reliable as the real thing but they'll still save you money in the long run. The largest exception is the hotend -- don't cheap out! Go with a real J-head or E3D -- yes, it's expensive, but the clones jam and cause tons of trouble.

Everything that I have purchased to built my printers I bought it from Aliexpress, only once i was scammed and Aliexpress refund me on time. Be sure to get your stuff shipped via epaket or be ready for long waits. Some things might be of inferior quality but none have failed so far. Only thing though, don't buy filament from china, I have heard some really bad reviews of it.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2014 02:15PM by ggherbaz.

I would put a large heatsink on the MOSFET for the heated bed as that one looks underrated ( I got one but haven't used it yet). You might need to replace it with a better one.

As far as Chinese filament goes, some is good and some is bad. The same is true for other countries' filament. The more expensive filaments give a bigger saving as shipping is a large part of the cost.
I pay $18/kg for PETG and $25/kg for polyurethane (TPU) both of which print very well. [www.ecoreprap.com] . Any filament for sale which doesn't specify a country of origin is probably Chinese even if it has the label of a US/EU company on it.

Hey, I bought from Robotdigg, as they are not on Aliexpress and have faster shipping. Still cheap and the quality was better than expected! I can really advice them to anyone.

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http://www.marinusdebeer.nl/

+1 for robotdigg

They also have a bunch of delta specific parts like per cut extrusions.

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greghoge.com

HUGE 3D PRINTER PARTS SALE!!!

Unless the controller is a brand name and cost quite a bit, it's going to be cheap Chinese and of questionable quality.
It will work fine for as long as it survives, as mentioned, watch the heated bed mosfet that's one spot they LOVE to go cheap.

As for the rest of parts, I would hesitate to go cheap on your hot end. You might get one that works okay, or one that makes your life hell.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2014 07:42AM by sheepdog43.

Ive found the sainsmart ramps, lcd display and mega boards are up to the job.
I got mine through ebay.
They do a heavy duty mega that can run on 24v. Im using at 12v and so far its been reliable.

Id certainly buy theres again.
[www.ebay.co.uk]

Gordon

Quote
Capinho
I want to make it as cheap as possible. However, I want the best possible quality.

That's clearly contradicting. :-) Probably you mean sufficient quality at cheap as possible.

Depending on what makes these genuine parts so expensive, there are also DIY-able designs like Generation 7 Electronics or Sanguish. RepRap Wiki knows how to make them and links to the design files.

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Generation 7 Electronics	Teacup Firmware	RepRap DIY