new to 3d printin looking to dive in

hello all and thanks in advance for any and all advice. I will apologize in advance if this not the correct place for this post. I will start by listing my back ground. I am a automotive technician 730 to 530. I also have lots of hobbies to name a few 3d modeling, modeling in general, anything rc, robots,and the list go's on and on. I am a jack of all trades and a master of none ( well maybe one ) As the topic suggests I'm new to the 3d printer world and looking for advice one where to start. I am not apposed to an out of the box solution, but don't mind the challenge of a diy rout. I have run search after search trying to find something I would like. So with all that said, can anyone point me in the right direction. What to buy where to buy pros and cons ect.
price range is around 300 to 500 us dollars, but flexible if required. If more info on my requirements pls ask and I will list them.
again thanks for any and all help.
sorry if none of this makes any sense
Grammer and spelling.
I'm at work and not much time to get this post up.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/2015 02:28PM by lokiwizz.

Assuming you are in the US, take a look at the Wilson, designed and sold as a kit by Marty Rice. A quick Google search will get you there.

ok my google foo must be fail n me. did a quick search for the Wilson did not find anywhere with it for sale. I am in the us,
how dose the wilson ts? compare to the likes of say the folger tech,geeeteck, or makerfarm kits?
again thanks for the help
sorry for my sloppy posts in a hurry at work
will update this after noon

edit ok had a bit more time to do a proper search I am assuming this is the kit you are referring to wilson kit

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/2015 05:11PM by lokiwizz.

start with the reprap website. [Reprap.org]
Read everything that looks interesting in the wiki and get a rough idea of which type of printer you like the look off.

Theres enough info on there to scratch build and source the parts for a decent printer.
If you pick the printer you like the look off then use the bill of materials to self source the components you can save a fair amount of money over the kits you can buy. I built a prusa i2 for less than £250 with better quality parts than any kit of around that price and more.
Ive improved it since then and it prints better and as fast as the ultimaker 2 i have access to.

Im about to start my second scratch build based on the p3steel a sort of i3 on steroids.
I wont be buying a kit. Ive ordered the steel frame. Once that arrives ill start sourcing the rest of the parts i need as i go.
Picking the best quality for a reasonable price but from outside the 3d printing suppliers as it will be cheaper.
If you go to industrial bearing suppliers you will get better quality and prices than you would in any ebay kit you can buy.
Its the same for other expensive parts like the motors.

All the information has been available on reprap.org, this forum and other internet sources.

Gordon

thanks gordon, I have visited reprap.org and looked around will be back many times in the future as well. I will update my posts now that i am off work to help give a better explanation of where i am and what i am looking to do. I like the looks of the prusa i3's and leaning in that direction. As far as sourcing all the parts and building as i go, i get what your saying about quality and price just not shore I want to dive that deep just yet. maybe as a second build or upgrade i don't know i will have to think on that. I have looked and read reviews, watched videos on numerous pursa i3's. all have there ups and downs.
From lack of support to bad build instructions, cheap parts, poor fit and finish. now i do understand that these are kits and alot may boil down to the end users ability to lets say adapt and over come. Also lets face it some times you just get defective parts that are brand new out of the box. So I guess i will rephrase my question, if you were going to buy a kit version of a pursa i3 what would you buy and why?
again thanks for all the help and i look forward to what everyone has to say
also if anymore info is needed to help you pls feel free to ask.

Quote
AndrewBCN
Assuming you are in the US, take a look at the Wilson, designed and sold as a kit by Marty Rice. A quick Google search will get you there.

I've been trying to get in touch with Marty through his email to no avail. I was interested in possibly ordering a Wilson TS Kit from him. I am now searching around once again and trying to decide which way to go.

Last time I heard from him, Marty was selling his kits on eBay and he could be reached by email, tweeter or his Google Plus accounts or even through makexyz [www.makexyz.com] . That was until January this year.

Now, I am not sure whether he is still selling his kits or not.

If he is not, I strongly advise you to consider buying a steel frame for the P3Steel, it is by far the best Prusa i3 variant available and apart from the frame, it uses standard Prusa i3 components, which you can easily buy by mail order. See the wiki for the P3Steel BOM and more information.

Quote
AndrewBCN
Last time I heard from him, Marty was selling his kits on eBay and he could be reached by email, tweeter or his Google Plus accounts or even through makexyz [www.makexyz.com] . That was until January this year..

I'll give it a try through makexyz again, I noticed one on eBay but not sure who it was. Seems to have been $50.00 more than I remembered it to be ($480.00).
If it has gone up to that price I would then be persuaded to go to a MakerFarm!

Sourcing the parts and building it yourself is not rocket science.
Id advice you to just get on with it, source the parts and build it.
Yes it will be qucker with a kit but if you take your time and research each part as you go you will have a far superior machine and you will know it inside out.
You will learn a lot more and be able to trouble shoot properly when things dont work as you expect.

Gordon

Yes Gordon I did a Lil quick and dirty price comparison of just parts source for the flebay vs some of the kits. There was not much cheaper but I can see where it could be as
ebay is not always the best for price. I think I will take your advice and start my build from scratch.
I was running down one of the bom and the bulk of the build is just in hardware alone. So I will do some more searching and post back with what I find for advice
again thanks

Quote
lokiwizz
Yes Gordon I did a Lil quick and dirty price comparison of just parts source for the flebay vs some of the kits. There was not much cheaper but I can see where it could be as
ebay is not always the best for price. I think I will take your advice and start my build from scratch.
I was running down one of the bom and the bulk of the build is just in hardware alone. So I will do some more searching and post back with what I find for advice
again thanks

Please keep us informed, as I think this weekend I will be doing the same. What style printer are you planning to build. I have a cnc and was thinking of trying to cut as many of the parts as possible.

The bits I found you dont want to scrimp on are the hot end and the stepper drivers.

Start with a good quality J-head or all metal like the hexagon Hot end.
The decent stepper drivers will make setting it up easier.
Cheap arduino megas can be pretty good these days and the same with the ramps board.
Just shop around with a recomendation from another user For a supplier.

A lot of the materials can be bought from your local hardware store.

Gordon

Quote
Michaelj

Quote
lokiwizz
Yes Gordon I did a Lil quick and dirty price comparison of just parts source for the flebay vs some of the kits. There was not much cheaper but I can see where it could be as
ebay is not always the best for price. I think I will take your advice and start my build from scratch.
I was running down one of the bom and the bulk of the build is just in hardware alone. So I will do some more searching and post back with what I find for advice
again thanks

Please keep us informed, as I think this weekend I will be doing the same. What style printer are you planning to build. I have a cnc and was thinking of trying to cut as many of the parts as possible.

Well that may depend on what you are going to cut out on your cnc haha! But I was leaning towards a i3 single frame from wood or aluminum.

Quote
gordonendersby
The bits I found you dont want to scrimp on are the hot end and the stepper drivers.

Start with a good quality J-head or all metal like the hexagon Hot end.
The decent stepper drivers will make setting it up easier.
Cheap arduino megas can be pretty good these days and the same with the ramps board.
Just shop around with a recomendation from another user For a supplier.

A lot of the materials can be bought from your local hardware store.

Yes that's what I had figured, probly going with ramps mega combo for control. Was thinking a j head. As for stepper drivers I'm open to suggestions. Also anyone willing to print me some of the printed parts would be nice Lol. I will gather more thoughts and make a better post later tonight

As always thanks and keep the info/ideas coming

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/2015 10:45AM by lokiwizz.

ok guys here is a quick run down on what im looking at so far. Other than a hot end psu and steppers. Tell me what you think.
frame kit
ramps kit
hob bolt kit
printed parts
not shore if the links are working can't check from my phone Will try a pc later and update if needed

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2015 09:02AM by lokiwizz.

Looks pretty good to me. Just make sure the thermistor that comes with the heated bed is in the Marlin list of compatible thermistors. The stepper motors and hot end will be a big portion of the cost as well. That'll run another $120 or so for a decent hot end and motors.

I pieced mine together from multiple eBay buys and I'm about to wrap mine up hopefully within the next week or so.

I wasn't able to get my 12864 Full Graphics LCD display working though - check the forum threads and you'll find some who got it working fine an others that didn't.

Quote
lokiwizz
ok guys here is a quick run down on what im looking at so far. Other than a hot end psu and steppers. Tell me what you think.
frame kit
ramps kit
hob bolt kit
printed parts
not shore if the links are working can't check from my phone Will try a pc later and update if needed

The frame you're purchasing is from the same sell I am purchasing from. I've ordered the aluminum kit (single frame). He shipped it the same day I ordered it and I expect it to be here Tuesday the 21st. I think you'll be happy with the purchase.

Your electronics kit is same as mine also, different vendors, the thermistor is included in your package. You're looking good. This is my first build and I've manually sourced most of the parts except the nuts and bolts. Should be fun!

Quote
psneddon
Looks pretty good to me. Just make sure the thermistor that comes with the heated bed is in the Marlin list of compatible thermistors. The stepper motors and hot end will be a big portion of the cost as well. That'll run another $120 or so for a decent hot end and motors.

I pieced mine together from multiple eBay buys and I'm about to wrap mine up hopefully within the next week or so.

I wasn't able to get my 12864 Full Graphics LCD display working though - check the forum threads and you'll find some who got it working fine an others that didn't.

The lcd will be nice but not the selling point for me on that item just kinda a bonus if it works great if not then that's what the pc is for anyway.
thanks for your helpful input and i will keep that in mind

Quote
Viper97

Quote
lokiwizz
ok guys here is a quick run down on what im looking at so far. Other than a hot end psu and steppers. Tell me what you think.
frame kit
ramps kit
hob bolt kit
printed parts
not shore if the links are working can't check from my phone Will try a pc later and update if needed

The frame you're purchasing is from the same sell I am purchasing from. I've ordered the aluminum kit (single frame). He shipped it the same day I ordered it and I expect it to be here Tuesday the 21st. I think you'll be happy with the purchase.

Your electronics kit is same as mine also, different vendors, the thermistor is included in your package. You're looking good. This is my first build and I've manually sourced most of the parts except the nuts and bolts. Should be fun!

thanks for the info good to know i am still shopping other parts and plan on ordering within the next few days to a week
again thanks and hope all gose well with our build
pls post back when your parts arrive and how your build is all going

The full graphics controller works great on my i2.
Just a couple of changes in marlin before loading the firmware up.

I never connect the pc. I only print from sd card after a few accidents because of the pc being connected.
The graphic controller is used for everything from tweaking settings while im printing to setting the bed level and priming the extruder when changing filament.
Also really handy for pre warming everything up before i print.
Great to have the progress bar and readouts for temps and fan right there on the printer.

I couldnt imagine having to use the pc to do all that.
Its already on the specs for my next printer Build.

Gordon

Alright I took the plunge and dove in. Ordered the listed parts in previous post along with a psu and steppers also from ebay here is the links to them
power supply
steppers

now i have a few questions?

#1: Based on what I have on order what do you think? Am i missing anything? less a hot end.
#2: Recommend me a hot end for this setup? Or building one from scratch?
#3: Do I need a mounting plate for the hot end? like this one
#4: Recommend me a filament suppler?
#5: Any other thoughts or considerations for my build that you can think of?

As allways thanks for your time and look forward to your feedback

Chris

Interesting thread.

Steppers...before they arrive you should do research on how to wire them up. They are unipolar steppers ( 6 wires) but you will be using them as bi-polar ( 4 wires) so its important to know which 4 wires ( of the 6 ) you need.
Also get hold of some suitable Du Pont connectors and crimp insert pins ( 4 pole for steppers) ( 2 pole for thermistors)
Some thing like [www.ebay.com]

Hotend ..E3D now have a very affordable V6 lite which will work fine for PLA/ABS and you can upgrade later if you want to print more types of filament.
[e3d-online.com]

If you ordered that you could also order [e3d-online.com]. Which ive been using for a few months now and it does the job fine.

You might also need a small amount of kapton tape. In most cases the heated bed thermistor goes in the middle of the bed and its good to use kapton tape to hold it in place and secure the wires to the edge of the bed
where it meets up with the power cables

Filament choice is a tricky one I normally go with Verbatim for solid quality . Having said that i recently ordered some cheap Esun from Hobbyking ( while ordering some RC parts) and so far thats worked out well.
What i particularly like is the fact they are small 0.5 kg reels and cheap. So its more affordable to have a wider range of colours

Edit A pack of 4 or 6 inch cable ties ( zip ties) always comes in handy as well

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/2015 12:28AM by bigfilsing.

Quote
bigfilsing
Interesting thread.

Steppers...before they arrive you should do research on how to wire them up. They are unipolar steppers ( 6 wires) but you will be using them as bi-polar ( 4 wires) so its important to know which 4 wires ( of the 6 ) you need.
Also get hold of some suitable Du Pont connectors and crimp insert pins ( 4 pole for steppers) ( 2 pole for thermistors)
Some thing like [www.ebay.com]

Hotend ..E3D now have a very affordable V6 lite which will work fine for PLA/ABS and you can upgrade later if you want to print more types of filament.
[e3d-online.com]

If you ordered that you could also order [e3d-online.com]. Which ive been using for a few months now and it does the job fine.

You might also need a small amount of kapton tape. In most cases the heated bed thermistor goes in the middle of the bed and its good to use kapton tape to hold it in place and secure the wires to the edge of the bed
where it meets up with the power cables

Filament choice is a tricky one I normally go with Verbatim for solid quality . Having said that i recently ordered some cheap Esun from Hobbyking ( while ordering some RC parts) and so far thats worked out well.
What i particularly like is the fact they are small 0.5 kg reels and cheap. So its more affordable to have a wider range of colours

Edit A pack of 4 or 6 inch cable ties ( zip ties) always comes in handy as well

Thanks for the info, zip ties and duck tape and you can never go wrong (well maybe a little)
I have been watching some asm. videos on youtube in preparation for the parts arrival
The idler looks like a pain to assemble, has anyone designed a better one.

It uses six washers, three on each side of the bearing. I would think there is a better one or a better way to do it
As seen here

Ordered 4 pin and 2 pin connector body and pins male and female (they will be useful in other projects)


Anymore advise is always welcome and as always thanks
chris

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/2015 09:50AM by lokiwizz.

yeah and if all that fails WD40 :-)

I would use duck tape unless you want a weird smell and a gooey mess traveling up a down the y axis eventually. I guess I was lucky that i had some kapton tape already so i havent reallt tried other types to be honest

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/2015 10:22AM by bigfilsing.

Quote
bigfilsing
yeah and if all that fails WD40 :-)

I would use duck tape unless you want a weird smell and a gooey mess traveling up a down the y axis eventually. I guess was l;ucky that i had some kapton tape already so i havent reallt tried other types to be honest

no no it was a joke haha i will be using the correct tape and maybe a dab of silicone on the thermister itself.

Little update, I should be getting all the parts in late this week into next week. I picked up a hot end with metal cooling washers it is not all metal (has the ptfe tube). Also got the metal mount along with cooling fan and part to attach it to the hot end.

My next question is will this hot end be able to print abs without effecting the ptfe tube?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/2015 07:53AM by lokiwizz.

Some details or photos might be useful. Cant really tell what you bought from your description.

I've never had problems with hotends that have liners but make sure its genuine PTFE thou

Quote
bigfilsing
Some details or photos might be useful. Cant really tell what you bought from your description.

I've never had problems with hotends that have liners but make sure its genuine PTFE thou

ok here is the hot end I ordered mb metal hotend

and here is the fan and braket fan and braket

I did get pla and abs

I do plan on getting a all metal hot end later this was just to get going and cut down the price to build

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/2015 11:28AM by lokiwizz.

Looks OK to me
I would start with PLA as it generally requires lower temps than ABS. The hotend is quite short and there's not much cooling surface on the fins so i would be a little concerned when using higher temps that the heat "travels" up the hotend.
Having said that, the fact it has a liner will be an advantage in stopping the filament heating up before it reaches the nozzel.

That fan shroud doesn't look particularly efficient air flow wise so your first print job will be printing one that is !! Assuming you have the space to accommodate a better one

Quote
Michaelj

Quote
AndrewBCN
Last time I heard from him, Marty was selling his kits on eBay and he could be reached by email, tweeter or his Google Plus accounts or even through makexyz [www.makexyz.com] . That was until January this year..

I'll give it a try through makexyz again, I noticed one on eBay but not sure who it was. Seems to have been $50.00 more than I remembered it to be ($480.00).
If it has gone up to that price I would then be persuaded to go to a MakerFarm!

Well, I made my decision. Ordered the Wilson TS Stretch from mjrice.