new guy with some newguy questions =D

first, lemme introduce myself lol
people call me Seth or Sk8r, or my SN haha. im new to 3d printing, but by no means new to deisgn or manufacturing. ive designed and built PCs, as well as portable N64s and plenty of Xbox 360 mods and such. so im very confident in soldering and building etc...

now, i have a mendel related question since i cannot decide which version to go with. im trying to find the most reliable, easiest to build/maintain/upgrade, while also trying to keep it on a college kids budget. so far i gather that the MakerGear Prusa, and the MendelMax are the best versions of this reprap out there. is that correct?
which one do you guys prefer? and which do you think i should go with? the makergear is cheaper, i LOVE their customer service reviews and i think they might actually have the best overall product. but the mendelmax is seemingly better designed, definitely more rigid, and im a huge sucker for aluminum =P

suggestions?

also, what kind of info would you guys recommend i read first or know BEFORE diving into this whole venture? and what kind of software things should i learn since the software part of this is certainly my biggest weakness.
thanks in advance!!!!!
-Sk8rSeth
p.s. what/how the heck can i use raspberry pi with these? im confused on that whole thing, but i love it too

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what/how the heck can i use raspberry pi with these?

The Pi is sort of a replacement for the PC. It can't prepare (slice) data for the printer, but it can do the user interface part while printing. You still need a full RepRap electronics or at least such a plug in board onto the Pi. The latter is just as expensive as a standalone RepRap electronics.

Regarding kits: I consider buying kits to be boring and expensive. Consequently, one should buy a 3D Systems Cube, as this saves the assembly, too.

More interesting is to get stuff from people specialized in their field. There are ones specialized in printed parts, in electronics, in hot ends, and so on.

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Generation 7 Electronics	Teacup Firmware	RepRap DIY

If you want to recommend a commercial fully assembled unit then I think the UP! Mini currently has the best bang for the buck!

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Bob Morrison
Wörth am Rhein, Germany
"Luke, use the source!"
BLOG - PHOTOS - Thingiverse

In my opinion, the Prism is easier to assemble (no extrusion drilling or taping) than MendelMax which in turn is easier than any Prusa.

The Mendel90 might even be easier to assemble, but I didn't gave it enough thought to decide.

The drawback for Prism or Mendel90 is that - AFAIK - there are no full kits available for sale, which means you'll have to source the parts yourself - which in turn means you'll save some money and have to learn and understand more precisely how the machine works in the process, making its assembly even more easy and fast.

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Most of my technical comments should be correct, but is THIS one ?
Anyway, as a rule of thumb, always double check what people write.

ok so im back, been finding another job and what not, anyways, i still cannot decide what to go with. i want to best quality prints, i dont mind if it takes longer, and i was also hoping to be able to run a cnc machine too. i noticed that the white ant machine is a printer cnc, but im unfamiliar with them. what other machines can be CNC? i REALLY would love that a lot

Hey Seth,

A few months ago I went through the same thing you are going through now. I preferred to build a printer over buying it assembled. I did a lot of research on it, but eventually I went with the suggestion from the reprap wiki, the Prusa Mendel. I built the Linear V2 version - that is designed for bearings instead of bushings. Once that was decided, I spent quite a bit of time assembling a list of parts that I would need (hot-end, heated bed, printed parts, etc) and then noticed that there are sites out there that bundle many of the parts needed to build a printer. Since I had noticed several postings about the head aches caused by incompatible parts, etc, I decided to go the bundle route.

I got mine from MakerFarm. No, I'm not associated with them, and there are other places to get the bundles. But, I can tell you that I am up and running and my prints are looking great. I'm printing with PLA, with a .5mm nozzle and a .25mm layer height. Those were reccommended to me as a good starting point, and I have to say, I agree. Now that I have that all working, I'm considering moving to a smaller print diameter, maybe trying ABS and pushing the layer height down a bit more... but really, the prints I'm getting now are clear and crisp. I'm only considering trying something new for the sake of trying something new. The drawback to thinner layers is longer print times. More/better details, but longer print times.

Since I'm relatively new to this, you can take my advice as you see fit and other's here may disagree with my advice. But I couldn't be happier with how my printer turned out. I'm already on my 2nd roll of filament. I've designed several original pieces and printed them. My kids love picking out stuff on thingiverse for me to print for them - so my printer stays busy.

Hope this is helpful.

hey cheeseweasel, thank you so much! i completely agree about the bundled parts. i decided long ago thats the route i would want to take. im a hands on geek so building it myself is a must. ive been looking at the Makergear M2 and Makergear Prusa Mendel
those have been my favorites, but i think they are both bushing designs, which now that its brought to mind, might persuade me to head for bearings instead. ill for sure check out makerfarm. i have seen some things from them but havent actually researched em.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/2012 06:50PM by Sk8rseth.

I'm building a MendelMax 1.5 now. I'm enjoying piecing the unit out and hope to have it completed sometime next month to begin calibration! Someday I will catch up to current models...

Hey all,

Just finished building a Prusa Mendel I2.

I sourced and purchased all of the parts my self from tool station, screw fix, ebay and this forum (printed parts) and I am up and running.
I am using an arduino MEGA 2560 with a RAMPS board and pololu drivers. A Arcol.hu v4 hot end and a Greg's Wade's extruder.

Im using Faberdashery Filament which seems great quality at a reasonable price.

My total build cost was around £310 and about 30-40 hours. Thats with tinkering to get level bed, fixing mistakes and learning A LOT during the process.

Just as a hint, i found a lot of hidden costs were things for after the printer was finished. PLA is cheap, but posting a spool isn't. it all adds up!

Having just finished my PMi2 i'd recommend it. Its sturdy and prints in great quality. Keep print speeds to an averagely medium (40-50 mms) is getting me good quality.

Im also a huge fan of slicer and Pronterface as this combo works great for me.

Also gotta say a huge thanks to the guys on this forum as all my questions were answered in the community. :-)

Good luck with your build.

Tom