Sourcing Reprap parts in BULK for Uni club project

Hello everyone, we have a group of 20-30 students (in design, engineering, etc) at university who want to build their own Repraps. And I was really hoping that some of you might be able to lend some expertise to help make this great project happen.

First of all I was wondering Where Do You Buy Bulk Reprap Parts From?
I’ve found the cheapest price retail to be Aliexpress (I have bought 2 products from them and both came and look good, - the ramps/audrino and the nema 17s that had the most buyers)
However since we now have alot of keen interest (20-30 people atm) I am beginning to look for bulk suppliers of these parts however I have no experience with sites such as Alibarba, can anyone here lend me some expertise?

Also, Which is the best design? .... I know .. I’ve let the cat out of the bag again
But we were thinking between the Prusa i3, i2 or mendelmax? Is the i3 better than the i2?

Thats all the questions I have...... for now

If anyone can give me their expertise it would be very much appreciated, not only by me but by the 20 students that are keen to merge into this community also. Thankyou very much
Kind Regards,
Sam Groll
Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia

For sourcing, I typically use Robotdigg. They have almost all parts all in one place. You could probably find all the parts you need for cheaper from a bunch of different places on Alibaba/Aliexpress, but ordering basically everything from one place makes life a lot easier.

For the printer, cheapest of those is the i2. Strongest, Mendelmax, and the i3 is very popular.

I would also suggest looking at a printer like either the Mendel90 or the Smartrap. The Smartrap is pretty cheap to source and uses minimal parts. It also has a decent size community, but since it is based off of the Printrbot the maintenance and such is very similar.

No matter which one you choose, I would suggest you all using the same one. It will make troubleshooting and learning much easier/quicker.

If you need parts printed in bulk, shoot me a PM.

Good luck!

---

greghoge.com

HUGE 3D PRINTER PARTS SALE!!!

I have pm'd you.
I can share alot of info and support in building affordable i3 reworks And other styles.
I can even send files for the frames and stuff.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2014 10:37AM by pushthatbolder.

Just a thought, having 20 to 30 engineering minds together, why not developed your own printer? It will help a lot more to understand the technology, it might end up in a much better printer, it might utilizes new designed components and it will be much rewarded for them.

Aliexpress have worked really good for me, always ship via epaket otherwise you will be waiting long time for your parts.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2014 09:52AM by ggherbaz.

Robotdigg looks like a great site, I will certainly look through there when I compare sources. thanks gmh39.
We are going to make Prusa i3s however I think some students are making some different innovative designs (ie a box 3D printer)

Pm recieved and sent PTB

ggherbaz, that is what I hope many students will do more after they build this to get started (it is a cheap entry level tool that will get us started), I myself have a few ideas (like making a speargun printing long printer :p , then I could carbonfibre-wrap them ) however this will be a cheap start.

This is an awesome community, everyone is so willing to help, thankyou all
I'll let you know how it goes.
Sam

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2014 05:32AM by Sam Groll.

Quote
Sam Groll
Robotdigg looks like a great site, I will certainly look through there when I compare sources. thanks gmh39.
We are going to make Prusa i3s however I think some students are making some different innovative designs (ie a box 3D printer)

Pm recieved and sent PTB

ggherbaz, that is what I hope many students will do more after they build this to get started (it is a cheap entry level tool that will get us started), I myself have a few ideas (like making a speargun printing long printer :p , then I could carbonfibre-wrap them ) however this will be a cheap start.

This is an awesome community, everyone is so willing to help, thankyou all
I'll let you know how it goes.
Sam

I think this is a good route, I think going balls deep by first developing a printer without building one first won't be as beneficial as building one first, going through the inevitable troubleshooting, and learning the fundamental workings of conventional consumer grade FDM printers is a good starting step.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2014 11:09AM by isonoob.