Thinking of buying a Prusa i3

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Antslake
That's a pretty good deal.

+ free shipping to Europa/North America according to the website information.

Disclaimer: I’m also looking for my very first 3D FFF printer.

It's got a power supply included (who knows how much current or what voltage, but a nice touch). It might be a 24V supply. I think I'd ask what it is before buying one.

It's Meizi electronics rather than Mega board + Ramps. I *think* that means no LCD. I also believe that limits you a bit in terms of expansion (dual extruder, fans, servos for auto bed level ...). The lack of plug in drivers means no easy replacing one that's blown, it also means no connectors to go on the fritz. It's a single power connector, so probably 11A max. If so, that might limit your heated bed. No resettable fuse on the power, so you are depending on the current limit in the power supply.

The 6mm acrylic is roughly the same thickness as the plywood used on some frames. There are a couple of grades of the stuff, so you can't exactly say how tough it is. The frame he is using does not *look* like it's quite as rigid as some of the plywood frame designs. Acrylic will soften / melt if you get it warm enough. Plywood will catch fire at some temperature. All that said, the frame does not look like it's a disaster.

If it's free shipping world wide, then that's a big plus if you live somewhere with nasty shipping issues.

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Antslake
My good friend who has half a brain owns a hardware store, so the glass is no problem for me.

Is there a wattage recommendation for the atx power supply? Or can I just use a 20amp benchtop power supply?

Oh, and I can already see that the customer service provided by makerfarm is excellent. I wrote to him and asked to switch out the one roll of PLA for another roll of ABS, and even though he had boxed up my machine already, he opened it and switched it out. Probably get this thing today or tomorrow.

I'm using a 450w PC ATX supply and it seems to struggle (although I've not tried the 5v rail loading trick yet). I'd go with a 12v supply. I did have one of these however it was faulty, and I wanted to get the pi working there and then so used an old PC supply. Eventually I'll move to a 12v power box. The ATX ones do the job, but its a bit hit and miss from what I can tell. Go with the 12v one instead

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uncle_bob
If it's free shipping world wide, then that's a big plus if you live somewhere with nasty shipping issues.

For me, for example, in EU, shipping + VAT (21%) + customs (2.5%) for Makerfarm Prusa i3 kit + 2 kg of filament and additional hot-end will cost additional ca. 335$. VAT and customs are calculated from price and shipment expenses.
So, now I’m studying what I can get from EU stores (w/o additional VAT and customs) for Makerfarm Prusa i3 kit price + add-ons + taxes, because I’ve found some alternatives. Now I'm looking to the FlashForge side w. double extruder, but this is offtopic in discussion about Prusa i3 of course.

Shipping costs very much do matter. I suspect you will pay the VAT and customs on the kit from Hong Kong the same way you will on one from the US. I suspect that there are indeed EU vendors that can help knock some of that down for you. Even shipping inside the US, the value of the extra 2Kg of filament needs to be looked at after shipping. I don't think I would drop that in a box and fly it across an ocean.

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uncle_bob
...I suspect you will pay the VAT and customs on the kit from Hong Kong the same way you will on one from the US...

Yes, correct, in this case goods outside EU are subject to add VAT from 22€ and customs from 150€ in my country.

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iCat

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chngyian
I just ordered a set of prusa i3 kit (for 499USD, inclusive of PSU and other stuff) from www.3dprinterczar.com, estimated to ship by the coming week. The specs look pretty impressive and comes with free shipping, you might want to take a look.

Have you found any specific assembling instructions for this Prusa i3 kit? I’ve found references only to the reprap.org wiki.

Not in specific, I was hoping to assemble the kit with these instructions. [http://78.47.92.212/i3_documentation_pics/index.html]

I really new to 3d printing so not too sure how it will work out.

*cross fingers

The instructions at that web address are *very* specific to a particular version of a plywood box i3. Some of them are pretty far from what I would call the current mainline thinking on how to put one of these together. The ideas are ok, but the parts they apply to are a bit "different".

User OverCraft3D has some i3 single plate assembly videos in spanish. [reprap.org] There were some instructions with pics from another user in Spain but I can't find them right now. JBfromOZ has some pics of the assembly of the Einstein variant which assembles like Prusa's i3. [reprap.org] and on his Flickr [www.flickr.com]

I built my first i3 not quite a year ago (about 11 months..) where there were hardly any docs and had to use the box version to see how some of it went together. The issue now is that while the mechanical bits of the single plate version are mostly the same, the extruders and some of the carriages are different and many times called the same variant.

Edit...Opps, forgot links...

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2013 10:29PM by vegasloki.

Just got a reply from 3DPrinterCzar that they will send me the assembly instructions and post it up online by the coming weekend. As usual, take it with a pinch of salt since I have yet to receive anything and yet to know anybody else who bought a kit from them. But I would commend on their customer service, replies always quick with straight to the point answers.

If they are as new at this as I think they are, I'd plan on a few bumps in the road as you try to build the kit. You may not be a beta tester, but it's close to that.

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chngyian
....As usual, take it with a pinch of salt since I have yet to receive anything and yet to know anybody else who bought a kit from them...

Maybe try to contact [forums.reprap.org] user from this forum

He writes that he is using such Prusa i3 kit: [forums.reprap.org]

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iCat

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chngyian
....As usual, take it with a pinch of salt since I have yet to receive anything and yet to know anybody else who bought a kit from them...

Maybe try to contact [forums.reprap.org] user from this forum

He writes that he is using such Prusa i3 kit: [forums.reprap.org]

Ahhh, nice. I did a googled before but didn't manage to get any results. Thanks, much appreciated. =)

It would be very nice to get a couple of users with the kits. Depending on just one can be risky. They may be a jerk and the kit could be fine. They could be somebody who works for the company and will love it no matter what.

Just unboxed my makerfarm kit. Click your stop watches......GO

With MakerFarm, you have a *lot* of users who have them. (I happen to be one of them). You also have a number of YouTube videos. Even looking at them, there is a range of opinions. Most are quite positive (mine most certainly is), but there are a few dissenters ... That's what makes evaluating a new vendor on one or two users experience so very difficult.

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Antslake
Just unboxed my makerfarm kit. Click your stop watches......GO

Please, continue!

Well it's assembled, time to figure out how to use it. Feel like a kid at Christmas.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2013 09:33PM by Antslake.

Looks nice!

A few hints:

1) The cable to the extruder seems to work better routed around the front of the machine. You can tie it to the frame up by the to of the right hand Z axis smooth rod. Having it up in the air keeps it from dragging through prints.
2) You need some filament... your extruder seems to be empty.
3) Your glass is much to shiny to have been properly attacked with hair spray
4) Using all 4 clips seems to work better than just 3
5) Your extruder screws (the ones on the springs) look a little loose.

Ok, I got some filament I bought Orange, clear, silver. ABS.
I will move the wires, gonna be tough since I have to take a lot apart to get them around.
The screws were pre-calibration. The bed is leveled now. I set the end switch in the corner that doesn't have the spring, then worked my way around the bed until a piece of paper felt snug under the extruder no matter where I put it.
I don't have any hair spray, what is that for?

Oh yea, how long does it usually take for the bed to heat up?

The hair spray is replacing the painter tape.

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Antslake
Well it's assembled, time to figure out how to use it. Feel like a kid at Christmas.

s68.photobucket.com

Looks good, time to print some Christmas decorations. Hehhehe.

The bed should heat up to 110 C in about 6 to 8 minutes in a 25C room.

The hair spray (or something like it) is needed to get the plastic to stick to the glass. If you are outside the US / Canada you may have trouble finding the right stuff. There are alternatives.

The wires work a lot better over the top of the X carriage bar rather than under the bottom of it. Think about printing a big flat item with the wires hanging down. You don't want to snag something. The little holes for mounting the un-used Z smooth rod caps are a good place to tie them off to.

Got it. My caps were missing, as was the knob for the LCD panel. Gonna move the wires when I feel ambitious. I have them routed under, but out of the work area now.

I tried some prints last night, but the head kept jamming, and the plastic wouldn't go through. I tried all the suggestions in the troubleshooting guide. It is 62F in my basement. I tried putting an electric heater blowing on it too. Probably going to have to insulate the bed, it has a hard time making the 115C to start.

I started printing the hollow box, but the head kept jamming. I tried upping the temps of the head too, that didn't help. My bearing is free. The tension is good. There is nothing blocking the nozzle.

All I had was some Pantene hair spray and it seemed to work fine when I did get the print started. Smells good too, lol. First try was without hair spray, and we all know what happens.

For the heatbed issue. I insulated it with cork.
And cranked up the voltage to 13.5 volt.

Easily 110c in less than 10 minutes.

So give it a try.... Only downside the fans are blowing harder too. So more noise.

I'll try the cork. My power supply is already 13.5. I measured the voltage under full load and it is handling it very well. I get to 109C right away, but then the last few degrees it had problems a few times.

I also had to change the #define MAXTEMP (or MAX_TEMP_) in the config.h to 250, because it was on 235, the start temp for ABS.

When the bed temperature gets close to the target, things slow down. It's the control loop in the firmware that is the issue not the power to the bed or it’s insulation. You already have a neat piece of plywood insulating the back side of the bed plus a bit of an air gap. There isn’t much benefit to cork in this case.

If you have the J-Head hot end, don’t change the upper limit on the firmware. You will melt it with a setting of 235. With the Magma hot end, things print fine at 225. I’ve been running for a while with a setting of 215. I am printing cheap ABS filament at the moment. I’ll probably bump the temp back up a bit this weekend.

The normal start temp for ABS with that setup is 110C and then a cool down to 90C. I’ve been running at 80C for both temps in a 75F room. I’ve had no issues with stuff sticking properly or parts getting distorted. No need to get things overly hot. The PC board material that the heater is made from is only rated to 125C. If you run it at that temperature for a (long) while it turns a nice brown color and gets a bit brittle.

The extruder is jamming because you don’t have the screws on the springs set tight enough. They need to be so tight that you can just barely open the gate wide enough to get the filament in (or out). I spent a bit of “quality time” before that got worked out. (Yes there are a dozen other possibilities. It just sounds so much better to be definite rather than wishy washy )

If you are running above 12V on your supply, put a fan on your Ramps board. If you do one that blows from the side it’ll cool the Mega at the same time. Fans are $2 and printing a push on the plywood fan mount is essentially free. The fan is out of the way and all the electronics (including the 12V max recommended regulator on the Mega) runs nice and cool.

I spoke with Colin about it. It seems I had the temp too high. So it was getting jammed further up from the head. I was using the stock settings in slicr instead of the config file from makerfarm. So I just took it all apart and got the stuck filament out by heating the head with the current to 225, and then a small torch on the heat sink and everything pushed right out. It seems to be extruding fine now, about to start another print. I also moved the wires over to the front now.

The bed would get to 107 and just stop there. I am familiar with PID a little from flying quad copters. But sometimes it would go all the way. Eitehr way, I don't need it that high, so let's see how it does now.

Question about the hair spray (just got back from the store with the right one). Do I clean the glass after every print? How long should I wait after spraying it on the glass?

Thank you so much for all the advice BTW

She's printing now, looks ok.