prusa i3 : my impressions and tip

Hi All,
I was able to print perfect print few days ago, I guess this is a good time to share my impressions and tips which might help all those who are trying to build their first RepRap.

most important tip: STUDY REPRAP!
General impressions and tips:
1. Prusa i3 is fantastic thing to have. the price, ease of make and the high resolution (for most users it is more than needed) makes it great project for DIY.
2. do NOT make SHORTCUTS, if you don't have the right bolt/screw/parts go and buy one!
3. if you have to improvise, think of long term solution.
4. expect problems, there are many ways to build Prusa i3 or any RepRap variation, there might be small differences in the rods,nuts,extruder (and many things) used to build the machine. you have to deal with those things while you build the machine.
5. buy a kit of source parts? buying a kit would be the fastest way to build a RepRap, you get the right parts,screws,bolts which will fit nicely but it is expensive option (at least where I live) the custom/taxes and shipping would cost extra 100$ at least. I bough all parts from eBay and built a wooden frame and saved a lots of money but it took me a lots of time to gather and assemble the parts (parts mainly from China).
5. tighten everything and make sure you build a stable machine, it is important as you start printing.
Frame
Building wooden frame is very cheap option.
Electronics:
1. it is quite straightforward, Chinese parts from eBay are fine. you might wanna have an extra endstop/driver. make sure to buy the right motors.
2. power supply: I don't recommend buying from generic unknown brand. buy a basic one from known reliable brand.
Software
Firmware: I used Marlin, found it easy to configure and works fine
g-code software: slic3r is my favorite, it has many advances options, settings and controls but it still easy to use and the default values are fine. other software I tried were either too simple or too complicated and not user friendly.
g-code sender software: pronterface is my favorite, it has a nice interface and easy to use.
Hot End
this is confusing part, obviously it is one of the most important parts in the machine and should be reliable to avoid any frustrations in the future, there are many cheap hot-ends on eBay. some are good and some are not, the only way to know what is the quality of those hot-ends is to ask someone who bought the specific hot-end from the specific seller or pay more money and get a hot-end from well known brand like E3D (just an example). I have E3D-v6 and I would recommend getting one especially because the assembly is very easy and there are not need to use any tape.
if there are questions I will gladly answer

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/2014 04:42PM by EEstudent.

Sounds good. As far as short cuts go buying a few parts of particular sizes can be expensive. M3 and M4 rod are quite cheap so on can make one's own bolts from it saving quite a bit sometimes.
You didn't say where you live. In Austria customs rarely charge duty on anything under €100. Items sent with a courier are always charged customs often with an exhorbitant handling charge (DHL and UPS) whereas items sent by Chinese post take longer but are rarely charged.

Unfortunately I live in Israel, the fees paid for customs are not low which makes buying a kit an expensive option