[Chinese Full Kit] Rp3d Prusa i3

So This is my first build and I've been trying to collect a kit for electronics with a kit for mechanical and so on with some local parts, Malaysia, to build one.

Yet I found the cost will be the same if I just buy this kit off over AliExpress.com [www.aliexpress.com]

However, I've my concerns about quality.
They use Melzi 2.0; is it as good as Ramps 1.4??

AND generally anybody with experience with this kit? and othe kits off AliExpress.com?

Am I better off buying different kit and putting them together where I get to choose what exactly goes into my printer?
Or should I settle down for this kit especially there would no cost different almost?

Check this out,

They have really good prices on their website too!

[www.rp3d.com]

[www.rp3d.com]

To me it's more important to se what's inside the kit, than where you buy it. I bought a kit lookalike this one. And there were a lot of things I dislike in it. First, the acrylic frame. It's lightweight, fragile, and not stiff enough. You'd rather find a aluminium or wood frame kit, even if it's a bit more expensive, it's worth the money. Seccond, try to get a kit with a geared extruder. My kit had a too small motor which had trouble to push filament easily. With a geared extruder, no problem, whatever motor you've got. Third, the parts, find a kit with all the contemporary improvements of the Prusa I3. Especialy reinforced Y bearings bushings and Y motor support, redesign endstop supports (on the kit you found, endstops can turn with the rods, that's not accurate enough), belt tensioning system on XY axis, and so on. Last but not least, buy a kit with a branded hotend (or a good copy of a branded hotend) like Jhead, Exagon, E3D... That's one of the most important parts of a printer. You can't print well with a too cheap hotend, and you'll buy one someday anyways.

Remember there's a lot of prusa I3 kits, and they are pretty different and most are bad kits. Some will make your build and your prints easy as that, ohterwise some will be real nightmares ! Don't buy a price, buy a real maker's kit. If it's $50 or $100 more expensive, save money for more few weeks, but don't buy too cheap

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2015 05:17PM by Zavashier.

---

Collective intelligence emerges when a group of people work together effectively. Prusa i3 Folger (A lot of the parts are wrong, boring !)

Quote
Zavashier
To me it's more important to se what's inside the kit, than where you buy it. I bought a kit lookalike this one. And there were a lot of things I dislike in it. First, the acrylic frame. It's lightweight, fragile, and not stiff enough. You'd rather find a aluminium or wood frame kit, even if it's a bit more expensive, it's worth the money. Seccond, try to get a kit with a geared extruder. My kit had a too small motor which had trouble to push filament easily. With a geared extruder, no problem, whatever motor you've got. Third, the parts, find a kit with all the contemporary improvements of the Prusa I3. Especialy reinforced Y bearings bushings and Y motor support, redesign endstop supports (on the kit you found, endstops can turn with the rods, that's not accurate enough), belt tensioning system on XY axis, and so on. Last but not least, buy a kit with a branded hotend (or a good copy of a branded hotend) like Jhead, Exagon, E3D... That's one of the most important parts of a printer. You can't print well with a too cheap hotend, and you'll buy one someday anyways.

Remember there's a lot of prusa I3 kits, and they are pretty different and most are bad kits. Some will make your build and your prints easy as that, ohterwise some will be real nightmares ! Don't buy a price, buy a real maker's kit. If it's $50 or $100 more expensive, save money for more few weeks, but don't buy too cheap

Thanks for your reply,
Ok so I will focus on a wooden frame kit from now on.
I like the Bowden extruder for now. I was planning on changing the one in the kit for a Bowden later.
The Hotend, I heard lots of people saying DO NOT GET A CHINESE ONE. So I think I will stick to the E3D as well.

The thing is it's hard for me to find the new improvements, I just got into this 3 weeks ago! I keep reading all day long, yet still not enough so far. I learn more everyday.

What about this, I will get a wooden kit with no electronics or extruder. Then I will buy those separately. What do you think of that?

Do you have any kits you would recommend?? I'm looking at 350$ max

Check this one:

[www.aliexpress.com]

I get most of my electronics and parts from Aliexpress, main thing it's to see Vendors feedback and DO NOT get anything from vendors without feedback they are usually scams. Geeethech of all is the best, I'm currently using 2 of their J-Heads (PEEK with inner Teflon guide ones) and they work flawlessly "Yes, a GOOD Chinese hotend" for $ 16.00 each.

The extruder on the one I posted is an standard makerbot type with metal upgrades, it will get the job done and then you can get a better hotend and print the accessories and any re-designed part. It will not brake the bank and will get you started.

Quote
ggherbaz
Check this one:

[www.aliexpress.com]

I get most of my electronics and parts from Aliexpress, main thing it's to see Vendors feedback and DO NOT get anything from vendors without feedback they are usually scams. Geeethech of all is the best, I'm currently using 2 of their J-Heads (PEEK with inner Teflon guide ones) and they work flawlessly "Yes, a GOOD Chinese hotend" for $ 16.00 each.

The extruder on the one I posted is an standard makerbot type with metal upgrades, it will get the job done and then you can get a better hotend and print the accessories and any re-designed part. It will not brake the bank and will get you started.

Thanks for the recommendation man. It will cost a 100$ more to ship to Malaysia! No idea why so much!!! I will contact them soon.

I don't see them offering any Wooden frame kits though! Will the acrylic do?

Also btw regarding the nozzle diameter, which one should I choose?
I think I will stick to Ramps 1.4. What do you suggest? Drivers? A4988 is okay right?

And what about buying different separate kits from different sellers?
Like mechanical kit from one, electronics from one and so on... You think the savings will be worth it?

I bought my printer from them in January 2014 and I was happy with what I got. I've also bought ABS plastic, their RAMPS full package and 2 all-metal extruders. I havent tried the metal extruders yet but everything else is working fine. I hear that for the past year they have upgraded the packaging quite a lot and your printer comes packed well and tight. The printers come with all needed tools too. When I ordered there was no manual but the sd-card they send with the printer had a ton of images and even though it was my first build I managed.

I bought the wooden frame kit: [www.rp3d.com]

Here's a discussion in another forum about the same kit [www.soliforum.com]
I've uploaded some photos in there. On the last page you can see the new packaging.


Overall, I do recommend the seller and the printer.


Cheers,
Krasimir Nikolov
[shapeforger.com]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/2015 02:38AM by krakadu.

---

ShapeForger

Quote
krakadu
I bought my printer from them in January 2014 and I was happy with what I got. I've also bought ABS plastic, their RAMPS full package and 2 all-metal extruders. I havent tried the metal extruders yet but everything else is working fine. I hear that for the past year they have upgraded the packaging quite a lot and your printer comes packed well and tight. The printers come with all needed tools too. When I ordered there was no manual but the sd-card they send with the printer had a ton of images and even though it was my first build I managed.

I bought the wooden frame kit: [www.rp3d.com]

Here's a discussion in another forum about the same kit [www.soliforum.com]
I've uploaded some photos in there. On the last page you can see the new packaging.


Overall, I do recommend the seller and the printer.


Cheers,
Krasimir Nikolov
[shapeforger.com]

Hey thanks for sharing your experience.
I've read most of that post on the other forums you sent.
I will see how it goes. I'm purchasing a kit by end of March. So you only paid 299$? Cuz that's really good value.
I think I will ask them to swap the electronics with the RAMPS
Did you make the purchase off the website or off the AliExpress.com offer?

Quote
ishe7ata
[Hey thanks for sharing your experience.
I've read most of that post on the other forums you sent.
I will see how it goes. I'm purchasing a kit by end of March. So you only paid 299$? Cuz that's really good value.
I think I will ask them to swap the electronics with the RAMPS
Did you make the purchase off the website or off the AliExpress.com offer?

I purchased from the website, but the current one is new and I'm not sure how well it works. If you have any troubles, you can email them - they respond within a day.

---

ShapeForger

Quote
krakadu

Quote
ishe7ata
[Hey thanks for sharing your experience.
I've read most of that post on the other forums you sent.
I will see how it goes. I'm purchasing a kit by end of March. So you only paid 299$? Cuz that's really good value.
I think I will ask them to swap the electronics with the RAMPS
Did you make the purchase off the website or off the AliExpress.com offer?

I purchased from the website, but the current one is new and I'm not sure how well it works. If you have any troubles, you can email them - they respond within a day.

You mean this email andrew@rp3d.com right?

I bought one and it was a pain in the a%*. Terrible instructions to put it mildly. BUT, I learned so much and am printing beautiful parts now. Wouldn't trade the experience for anything. They are the perfect vehicle for noobies to learn the basics which you wouldn't get if it worked perfectly out of the box. Thanks to the members here that gave me the info to get the kit working. If you need help with assembly I've got all the fixes. PM me. Good luck.

Quote
elwood127
I bought one and it was a pain in the a%*. Terrible instructions to put it mildly. BUT, I learned so much and am printing beautiful parts now. Wouldn't trade the experience for anything. They are the perfect vehicle for noobies to learn the basics which you wouldn't get if it worked perfectly out of the box. Thanks to the members here that gave me the info to get the kit working. If you need help with assembly I've got all the fixes. PM me. Good luck.

You got me even more interested!!
I will surely keep in touch. Cheers!

Quote
ishe7ata
And what about buying different separate kits from different sellers?
Like mechanical kit from one, electronics from one and so on... You think the savings will be worth it?

It sounds good to me, because you'll select the best possible components at each step. BUT, you should also check that parts are fully compatible, even if it's always possible to adjust parts to the frame, for example. No risks for electronics anyway. Only frame/mecanical parts matters. It's possible your Bill of Materials cost you less than a kit (about $250). Screws and hardware can be expensive through the net, sometimes you've got better prices at a local dealer.

It's possible to select a good set of parts on thingiverse, and ask a local Fablab or a repraper in your neighbourhood to print it. The Prusa I3 rework parts from EmotionTech. No Z wobble + xends improvements.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2015 06:24AM by Zavashier.

---

Collective intelligence emerges when a group of people work together effectively. Prusa i3 Folger (A lot of the parts are wrong, boring !)

Quote
Zavashier

Quote
ishe7ata
And what about buying different separate kits from different sellers?
Like mechanical kit from one, electronics from one and so on... You think the savings will be worth it?

It sounds good to me, because you'll select the best possible components at each step. BUT, you should also check that parts are fully compatible, even if it's always possible to adjust parts to the frame, for example. No risks for electronics anyway. Only frame/mecanical parts matters. It's possible your Bill of Materials cost you less than a kit (about $250). Screws and hardware can be expensive through the net, sometimes you've got better prices at a local dealer.

It's possible to select a good set of parts on thingiverse, and ask a local Fablab or a repraper in your neighbourhood to print it. The Prusa I3 rework parts from EmotionTech. No Z wobble + xends improvements.

Thanks for the advice mate. I might just stick with a full kit for now... I will see how it goes.
Actually I calculated the difference in price between a full kit and a collection of kits is very minor. So I think it's not worth the risk since after all I'm a beginner and I might mix things up!

It's true, the difference is not the price, but the overall quality You surely understand that bulk buy is not that cheap today, except if you can buy 1.000 or 10.000 parts. The 3D printer market is still too small today. If a kit is cheap, it's because you buy very cheap items inside. Actualy, a good home build about $280 equals a $500 kit. When you buy a $300 kit, you buy cheap or non optimal parts : light frame, (too) fast printed parts and/or limited set of parts, cheap bearings (you'll get too much play), high inductance motors (less torque at high speed), cheap wiring, cheap electronics, and so on. Just be demanding while choosing a kit. Good luck

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2015 09:55AM by Zavashier.

---

Collective intelligence emerges when a group of people work together effectively. Prusa i3 Folger (A lot of the parts are wrong, boring !)

Quote
Zavashier
It's true, the difference is not the price, but the overall quality You surely understand that bulk buy is not that cheap today, except if you can buy 1.000 or 10.000 parts. The 3D printer market is still too small today. If a kit is cheap, it's because you buy very cheap items inside. Actualy, a good home build about $280 equals a $500 kit. When you buy a $300 kit, you buy cheap or non optimal parts : light frame, (too) fast printed parts and/or limited set of parts, cheap bearings (you'll get too much play), high inductance motors (less torque at high speed), cheap wiring, cheap electronics, and so on. Just be demanding while choosing a kit. Good luck

Thanks so much for the comment man. You assured me of my thoughts.
Thanks so much man.. I will put separate parts together I will make sure to get a high quality extruder and electronics.
Most cheap kits get old electronics and outdated extruders from what I noticed.

Quote
ishe7ata

Quote
Zavashier
It's true, the difference is not the price, but the overall quality You surely understand that bulk buy is not that cheap today, except if you can buy 1.000 or 10.000 parts. The 3D printer market is still too small today. If a kit is cheap, it's because you buy very cheap items inside. Actualy, a good home build about $280 equals a $500 kit. When you buy a $300 kit, you buy cheap or non optimal parts : light frame, (too) fast printed parts and/or limited set of parts, cheap bearings (you'll get too much play), high inductance motors (less torque at high speed), cheap wiring, cheap electronics, and so on. Just be demanding while choosing a kit. Good luck

Thanks so much for the comment man. You assured me of my thoughts.
Thanks so much man.. I will put separate parts together I will make sure to get a high quality extruder and electronics.
Most cheap kits get old electronics and outdated extruders from what I noticed.

Hi, you should ask somebody who bought our 3d printer kit, it is better than you ask a guy who told you" a kit lookalike this one " and so on.
Please have a look of this kit http://www.rp3d.com/shop/3d-printer-diy-kit-reprap-mendel-prusa-i3-p-75.html

@Chris,
this thread is 3 month old, He has surely bought a printer until now.

About the link to your website:
The printer on the picture has some weak points. For example the front of the y-frame is not stiff enough. The y-belt will pull constantly until the tension is too loose.

The coupling on the z-motors is too close to the motor, You´re blocking the motion that way, or you have to cut the shaft of the stepper.
Unfortunately you can´t put the coupler higher, because of the rod-bearing...

And the headline says: "Acylic" but has to be acRylic
-Olaf