Tarantula or this prusa i3?

Tarantula - [hz.aliexpress.com]

or

[www.aliexpress.com]

I've really been impressed with what I have been seeing on the Tarantula webpage. I'm now aware of all the problems of the tarantula but im impressed with all the out of box prints im seeing after setup. I asked on the FB page about how it compared to a few others. A guy messaged me and was very helpful at clearing some things up I did not understand. I am looking to tinker a lot so I don't mind doing my own upgrades and fixes. But the guy advised me to get this zonestar as it is much better and can do the same. I must say at it does appear quite better build. Would someone offer me some advice on which to get? The second one does look better. An even better option in the same price range or a little higher would be helpful. Thanks!

Go for the tarantula without hesitation. Much better frame and linear rails, the only concern is the single Z axis motor, but if that becomes an issue you can print new parts and convert it to dual stepper.

The second choice have printed parts (chinese printed parts are famous for not fit right) and the Z frame don't have a front plate to restrict lateral swings and the Y axis use threaded rods and nuts which are some times a pain to properly adjust.

You could also built your own, which will give you the freedom to select the best settings for your application but take in consideration that the price tag will go up at least 15 to 20 percent more.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/2016 10:43AM by ggherbaz.

wow really. I thought the other looked more solid. But I look at both facebook groups and i see a lot let problems on the tarantula. I asked the guy that msged me if he was selling these things(referring to the non tarantula printer) and he kind of fear mongered me away from it with a pic of one that burned up and made a nice hole in a table. Can u tell me exactly why the frame is better. The other appears to look better to me but i am a newbie. Talk to me like im a kindergartner please. lol. I want to make the best choice.

What are you planning to make with this machine? These cheap printers will have a lot of flaws, that you could probably talk about for hours. Save yourself the time and effort and invest in a better printer is my opinion. When you make all the improvements you need for these, you will easily double the price unless you're very savvy with sourcing parts. If you still need to choose between these, the tarantula will be a better choice and probably easier to upgrade as well. Extrusion is very modular and easy to work with.

I would like to print drone parts. A few canopies and a few things around my circuit projects. Wel I want a nice high rez without going into sla like anyone. Speed isn't an issue. Say I go with a more expensive printer around 500-600. Do you have any recommendations? The market is saturated and there is so much...

Maybe the electronics in the tarantula are crap, but that will be the norm in that price range.

The tarantula is better because as Origamib mentioned the frame is extruded aluminum and it's easier to improve upon.

My advice to you is to built your own. It will be in the 500 to 600 dollars by the time you finish it, but it will have what you want in the way you want it.

Aliexpress is cheap with some stuff, but don't use it for everything, use thicker rods like 10 or 12mm instead of the cheap 8mm or better yet use linear rails, use t8 lead screws or linear ball screw for Z, use better electronics than the old standard mega2560 and ramps, if you take the time you can get a printer that will last for years to come and with less issues than cheap chinese printers and as you build it and calibrate it, you will understand it better and that will lead to less fail prints.

I want to say yes to this so bad as in 2010(before my divorce took place) I started buying parts to build a huge CNC. Total cost was in the thousands on my spreadsheet. Right now I just have too much on my plate. Kid on the way, a massive vertical garden+greenhouse, drones, a mesaboogie rectifier replica and work. Its certainly within my bounds. Unfortunately Im gonna have to pay in and cut a corner somewhere because of my time. I at least need the frame/housing/chasis whatever we are calling it. Im all about building my own. But I have already made the choice im gonna have to pay in on this and cut time or do it later. And its hard to control my anxiety over this when you guys are printing out cool shit all the time. lol

Well, if that's the case either go for the tarantula, or look for used Taz4 or mini as they are solid printers specially the mini (maybe to high on price though).

Unfortunately, you will always have to invest time in this hobby Even an off the shelf printer like the Taz/printrbot/ultimaker will need some tinkering to get fine quality prints. When I made my printer, I was completely new to the hobby. Building it took only a few days, but sorting out issues has taken a month. Building the machine is honestly the least of your worries, especially if you have already made CNC machines and have a good understanding of what to do.

If you value your time, investing in a solid machine will pay off. These Chinese kits will have you running around in circles sorting out issues that shouldn't exist in the first place (eg, bent linear rods and crappy hotends that jam all the time)

Well thanks a lot guys. Well, is there a good resource or place where we are ordering out parts for the frame should I choose to build? Or are we all using ali? I want a large build area.

I use Aliexpress, ebay, Amazon and whatever other that can give me a good price. I don't mind the waiting....

One Z motor will always be better than two. If Z motors are even slightly inexact you can have major bed leveling issues. I converted my I3 to one and it was the best improvement I've made. Don't expect either of those printers to be great without some tinkering. They will however help you learn a lot. Enough to make you consider building a better one down the road.

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dasflux
Well thanks a lot guys. Well, is there a good resource or place where we are ordering out parts for the frame should I choose to build? Or are we all using ali? I want a large build area.

How large?

if you are going bigger than the standard 200*200 or the 300*200 you will have to built your own frame, I'm in the process of building a 400*400*400 printer and I designed my own frame, I took the hard way and I'm having my frame laser cut but you can use standard modular aluminum extrusion frame and just cut it to size.