ready to take the plunge.. need help choosing

I'm ready to take the plunge and get a 3d printer. I've decided on getting a kit because of cost and to learn more. I'd like some help deciding which kit to get.
Build volume is important to me, i'd like a printer that can print over 9.5 inches in one direction. I want something that prints good quality. I've been looking at the prusa i3 mk2, but the build volume of the FT-5 is nice and the price. I can go as much as $800. Over all I'd like a kit that I would have the least troubles with building. I'm sure there are other options out there too. Just wanted some advice/opinions before I sink that much money into a kit.

You could get an i3 kit and get a different sized frame cut, with appropriately sized smooth rods and drive rods on it. Increasing build height is pretty easy. Increasing X-Y area not so easy, the build area changes, you need a different sized hotbed.

You would have to get the frame cut yourself, and source some longer smooth and threaded rods (locally) but there isn't a reason why it can't print taller. TBH the limit on an i3 would be the extra weight of the threaded rods, but they don't need to move fast, so the leeway is generous, you can increase the length quite a bit before the motors can't turn them.

Here's an example from Yusuf Erdel, from the Facebook reprap group.

[scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net]

Much easier to do than the i2, and some have managed VERY big i2s....

Same technique would be OK on the Folger tech NT-5. Or corexy Alu, or whatever. Although more expensive, as aluminium extrusions (the frame material) ain't that cheap.

If you get the kit, then you can see EXACTLY which bits need to be longer. Less risky than ordering in advance and finding they don't match the kit.

Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 10/25/2016 02:04PM by DragonFire.

Check out openbuilds v slot. I made the voxel ox printer out of v slot and it has a 300x300mm build area. Cost me in the region of £500. A very capable machine I've found so far.

Standard frame cut prusas are not very extendable, even if you have the frame made in metal. The problem is a flat frame that is very tall and only attached at the bottom can only be so strong it would not take much force at the top to bend it, so it is very likely that print quality will get worse higher up the Z Axis.

You can make huge frames from 20x20 extrusion if designed well.

Why buy a kit just get a parts list and build a DIY you can build it the size you want and you can cheap out on some things and use that money to buy better other parts.

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Out of the box thinking is easier when you never fitted in the box to begin with.

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Rlewisrlou666
Why buy a kit just get a parts list and build a DIY you can build it the size you want and you can cheap out on some things and use that money to buy better other parts.

I second this idea.

You can buy a laser cut/water jet i3 frame on ebay, a RAMBo-mini controler, and a Prusa Mk2 upgrade kit (which comes with a real E3D V6, a self leveling heated system, and new high quality steppers). That puts you at just under $400. Then you can spend about $120-130 on aliexpress (or a just a smidge more on amazon) and get a set of MGN12 rails.

At this point you've spent just over $500, and you have a more solid machine that can use all the Prusa-tweeked firmware features with little or no modifications. It's like a genuine i3 Mk2 on steroids, for less money

The only real hangup is that the Mk2 upgrade kit comes with plastic bits that are meant to fit 8mm linear rods, so you'll have to figure out how to attach them to your MGN12 rails until you can print new purpose-designed carriage parts. But that's nothing that a little ingenuity and maybe a trip to Home Depot couldn't fix.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2016 08:58AM by TheJones.

I think it will be a disaster for you to buy the parts and assemble the kit yourself. You will have almost zero support and your frustration level will go through the roof. A kit will be great for you especially if this is your first time getting into 3d printing.

Take a look at the prusa i3 kits on the prusa website. They are well made and are getting great reviews.

[shop.prusa3d.com]

And the advantage of a Prusa i3 for a beginner is that they are easy to understand when thing don't work properly - if the head doesn't go left and right, there's just 1 obvious motor and circuit to investigate, and the same for back and forth (X and Y axes). The vertical axis has 2 motors, but they're wired together so can be treated as one. They are also mechanically simple - and as a beginner you are unlikely to worry about rigidity as you probably won't bother with tall models for quite a while, by which time you'll have worked out how to make everything stronger.

Compare this to a delta or a CoreXY machine, where the motors "multi-task" and fixing problems can be a nightmare for a beginner.

I started with an i3, enhanced it as my experience grew, built a delta and didn't like it, and finally built a CoreXY that is now my main machine. Without the experience gained on the i3 I don't know how successful I would have been on the later printers.

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KDog
I think it will be a disaster for you to buy the parts and assemble the kit yourself. You will have almost zero support and your frustration level will go through the roof. A kit will be great for you especially if this is your first time getting into 3d printing.

Take a look at the prusa i3 kits on the prusa website. They are well made and are getting great reviews.

[shop.prusa3d.com]

This is also good advice, depending on how mechanically inclined you are.

You'll get slightly less machine, for slightly more money, but you'll have 100% documentation and support. So you'll have to decide what is more important to you, support or cost.

I think the common thread in this discussion is the Prusa i3 Mk2. It's probably going to be your best experience for the money. You can do one of those Chinese i3 kits for <$300, but at that point you're rolling the dice, and even if you get lucky, there is no way it will come with a real E3D hotend, Prusa's new heated/self leveling bed, or the same level of documentation and support (just look at all the Mk2 build videos on YouTube).

Unless you absolutely CAN'T spend that much, the Prusa kit is clearly the way to go, if you don't want to scratch together your own kit.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2016 09:49AM by TheJones.

Why would it be a disaster?

What is the difference between buying a kit and buying the parts to make your own? Nothing.

All the information is the same its just the parts that are different maybe this is the reason there hasn't been many innovations in the actual frame designs since the early days.

Because every time someone wants to build something different they get sh*t on and told "It'll be a disaster." "Just buy a kit." "Be like us" "Follow the crowd."

No-one is saying its going to be easy and if you are the type of person who can't hold a screwdriver its going to be extra hard.

but ask yourself this?

Would you rather a print build of 500x500x500 for $500 that looks like everything you had in your head?

or

Pay $500-$600-$700 for a carbon copy of the Prusa with a build area of 200x200x200 maybe bigger depending on how much you spend?

I know what I'm doing and I'm not cloning another Prusa Mk1 or 2.

When I've got the money I will buy an original Mk2 or 3 depending on when that is because they are amazing machines

Until then I'll build from scratch and if I struggle I don't care because there are millions upon millions of helpful tutorials/ Videos/ Builds/ Upgrades/ W.I.P Blogs all online to help me.

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Out of the box thinking is easier when you never fitted in the box to begin with.

I think all this is really good advice, really appreciate all the comments and suggestions. I do lean towards kdog's thought, because I have zero experience with 3d printers. My heart says "build the voxel ox!!!!!11" my head says, "whoa $800 paper weight if you get stuck." If I had someone to hold my hand through the entire process I'd feel comfortable tackling the voxel ox, that is exactly what I want. Something like a 12" x 12" x 15" build volume with good quality prints, sturdy, simple. The price for parts comes in around $800. But I don't have the knowledge/experience to visualize, or see it completed in my mind. So I feel uncomfortable throwing $800 dollars at a bunch of parts that may end up in a box in the corner. I know there are videos and tutorials but specific to what I want? Maybe its all the same, but with out experience or a manual saying what to do, I'm a little gun shy.

On the cheap chinese/ebay kits I don't really want to go that route, i'd just assume build from scratch or get a good quality kit than save a few hundred. Just so its more clear what I want, my main goals are, quality prints, build volume, least amount of headache $800 bucks would buy me. I don't mind building from a well documented kit. I also don't mind building from scratch if I had someone to help me along. As far as my experience, I have tools and know how to use what I have, but I do not have stuff like a cnc. Everything on this basic list and more. I've built my fair share of computers, but have zero experience with stuff like arduino. I have experience as a commercial electrician with limited experience building control panels.

I'm really excited to get into 3d printing.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2016 11:03AM by jwales.

You have more experience than most. lol

build the printer you want so you will be happy in the end and good luck.

If you want the voxel ox I'm sure there is a kit and a build guide out there somewhere.

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Out of the box thinking is easier when you never fitted in the box to begin with.

Also, you may want to check this thread out. [forums.reprap.org]

A whole bunch of us are buying these super solid coreXY machines on ebay for around $300 (because they've been discontinued) and putting open source controllers in them.

My overall cost has been under $550, and I've got all the parts that I need to make it a dual extruder machine with a 300x300 bed. I just need to carve out the time finish building it.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2016 12:12PM by TheJones.

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TheJones
Also, you may want to check this thread out. [forums.reprap.org]

A whole bunch of us are buying these super solid coreXY machines on ebay for around $300 (because they've been discontinued) and putting open source controllers in them.

Not to detract from the value of re-purposing surplus hardware, that's not a coreXY mechanism, it's a slightly oddball cartesian. For coreXY see [corexy.com]

Fair enough. I always thought that "coreXY" referred to the gantry style x/y system. I see the difference now though.

Thanks for the info.