Hi, I've been using a makerbot Z18 at the new Devon FabLab, and I've been very impressed by it! I'm a reasonably experienced hobbyist / builder, so I thought I'd have a go building a printer for myself. What particularly attracted me to the Z18 was the size of the build space and the controlled environment. Is there a reprap that could be considered comparable? Thanks!

Any reprap printer can do the same, just increase your z axis length and enclose it. You will have to protect or cool your motors if you put them inside the enclosure and if you are building it with printed parts be sure to use ABS or polycarbonate.

Thanks. I've just come across a project which built an oversized mendel2. That seems to be a good starting place. ( [reprap.org] - mine dosn't need to be as large as this one!)


Why ABS not PLA?

That shares the primary flaw of all prism frames - very little stability in X axis, and theres no good way to brace it without obstructing part of your print area. For a large printer, I'd probably go with a mendel90 style buttressed-T.

As for ABS vs PLA - PLA has very poor temperature resistance, which would be catastrophic if you used PLA parts within a heated chamber.