newbie questions

Hello,
I just started to study the whole thing of 3D reprap printer and i've got some basic questions
1. I am interested in building my own Pursa i3,As far as I understood from the reprap documentation the different models (projects) uses the same basic parts (and software),what are the differences between those models? by understanding the principles of reprap printer I can build my own frame and printer by myself,all models looks the same for me. what am I missing ?
2. Regarding Pursa i3, I've decided to build the Box Style frame because it is supposed to be much cheaper ,what tutorial you reccomend me to follow?
3. it might be sound a bit ignorant , the reprap looks like several rods and parts connected together in trivial way. why is it so hard to build a one (ignoring technical difficulties)?
Thanks
Morad

Glad you're getting involved!

Examples for diffenences might be something like how rigid is the mechanical construction is (plastic parts which are mechanically stressed by forces and therefore reinforced as well as overall; compare box frame and sheet metal frame), how fast is the printer (more rigid -> faster, I'd assume), difficulty of assembly (look at the bom of mendel compared to prusa i3, for instance; but the amount of screws doesn't correlate with difficulty of assembly -> rostock style is said to be more difficult), price (e.g. fishing line instead of timing belts, ...), usability (magnetic joints for rostocks -> tool changing without disassembling the platform, as well as nice performance).

For you second question, idk as I have built a single sheet frame.

The difficulty in my eyes is that if you don't build your printer from any kit and scrap together everything you need by yourself, is that there is a huge varity of almost identical products which would do the job, but aren't always available everywhere and you might have to improvise and you might run into new (but not necessarily unsolvable) problems. From what I experienced over my build of a i3 was that it's not difficult at all. Everyone can do that and if you run into problems, there are thousands of people who already had the exact same problem and if not, even more are willing to help. The main difficulty is the "getting started" part, as in deciding on which variant suits you best (you can easily get confused by the amount of variants) and finally purchasing the parts. The construction itself isn't that hard if you've got some of those "hands" on your arms respectively someone helping you and a brain. The calibration and getting it running reliably part might give you some long nights and might get really tricky, but as I said, thousands of people...

I think you've chosen a solid printer model for getting started and hope this helps a little.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/18/2014 11:35PM by Rotz.

Thank you very much for the detailed answer!
I am thinking to follow this tutorial:
[78.47.92.212]
what do you think?is it good enough?
Regarding the printed parts kit, any kit from eBay would be fine?

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EEstudent
Thank you very much for the detailed answer!
I am thinking to follow this tutorial:
[78.47.92.212]
what do you think?is it good enough?
Regarding the printed parts kit, any kit from eBay would be fine?

That guide is great I'm currently following it (just got to mount the Y axis to the frame, add the z thread and wire it up) as long as you have all the parts and tools ready its pretty straight forward. Of course like anything you'll probably need to adjust bits to suit your needs, tools or parts (I added a few extra screws on the frame).

Make sure the plastic parts are for the same version as your making each of the three main types have slightly different plastic parts.

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My Reprap blog

jds-reprap.blogspot.com

The tutorial looks awesome. Very detailed and a lot of pictures. Well, the software part might be not detailed enough

As long as you order parts for a box frame, it should work (but look out for which threaded/smooth rods are necessary, 8 or 10 mm are possible; also I'd go for at least abs-printed extruder parts). Although there's no way in telling what the print quality of those parts will be (if possible, look out for <=0.2mm layer height and infill >=20%; but you can repair almost anything).
When thinking about it and comparing my single sheet printer with the tutorial's, the main difference seems to be in the the connection of the y-axis (back/forth) to the frame and also the z-axis (up/down) frame connection parts, as there is a supporting part that goes around the corner of the frame. The first one can easily be improvised (thick piece of wood/acrylic/... , horizontal hole for thread, vertical holes for screws..), with the second, I'm not sure, how difficult this can get, but wouldn't rate it as impossible. But this might be an experiment for someone who already has a printer, I guess.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/2014 08:11AM by Rotz.

Again,Thanks for the help!
My friend qill give me a lots of parts (motors,drivers,belts)
I will build wooden box frame by myself.
i found someone who cant print the parts for me,he need STL files to print it,I need help at this point.
where those files are located?is it the same as single sheet style frame?
the Extruder, any recommendation for specific type?

They differ from the single sheet part.
Here you can get the original prusa i3: https://github.com/josefprusa/Prusa3/tree/master/box_frame
Also, you could look at the forks, perhaps you find something even better.

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Rotz
They differ from the single sheet part.
Here you can get the original prusa i3: https://github.com/josefprusa/Prusa3/tree/master/box_frame
Also, you could look at the forks, perhaps you find something even better.

I will start with those,I got prusa printer availabe if I want more different parts.
where can I find the quantities of each part to be printed?it seems there are much less part to be printed compared to the list of signle sheet part in this page:
[reprap.org]
I am so excited to start putting all things together

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why is it so hard to build a one (ignoring technical difficulties)?

I figure you've got to be at least competent in several disciplines to build a good RepRap, but it depends how much you are building from scratch, and how much you are buying ready made in kit form.

Like, I'm "whee" with a soldering iron and pretty good with PCs, but am a bit of a klutz when it comes to cutting metal - got to do those bits very slowly and carefully.

Also, as posted above, building a 3D printer is the straight forward bit, getting software to work and controlling it are more involved.

Persevere, you'll get there. Just don't give up, and you'll get there.

The really good ones usually have been calibrated real fine, by using engineering calipers to measure test prints and adjusted accordingly. That's a human skill that isn't so easy to teach to a machine.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/2014 10:30PM by Pat McD.

I've bough all rods,nuts screws washer etc' and next week i will buy the wood and print the parts I need.
I will open new post before I print the parts to make sure I am printing the right configuration.
The family got interested in this printer,they will help buidling it

Someone posted this video tutorial on the i3 - pretty good too!

[www.3dprintronics.com]

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Waitaki 3D Printer

My BOM:
[forums.reprap.org]

Make sure you use some strain relief on your heater bed power wires. Otherwise, they will rip off the solder pads on the PC board. It happens a lot.

I drill holes in the heatbed and wire tie them, and also wire tie them to the printers main bed.