Hello,

The latest crowd funded 3D printer the Pirate 3D released their latest update and they showed how their z axis consists of a single rail moved by one stepper motor and a pulley. They claim it still achieves an accuracy of 100 microns. Do you think something similar could be developed for Reprap? Using a single stepper for z axis might bring down cost?

Please actually link to the stuff you're talking about? I take it is this. I think the rostock design also saves on one stepper.(magnitude matters; ~15$ to ~20$ i think) It has longer belts though, dont think that adds much in the price.

They call themselves 'pirates' but follow the main stream in their style of main presentation. They do say they'll release designs of their future boards and software as open source though.(Hope they keep their word)