New to Reprap : Want to build a Mendel

Hello there! I started looking to build a Reprap few weeks ago and from what I've seen, the Mendel is the most reliable DIY 3D printer avaible right now. I've seen people selling complete kit for Mendel, but they were a little pricy. I think that the cheapest way to make it is to buy it piece by piece. Is that right?

So I was wondering if you guys could tell me if Mendel is a good choice and if so, where sould I look to buy everything I need, including the printed part for it.

I'll appreciate your help on this and see you around the forum!

Martin

PS : I live in Canada, so American shop would probably be better.

EDIT: I've found this interesting complete kit for a Prusa Mendel : [mixshop.com]

Which one is better between Prusa and Mendel? Is the difference in price worth it?
And How much would cost the printed part for a Prusa, since they are not included in the kit.

Once again, Thanks!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2011 12:16PM by Atfer.

I just got myself the Mendel kit of www.mixshop.com for a total of 471$ (including shipping) and bought the plastic repraped part over ebay in a auction yesterday. They only thing missing is the Tick plate, and I really don't know where to find this! Thanks for your help.

Hmm the ad says does not include printed plastic parts, so is it a complete build up kit or would you have to source the plastics elsewhere or for more money?
Have I mis read the offer?

Atfer: it looks to me that the Thick Plate is included in the kit you linked.

---

__________________________________________________________________________
"I like to be, what I like to see, in you and me.
I am the Stallion, Mang."

ISTAR Scope Club

Well I have a Mendel and am in the process of finishing a Prusa.

The Prusa is quite a bit cheaper to build as it has a lot less parts, I have built my Prusa using linear bearings instead of PLA bushes and I printed all my own plastics for the Prusa. There are a few things about the Mendel I don't like i.e it uses so many small bearings and is really complicated to put together, I am going to adapt mine soon so that it can use the same Wades hinged extruder I have put on my Prusa, also the brass hobbed insert for the Mendel is a real pain being brass they wear out far too easily

---

__________________________________________________________________________
Experimenting in 3D in New Zealand

To chortle: You are right, I had to buy the printed piece with ebay.

To BoriSpider : No, it is in the required material, but their shop didn't offer the Tick plate. there is no buy button beside it.

To NelsonRap : Would you recommend me to change the extruder for Wade's instead of Adrian's?? What is the difference? And for the brass insert, what would you suggest?

The kit is already ordered, but it won't ship until October 31. If you have any advice on what would be the best setup, it would be welcomed.

Until now, what I ordered is :

Plastic parts : [www.ebay.ca]

Everything else : In the list, I bought the (1)(2)(4)(5) and (6) : [mixshop.com]

Once again, thanks for your help!

A Wades and an Adrian have different mountings, the Adrian's was designed for the Mendel and the Wades for the Prusa, however the Wades can be mounted on a Mendel if you have the right X carriage to allow that. The Wades uses a hobbed 8mm bolt whereas the the Adrian's uses the brass insert on a 4mm threaded bar.

You have ordered the Adrian's so will need the insert, you also need to know that the Adrian's you have coming needs a hotend with a 50mm long tube and not the shorter one used on the Prusa.

Stick with what you have it's all there for you then

---

__________________________________________________________________________
Experimenting in 3D in New Zealand

In the kit I ordered, here are the spec of the Adrian's extruder:

1x Complete Extruder Hardware Set;
1x M4 Insert for Adrian's Geared Extruder;
3x 624zz Ball Bearing
4x Compression Springs
1x M6 Brass Barrel (inner diameter:3mm, outlet:M6 thread, Length:50mm);
1x 0.5mm Brass Nozzle (inner: M6 thread);
1x NiChrome Wire (1 meter);
1x Thermistor NTC Glass 100K;
1x PTFE Rod (3mm x 16mm x 40mm);
1x High Quality Kapton Tape (6.4mm width x 33m Long)

I want to use 1,75 mm ABS filament, is that going to work or is it made for 3 mm filament?
Their shop sell a 0,34mm brass nozzle, would that be better? Thanks

1x M6 Brass Barrel (inner diameter:3mm, outlet:M6 thread, Length:50mm);

1x PTFE Rod (3mm x 16mm x 40mm);

This is clearly an extruder for 3mm filament. Using it for 1.75 filament could be problematic.

Which one give the best print quality? 3mm or 1.75?

Filament size has no influence on print quality AFAIK.

The only advantage of 1.75 I heard about is that you require less force to extrude the same volume - so you could save on the extruder motor torque - trading for its speed capability.

3mm on the other hand is far more available in many different colours, etc.

I'd say to go for 3mm - especially now that you ordered you 3mm extruder already.

Thanks for your fast and good answer!

Since I already bought a 1,75mm spool, I asked Mixshop if they could change my order, but depending on what is the price difference between 1.75mm and 3mm spool, I'll probably get a set to change back to 3mm.

Hi Atfer

I also bought a complete Prusa Mendel Kit a couple of days back. I'm also a newbie. If you had ordered the complete Prusa Mendel kit, it does come with the aluminium thick sheet. The extruder that you have can be modified by adding the .34mm brass nozzle and the 1.75mm x 50mm brass barrel.

Here are the reference links:
[mixshop.com]
[mixshop.com]

To the experienced users here, am I right? Please do comment. Thanks.

Don't forget the PTFE thermal barrier.
[mixshop.com]

Along with the brass barrel it should be enough to change between 3mm and 1.75 mm.

The only other concern I have is the hobbed bolt - or brass insert depending on extruder type - which grips on the filament to push it. it may have to be changed too - but as I can't see that option in mixshop products, I'd say try without.

To AndyHow : I think that the 0,34mm Nozzle isn't necessary with 1,75mm filament. It thick it is more a choice between speed and resolution.

To DeuxVis : Thanks, I've seen it so I asked to replace both pieces. They email me today to say they would change them.

I looked for the brass insert, and indeed there is no other. Tonight, I'll look over the forum to see if it need to be adjusted.

So I've looked well and the Tick/Thin sheets are not included in the kit, probably such as the optoswitch flags. Since I got no laser cutter I was wondering what should I do? Can I go to a hardware store with the Nophead's simplified squashed frog specification and get them to make it for me?

I've bought a set on ebay :

[cgi.ebay.ca]

I think that would be it for the material. I don't think there is anything missing, exept maybe an eventual heated bed.

To AndyHow: Looks like you were right, they changed the 0,5mm nozzle to a 0,34mm nozzle when I told them I wanted to print with 1,75mm filament.

Hi
I am new to repraps, have been reading online stuff for 2-3 months and I am begining to have a fair idea of what goes on. In anybody's opinion, which build gives the best surface finish?

Hello Baz!

Such as you, I am starting with Reprap, and I am about to finish my build! Before buying anything I spend a lot of time reading a lot of post to figure out which Mendel I should make. I finally decided Mendel, since it is, from what I've read, more flexible than the Prusa. I've also read that the Mendel PROBABLY have a better print quality since it is sturdier and then less prompt to shake during printing, but there is no evidence for this. On the other hand, the Prusa is cheaper to build than the Mendel, cost less and there is a LOT of documentation available for this one. The choice is up to you!

If you need more information, I'll try my best to answer them!

Martin