If you bought a Prusa i3 kit then it would probably take less than 20 hours for someone with engineering and electronic skills to build. There are various parts that you could then machine yourself as upgrades once you have worked with it a bit. Perhaps machining an all metal hotend? A metal extruder gear? A lighter carriage? However I think a Delta printer would give more ways to play with machiby Ralph.Hilton - General
I have a Mendel90 from Nophead's kit. He is active on the forum providing support - the Mendel90 has its own subforum. If you want to go for an i3 then this one looks more robust than most:by Ralph.Hilton - General
The Mendel90 has its own subforum here. The i3 shares with other Mendel variants. Prusa variants have been around longer and have many kit vendors. I don't think that there is a general vested interest bias. Google+ seems harder to manage than FB. Groups are easy to create so why not.by Ralph.Hilton - Mendel90
That doesn't include an extruder motor controller or mosfets for the heatbed/fan/hotend. It is also more expensive than a complete set of electronics including a mega atby Ralph.Hilton - Delta Machines
The Uno has limited pins and memory. I don't know of an equivalent to Ramps for the Uno. You can get a decent mega for $16.by Ralph.Hilton - Delta Machines
It could be costly to source from several places with shipping costs. may be of interest.by Ralph.Hilton - General
The Mendel90 build instructions are linked to at Here is one way to fit an E3D:by Ralph.Hilton - General
It looks likeby Ralph.Hilton - General
I built one from the think3dprint3d kit and found it excellent. I used an E3D and a heated bed. I didn't add the probe as it seemed unnecessary with proper calibration. The supplied glass is very strong and flat.by Ralph.Hilton - Delta Machines
It is comparable electronics. The Melzi costs a little more but it would be much easier to put in an exact replacement.by Ralph.Hilton - Reprappers
You might find this kit of interest for the Mendel90. or, if you want an enclosure and LED display The build instructions are excellent. I haven't seen a bad report on the forums for either.by Ralph.Hilton - General
If buildtak is polycarbonate then it is overpriced. I tried PC and found it far too adhesive with PLA. Prints would break before coming loose.by Ralph.Hilton - Reprappers
I would recommend learning Openscad. Gcode is far too low level to be practical to write in. A CAD program is used to create a .stl then a slicer is used to create the gcode.by Ralph.Hilton - General
I use an original E3D fitted to a Mendel90. It prints TPU (3mm) which has similar properties to Ninjaflex from fine at 50mm/s. I don't have any problems using the same nozzle and switching back and forth between PLA and PETG without fiddling around.by Ralph.Hilton - Reprappers
I would recommend the kit from . I built one some months ago. It was dispatched within days of payment, customer service was excellent and everything was of good quality. The price seems comparable even with shipment to the USA. I could not measure an error in the length of the rods - they matched. I found the probe totally unnecessary for good quality prints. It is set up to use 1.75mm filamentby Ralph.Hilton - General
It should be fine with 1.75mm filament - here is one direct drive E3D extruder.by Ralph.Hilton - General Mendel Topics
This is the first one I built: I later built this one: I can recommend both - build instructions are detailed with great customer support.by Ralph.Hilton - General
The i3v looks a lot stabler in the Y direction due to the bracing. I would add a brace each side from the front top of the machine to the back at the bottom.by Ralph.Hilton - General
Standard 2 part epoxy should fix it ok.by Ralph.Hilton - Mendel90
I power my LED lights from a separate supply - i got one similar to this at the same time as the lights:by Ralph.Hilton - Mendel90
Quote3dkarma QuoteRalph.Hilton It seems rather strange given that the seller is based in China. The listing states the seller is based in the UK (I'd take that with a grain of salt). Interestingly, they also list a kilogram of 1.75mm PLA for the higher price of GBP £19.99. Maybe they're having trouble shifting the 3mm stock. If you click on the seller's name on ebay then you get this page whby Ralph.Hilton - Reprappers
It seems rather strange given that the seller is based in China.by Ralph.Hilton - Reprappers
If I were in the UK I would buy a roll to try it at that price.by Ralph.Hilton - Reprappers
by Ralph.Hilton - Mendel90
If the mosfet was touching the D8 block then you probably have some melted plastic it that burns. Some boards have MOSFETs with borderline ratings. If that seems to be the case then I'd suggest replacing it with something likeby Ralph.Hilton - Reprappers
In bulk, yes. But that is a few years away.by Ralph.Hilton - General
I would charge €500 + parts for building a printer. Assembly in the US or EU is going to cost as much as the parts. Prices will drop rapidly in the next few years. The Chinese will start mass producing them once the demand goes up a little. I would expect cartesian printers in a box to be first as they are more stable. Deltas could follow later. A fully build 3D printer in your local Chinese retaby Ralph.Hilton - General
You should tell your kit supplier to build one of his own kits. Faced with such a situation I would use a soldering iron placed against the nut to melt the abs. The plastic in the nyloc nuts melts at a higher temperature. If you have a temperature controller on the soldering iron then you can set it a little below the nylon melting point.by Ralph.Hilton - General
I got very poor adhesion using a temperature lower than 85C on the top of the glass with PETG. A hotend temperature of 245C works best for me.by Ralph.Hilton - General
The thermistor temperature is quite a bit higher than the top of the glass. Setting the temperature at 75C gives me just under 60C on the top. Glass is less forgiving of slight miscalibration than blue tape. Cleaning glass with window cleaner can make it less sticky. I use vinegar.by Ralph.Hilton - Mendel90