Cheap 3D Printer Recommendation

[Desertboy]

If you have a access to a milling machine/router that can handle the size of parts google I3 graber and make your own frame from aluminium or ply (The DXF files are open source and freely available) and buy everything else separately.

I am about to rebuild my Mendel to a I3 Graber so I can write you a list of parts and do a little build diary if you want.

I wouldn't expect to save money doing it yourself but I would expect the product to be far superior. Autolevelling is an inductive (Or capacitve sensor) cost me £1.50 to implement with a chinese special but sourced from UK still under £10.

[AndyGuid]

If you have a access to a milling machine/router that can handle the size of parts google I3 graber and make your own frame from aluminium or ply (The DXF files are open source and freely available) and buy everything else separately.

I am about to rebuild my Mendel to a I3 Graber so I can write you a list of parts and do a little build diary if you want.

It would be great to have a build with lists to follow!

[Desertboy]

No worries as soon as my frame comes I will strip it down and get pics then we can work from there.

[komatias]

Plenty of open builds on Thingiverse:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2254103

[Desertboy]

To keep costs down though I would avoid extrusion after all this is a play thing not a production machine. I bought this frame from Ukraine (Still not arrived! after almost 4 weeks)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2821250171...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

you can make this from 1/4 sheet of ply and I intend to remake it on my cnc milling machine when I finish it but oversized so I can print bigger, also make it with 12mm not 6mm ply which means minor cad modifications.

I was thinking though of modifying the cad files so I can bracket every corner then it will be on par with the aluminium machines but a damn site better looking ;)

I have a thing for wood especially when varnished.

[Boyan Silyavski]

This is probably the best made clone with quality components http://www.3despana.com/kit-de-impre...-completo.html

this is also a very nice variant https://www.reprapwilson3d.com/colle...nt=18734558981

for a prusa MK2 copy http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1692666 and http://reprap4u.cz/


Anything less or cheaper is seriously compromised, will lead to frustration and the learning will turn to nightmare and unsatisfactory. round unsupported rails is a minimum that i hardly accepted. Rollers rolling on aluminum profile is a joke, dont be fooled.

if you are serious to get into 3d printing i will not consider anything less than Prusa MK2, even that with many reservations.

The questions " what printer for 300$" "What printer for less than 250$" and so on are the main reason i stopped to participate in any printing Facebook group. It ridiculous. To me it sounds like" I want a Ferrari, i see people are driving them, what model for around 3000$? " . or i want a CNC that cuts Aluminum, "which one for 500 quid?"

I was accustomed to bash people here for the CNC question, but at printing forums all jumped against me, when i say anything less than 700 is crap/ which it is/ . So i just stopped educating them on bearings and stuff. Just make the math. Hiwin 12 bearings for 3d printer are 250$, the cheapest sensible board is 130$, aluminum profile is 50$, even Chinise Hiwin copy is 150$ and Good round rails and bearings are 150$ and more. So how do you make a 150$ printer? using crap parts of course. Good boards and drivers are at least 180$, the good ones like Duet are around 300.

[komatias]

The questions " what printer for 300$" "What printer for less than 250$" and so on are the main reason i stopped to participate in any printing Facebook group. It ridiculous. To me it sounds like" I want a Ferrari, i see people are driving them, what model for around 3000$? " . or i want a CNC that cuts Aluminum, "which one for 500 quid?"

I was accustomed to bash people here for the CNC question, but at printing forums all jumped against me, when i say anything less than 700 is crap/ which it is/ . So i just stopped educating them on bearings and stuff. Just make the math. Hiwin 12 bearings for 3d printer are 250$, the cheapest sensible board is 130$, aluminum profile is 50$, even Chinise Hiwin copy is 150$ and Good round rails and bearings are 150$ and more. So how do you make a 150$ printer? using crap parts of course. Good boards and drivers are at least 180$, the good ones like Duet are around 300.

IT gets better...let make a 4 axis CNC with two drives off one set of pins....can't save everyone

[charlieuk]

I have been trying to research in to the buying a off the shelf reedy to run printer v a genuine prusa v building my own using hiwin rails. I'm tempted to go with the prusa mk2 but quite fancy building a nice frame using single arms from extrusion running on some hiwin carnages so I can go a fraction larger.

How hard is it to get a diy printer super reliable like I read about off the shelf printers?

My way of thinking is there is no point in saving $1000 on the printer if it costs $2000 in time messing about trying to set it up.

[Robin Hewitt]

but oversized so I can print bigger

Bigger sounds like a good idea until you try it. Bigger makes for all sorts of problems like lifting and everything being stone cold when you go back to start the next layer

[Desertboy]

Bigger sounds like a good idea until you try it. Bigger makes for all sorts of problems like lifting and everything being stone cold when you go back to start the next layer

Bigger is a art form but you can make it work I've seen some good large parts.