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Buying a 3D Printer

SZEM
33 minutes ago, SZEM said:

Hello, I'm going to buy my first 3D printer and I'm thinking of Prusa i3 3D Kit (http://reprappro.me/product/prusa-i3-3d-skrivare-komplett-byggsats). If you have some or a lot of experience with 3D printing, could you tell me if this is a good purchase?

I have a prusa i3, can't remember which exact kit ... or if it even is an official kit. I bought  mine from a local 3d printing shop who I'm guessing put the kit together themselves. Either way, the prusa i3 is a solid design, very versatile, with room for future part upgrades but most of all offers value. It's specifications are equivalent to those of printers in much higher price brackets. Somethings to keep in mind: the printer is finicky, bed level needs to be redone whenver the printer is moved, the structure is kinda flimsy so it's best to set it somewhere and not bother it, and I had trouble assembling the z axis. If the x axis sliding rail isn't exactly level, or perpendicular to the z axis, the threaded rods for the z axis cannot spin freely and the motors easily stall. Took me a while to really get the levelling right by manually turning the threaded rods on either side until the motor could easily turn the rod. Some grease helps. This is a great kit and really fun to build, there's a huge community to also help you along with troubles and tons of guides online. 

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If you can afford the extra cost, i would recommend one of the new official prusa i3 mkII's as it really offers some of the best quality and features for the money. The older style rep rap i3's can be pretty hit or miss, so i personally would be cautious on kits that are not widely known

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8 hours ago, bob345 said:

If you can afford the extra cost, i would recommend one of the new official prusa i3 mkII's as it really offers some of the best quality and features for the money. The older style rep rap i3's can be pretty hit or miss, so i personally would be cautious on kits that are not widely known

Agreed. There are some good i3 kits, such as the maker farm, but why settle for that when Joseph Prusa makes the best desktop 3d printer on the market for less than $1000? I always used to recommend the Ultimaker 2+ or the Original+ to people. These are still incredible machines, but it's hard to recommend them when you can buy something that produces the same if not better quality for less than half the price (in terms of the 2+).

ASU

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I would suggest this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CTC-3D-Printer-Dual-Extruder-MK8-Factory-Direct-Lowest-Price-ABS-PLA-/252537812212?hash=item3acc6d34f4:g:yEoAAOSwdIFX18J1 (Not an affiliate link)

If you can get that model of 3d printer (a Chinese clone of the Makerbot Replicator) for around the same price, I have one and it works really well, and it also has dual extruders. It comes assembled and not as a kit though, if you specifically wanted a kit.

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17 minutes ago, DestinyOceolot said:

I would suggest this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CTC-3D-Printer-Dual-Extruder-MK8-Factory-Direct-Lowest-Price-ABS-PLA-/252537812212?hash=item3acc6d34f4:g:yEoAAOSwdIFX18J1 (Not an affiliate link)

If you can get that model of 3d printer (a Chinese clone of the Makerbot Replicator) for around the same price, I have one and it works really well, and it also has dual extruders. It comes assembled and not as a kit though, if you specifically wanted a kit.

These aren't great for beginners. For someone who knows what they're doing that has the money to pay for new parts when they break. A more expensive machine is a better idea, especially for beginners. I literally just finished a guide on why to avoid machines just like this. 

 

ASU

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4 minutes ago, Hackentosher said:

These aren't great for beginners. For someone who knows what they're doing that has the money to pay for new parts when they break. A more expensive machine is a better idea, especially for beginners. I literally just finished a guide on why to avoid machines just like this. 

 

Mine works well for me and the only parts I have added to it are parts it has printed out, but it might not be the highest quality. I don't know how to tell how good parts like the extruder or hotends are as I am new to 3D printing, but I am not as new to electronics and apart from the noisy 24v fans, the electronics appear good quality to me. There are definitely much higher quality printers available, but mine at least doesn't seem very bad, especially for the price. Something like an Ultimaker would be way better, but my on works well for me.

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On 2016-12-25 at 6:09 AM, bob345 said:

If you can afford the extra cost, i would recommend one of the new official prusa i3 mkII's as it really offers some of the best quality and features for the money. The older style rep rap i3's can be pretty hit or miss, so i personally would be cautious on kits that are not widely known

The multi-colour printing got me, I'm buying the MK2.

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8 hours ago, SZEM said:

The multi-colour printing got me, I'm buying the MK2.

I think the quad filament extrusion system is still in development, but it looks really good. @TheGhzGuyJust got one of these and it works really well for a first time 3D printer. 

ASU

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The Original Prusa i3 mk2 is a great machine - and a well documented kit with good support, but it's not cheap for an i3 that's for sure. If you can swing it sure, otherwise consider the Wanhao i3 V2.1 (monoprice maker select or something in US). I have both and they both produce decent prints for the cost.

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