Pre-buying advice please

I've been looking online for a good UK source to buy a ready-made or easy-to-bolt-together RepRap machine. As it'll be my first machine I was thinking of a Prusa model?

I need one ready-made or one very easy to put together, as I don't have any fine construction skills with my hands. I know it's best to buy a kit, as then I'd know how it all worked, but I just don't have the ability to do delicate work, such as gluing and soldering components. My other option was to buy a kit and ask someone to help me build it, but no idea who to ask, well I was considering asking my local Uni if any of their engineering students would be interested.

I've also just started to learn how to use CAD software. At least my interest in wanting to buy and use a 3D Printer has got me interested in learning CAD.

I also live in the Manchester area, so I'm interested in any local groups that might be around the area.


Jammers.

Hello,

If you buy a ready made machine you will eventually (maybe in 2-3 months) need to dismantle some parts of it. Hot-ends jam, and things get loose and wear out. You may be a little disappointed if you don't expect to do some work on the machine to keep it running well. It's not just about knowing how it's built but also what makes it fail and how to resolve that without throwing away perfectly good parts that just need some attention etc.

Good luck.

Rich

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[richrap.blogspot.com]

Hello Rich,

If there was a kit which just needed some bits bolting together then, I'd be fine with that, I used to play around with Technics lego making things. But it's the kits I've seen that need the electronics soldered and lots of gluing, which I'm not sure if I could handle.

I totally understand that these machines will need some regular maintenance and possible upgrades/improvements. Even if I need some soldering or anything like that done, I know a few Radio Amateur friends that could help me. My dad used to be a service engineer on machines called Multimailers.

My dad and radio friends would help me if I got really stuck with any difficult maintenance work that I couldn't handle.

I'm also ok at engineering problem solving and basic "bodging" when needed :-) I do own and sometimes use a soldering iron and a dremel. I just don't have steady hands for fine/delicate work, so I'd need help then.

I think I need to ask and shop around for any easier half pre-built kits or any fully built ones at a good price.
But I'm still thinking a Prusa model would be the better model option for a newbie.

Jammers.

A little extra I forgot to mention.

In the past I've also played around with things called Phidgets (Physical Widgets) [www.phidgets.com] which aren't too far from being useful with a RepRap machine.

I currently own and sometimes mess with:
A 4x Servo controller board and a few servo's
8/8/8 sensor board (8 analogue and 8 digital inputs and 8 digital outputs) with various sensors (temperature, voltage...) and switches/sliders.
and a 4x Relay board.

All of the Phidgets boards are ready made/soldered.
They are also all USB controlled.

But a RepRap machine is a little more technical, than just a few USB controlled boards.

As you can see I should be ok handling the basics of a 3D Printer. Hopefully in the future also being able to incorporate some of my Phidgets gear into one.

Jammers.

Hi Jammers, I like the Phidgets, haven't seen them before.

I understand your dilemma, and all that said, I think you should go for a RepRap, Many are now starting to come ready assembled, and some kits include ready made RAMPS electronics for example. and I'm sure 2012 is going to see a massive upsurge of ready made printers for sale, but they will be expensive to start with.
The tricky parts are the hot-end and the electronics, everything else is just a little time to assemble and line-up.

Have a look in the for sale section on the main RepRap forum, you'll find some people selling the things you need ready-made.

Good luck and let us know how you get on, especially with the shopping for parts experience, it's something everyone is trying to improve.

Cheers,

Rich.

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[richrap.blogspot.com]

It's a bit far for you, I know. But there is a significant group of us working down near Reading. We are currently building 20+ machines. It was originally going to be a build party, but we restructured it a little.

If your interested, I've heard from a couple more people up your way. It might be worth organising a build group up there. It means that you have a large group of people to draw on when you run into problems. It also allows for things like mass orders.

If you want any help/details/ideas, we are over at [groups.google.com]
Just throw us a post, or send me an email (my name+hotmail com)

Cynar