Looking at getting a 3D printer

Hi All,

My name is Luke, I am from christchurch, currently studying a bachelor of engineering, and looking at getting a 3D printer!!

First of all, i dont have thousands to spend, (preferably under $1000 would be great!

what are the do's and don'ts, reccommendations, and options

have been looking online and am going round in circles!

i have a good basic electronics and soldering knowledge, and have a CAD design knowledge using autodesk inventor.

Are there any second hand printers out there?

Any help greatly appreciated

Regards,
Luke

Hi Luke,
There is a healthy growing reprap community in Canterbury so you should be able to get alongside some locals when they read this later today, but in the mean time I would keep looking for a kit. It is hard to do under a grand but if you are technically adept and get some advice on which parts to buy you can do it - but the kits are the safer if more expensive route.
I am waiting for the chinese to start making mendel I3 kits but for now you need to buy them out of the states. Techpaladin.com or Makerfarm.com are two that leap to mind but there are many good suppliers. There is a new one in India I can't remember but recently bought something off so I'll look it up when I get home.
Cheers, Simon.

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Richmond, New Zealand
Thingiverse ~ YouTube

Hi Simon, thanks for your reply.

I had seen the kits you had mentioned, and was unsure of the quality but seen as you have mentioned them I will look into it.

What sort of true accuracy are they, are the quoted accuracy figures reasonably close to the actual performance?

Cheers,
Luke

For accuracy you should look at the photos of items people have made on Thingiverse, they are all pretty much the same no matter what they claim.

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Richmond, New Zealand
Thingiverse ~ YouTube