New to reprap

Hi,

I'm just an end user with Autocad experience.
I've seen the Reprap Mendel and the portable version, and was very intrigued.

I would like to know what the standard 3D modelling software is to use with such printer, and which printer is best suited for me.

I'd like to find one that would fit on a 24" x 24" space on my desk.
I read a printer costs around 500Eur, or in USA that'd be around ~$900 shipping included if I'm correct?

Where can I buy one?

I'd also like to know where to find the plastic source material to make the objects out of, and how much that plastic would cost? (mainly plastic meant for creating small casings of objects, brackets, and plugs. Perhaps play around with some plastics for creating LEGO too...)

ProDigit - we have kits at MakerGear.com. You can stop by the MakerGear IRC channel and chat with kit owners and people actively building their kits.

Rick

Well I use Solidworks to draw stuff for my printer simply because that is the program I have on my computer, but Autocad will also work as will Google sketch up and anything else that can save as an .stl file

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Experimenting in 3D in New Zealand

Thanks!
I've tested google sketchup, but it's very limiting in the more advanced 3D functions, like 3D mirroring, and having a 3D object follow an exact curve.

So far I've found an Axis 2.1 plus printer, fully pre-made, and a glider 3.0 printer for $1200 and $1400.

I'm not very good with soldering, and basically want everything to work out of the box so I can start printing some small replacement parts for my old car.

Any experience with these printers:
[botmill.com]

?

Thanks!

Google SketchUp is probably a good place to start, but you may need more control if you want to start modelling detailed parts. I use Alibre Personal Edition which you can buy for $199: [www.alibre.com]

It is very similar in functionality to Inventor, etc, so overcomes the limitations of SketchUp for modelling "mechanical widgets", for a very economical price.

(Please note: I am still building my RepRap - a Prusa Mendel - so I don't have any actual experience with printing parts yet, but I have used the software and tested it with the RepRap Host. There is an issue with the format of the STL files which Alibre generates being read by RepRap Host - scientific format numbers vs. fixed decimal notation - but the work-around is quite simple: install "EasyFit" from [www.click-to-fit.de]〈=en , open the Alibre STL and then re-save it. I will document the issue more completely on my blog [julianh72.blogspot.com] soon.)

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Follow my Mendel Prusa build here: [julianh72.blogspot.com]

ProDigit Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks!
> I've tested google sketchup, but it's very
> limiting in the more advanced 3D functions, like
> 3D mirroring, and having a 3D object follow an
> exact curve.
>
> So far I've found an Axis 2.1 plus printer, fully
> pre-made, and a glider 3.0 printer for $1200 and
> $1400.
>
> I'm not very good with soldering, and basically
> want everything to work out of the box so I can
> start printing some small replacement parts for my
> old car.
>
> Any experience with these printers:
> [botmill.com]
>
> ?
>
> Thanks!

If you want something that works out of the box, stay away from Botmill. Please read separate thread about Botmill. In general, you would do much better with a lot of other suppliers even if you want to build one. Out of the box, you should contact one of the more reputable people in this forum that sell fully assembled units. If you have the money, go for the PP3DP Up! for less than $3k.

Thanks for the advise!
I saw however most of the complaints where about the DIY kits.
They also sell fully assembled kits.
Unfortunately I was looking for a $500-600 kit, and already need to cough up twice the amount to have an assembled kit where I only need to assemble the frame. I have no 3k spare for a hobby; but won't mind going to a smaller printer if it could reduce the overall price some!

1200 is really the highest I can go!
I need it for small hobby material, not industrial production...

If you are experieced in Autocad, you may find some use to the combination of 2D dxf plus openscad for the final extrusion & modelling. A definite advantage is that it becomes very staightfoward to share multi-platform editable files this way, with open source toolchains.
Blender and sketchup by far do not provide the control nor precision tool you are used to have with Autocad - or Qcad. Also the latter is in a more decent pricing range than alibre.

I use Autodesk Inventor and have not had any trouble getting it to work. As a student you can get a free license for the software on Autodesk's education website. I have also used files from Solidworks which also works. I would guess any program that can generate and export a .stl file would work.

I mostly use openscad for reprap things, it's CSG for programmers

I might pull out blender for the odd organic shape or other fancy technique, there's an excellent blender precision CAD tutorial over at [rab3d.com]

You could probably cobble a printer together for $500-600 if you do your research (come chat to us in irc://freenode.net/#reprap ) and get different pieces from various suppliers.

If that's not your cup of tea, you can't go wrong with MakerGear's kits. They have huge respect in the community for stuff that Just Works, as a result of attention to detail and careful evaluation of the bazaar we've created.

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Wooden Mendel
Teacup Firmware