Prusa i3 vs MendelMax and Mendel90?

I'm not sure which forum this should be in, but as this forum is so active, and the Prusa seems to be the basic machine for the MendelMax and the Mendel90, I figure it makes sense to ask here:
Why go with the Prusa i3 over the other two? The others appear to build on the Prusa, and certainly the larger build size and stiff aluminum frame make the MendelMax attractive - yet it is hard to find so many options for it, and it isn't clear why it costs so much more ($999 kits vs $500-$700 for quality Prusa i3 kits).
Any advice?

Hi,

Well, the genuine Mendel90 kit overtake most of prusa i3 kits.
To me the MendelMax is an old fashioned design.
What about a SmartRapCore or a Delta ?

++JM

prusa is the best if used those components(IMHO):

P3steel frame downloaded from logre.eu

some better board like rambo
24V psu

why?
its precise,rigid and squared out of the box.
there is no way that mendel max will be so precise, you need bolt alu extrusions, its a big job, and always you will miss, at least for 0.5 mm.

Steel lasercut frame will be inside 0.1-0.2 mm max.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2015 01:27AM by woo.

My rule of thumb for opensource items or objects or kits is, find a model that you can source most of the hardware on your local stores.

mendelmax series basically a much more rigid version compared to prusa i2 uses threaded rods for its frame and 2020 aluminium are not that easy to find in my place, at least I might not surveyed all aluminium suppliers yet

mendel 90, basically from prusa series but offers more rigid and perfect 90 degree angle for the main frames. I think nophead invented the mendel 90, the x carriage are based on mendelmax 1.5, where the belt are mounted horizontally instead of vertically. you could make your own mendel 90 but all those screw holes and placement are crucial and with major error would render the frame might be useless or inaccurate during assembly

prusa i3, probably the most cheapest and most widely used printer model, because Josef Prusa emphasises more on building the printer from what you can find on your everyday local hardware. I think the very first prusa i3 is made of 6mm thick plywood box based frames. Whats more, prusa i3 series can be expanded at will depending on what frame you're using for example 2020 aluminium, can be expanded easily

Just my opinion