Help/Advice on Printer Choice

Hello! My first post..

I have been reading loads on RepRap printers recently and have sufficiently confused myself! So in need of a bit of advice.

I had initially decided on building a Mendel Mono, so began pricing up all the parts required.. now I am thinking a Prusa i3 might be a better choice, but I am finding it difficult to get a comprehensive list of parts & build instructions (it seems there are different variants of i3 too!). Which lead me to 3distributed's kit (link) which I think is based on the i3 Hephestos (link). (I am from the UK btw).

Trouble is, I would like to be able to print in both PLA & ABS but apparently the above kit can only print in PLA. Would I be able to add a heated bed to print ABS too, or is it more complicated than that? (also the resolution of 60 microns seems very very high?!).

Last question.. is the Prusa i3 the best choice for me? I would like to be able to:

- Work on a budget; low cost is a priority but with good quality prints.
- Print in both PLA & ABS.
- Print small, finely detailed objects as well as larger objects.

Thanks for reading,
James
UK

Yes you can add a heated bed to allow you to print ABS plastic. ABS needs a heated surface to stop it from warping. 60 microns or .06mm sounds like a great resolution. Mind you, you won't be doing every part at that layer height or your prints will take a very long time to print. I have a delta robot 3d printer. I usually print at .3mm which is 7 steps above that setting. As for whether this machine is best for you, I cannot answer that. My choice for choosing my particular printer, the rostock, was largest build size and speed. So my suggestions are find the best printer that meets your criteria, and when you get the printer learn your firmware and the host program because being knowledgable on the 3d systems is crucial to being able to 3d print effectively.

Thanks for your reply Wildcard and for confirming my assumptions on needing a heated bed to print ABS. The 60 micron resolution is one of the things that appeals to me about the Prusa i3, as I would like to be able to print pretty detailed stuff. I think the i3 meets my original three criteria points, so I now just need to find out which variant to build and whether it would be cheaper to source parts myself or buy a kit!

I will head over to the Prusa section for that.

Thanks,
James

I liked the kit option just because I know all the parts should work together. The cost saving of sourcing everything is easily negated by just haveing one peice that just doesn't work with everthing else.
You might also look in the For Sale section for people selling kits or whole printers.
Mike

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2014 11:55PM by Miertam.