Testing the water to see what interest there might be. Anyone interested in building there own 3D printer based off of the Prusa i3?
The deal is I get all the parts (Good parts not the cheapest crap off of Ali or eBay). Plus laser cut and 3D print all the extra parts.Then we spend 3 days (over like a weekend or 2) at VHS where we can get together to build and test the machines.And trouble shoot problems.
The design would follow most of the original open source Prusa released along with some construction videos available on YouTube posted by Thomas Sanladerer which would comprise the basis of most of the design and assembly to allow people to build on there own free time if they have the knowledge.
Not everything included in the Original by Prusa is available yet so its not a 100% clone.
I’m still trying to get all the prices confirmed but estimate is around $300.
I am in progress of making a high end high temperature easy to use hot end. Depending on the timeline is that something people would be interested in trying out?
I’m still doing the research. One of the goals for this build is to see what parts can be recycled from computer part teardowns.
For instance the current design of the Prusa has a power supply ordered from China. But I want to still use the ATX power supplies that the older versions used. ATX power supplies are far more likely to be of better quality then the 12V power supplies from China. Also easier to find a replacement for. Only problem is that they are bigger. BUT there are some power supplies that are miniature sized. Just need to find enough from a good computer model.
The rods available from inkjets and lasers are usually very high quality with regards to straightness. But 8mm is oddly enough not a common size. So I’m looking into options for bearings for other sizes. The Prusa design does not use any 608 bearings just linear so I should be able to source some higher quality ones. This is one of the parts you don’t want to go cheap on. Bad ones have a direct effect on the quality of your printing.
Having built a few Prusa i3 reworks I would suggest using a quality hotend like the hexagon vs a cheap China clone and also an aluminum heat bed which I have found is a lot better than a cheap China PCB type. Also quality smooth rods. No use having smooth rods with .4mm bow in them if you are try to print .2mm layers
I see so many posts on the reprap forum from people buying the cheap China kits and then spend hours and hours of time “upgrading” them with auto bed leveling etc to compensate for poor quality/precision parts.
I love the idea of doing a group build, and I like the idea of using PC power supplies, but…
My Prusa i3 clone will max out my 10A power supply when heating up the bed
PC power supplies aren’t all equal, the cheaper ones that you’re likely to get for free may not be able to supply enough current on 12V. Even a nicer, split-rail power supply will need some custom wiring to make use of all the rails.
If you have to buy new, a decent PC power supply is at least double the price of a 15A 12V supply from Aliexpress (there are $10 ones with those specs… they’re probably fire hazards, probably want to go with a $20 one, still cheap.)
I’ve seen that cd rom printer. Great concept, but proved completely impractical in operation.
Hot ends won’t be from some random Chinese aliexpress seller. In fact I plan to avoid them as much as possible. I’ve never seen the hexagon before but seems interesting. Biggest impact though will be on the quality of the nozzle and heat break. I’ve been looking into some of the newer designs that have tried to integrate them all into one piece. Nothing truly impressive yet stands out for me.Also I have to weigh the pro’s and cons of an none standarded hot end for people who are probably building there very first machine.
I’ve gotten a lot of printer rods over the last year. Almost all of them have been far better then anything I’ve seen out of DIY kits. I found a good way to test straightness of a rod, roll it on a big, thicker piece of glass. You can hear warped rods even if you can’t see it in them. Gotta love physics. Also an indication of the quality is the consistency of the diameter. An 8mm rod is almost always 7.92. I’d love to see a 3D printer maker have that kind of consistency.
Your right aluminum is better then PCB. But I’m thinking if I can get a reliable PEI bed. Looking at the PEI sheets Prusa sells.
Yeah there is definitely a difference in quality in power supplies. I know what to look for. With the selection at Free Geek there is no reason to settle for junk.
