Rostock Max 3D for first printer?

So I am really wanting to get my first 3D printer and can't decide which one to get. I want to get a kit because I want to build it and just dont want to have to source all the parts myself. I had my mind set on the Prusa I3 from Makerfarm but then I saw the print speed of the Rostock. I can't decide if I want to spend the extra $$$$ on the Rostock. How does the actual print speed and quality compare to the Prusa I3? How hard is the Rostock to setup and get calibrated and tuned? Is it easier or harder than the X,Y,Z printers like the Prusa? Is there another printer kit that I should be looking at instead of these two?

This is a non technical Geek question .....or an anouncement that you are going to build a new delta based printer.....
So thats why nobody answers this question.....

I think the forumsupport overall is a bit limited foor noobs....

What i can tell you i have build a Prusa I3 which prints great.....
I am going to build a Delta printer because it just looks great...so i can not say if the print quality is better.
You can print faster thats for sure. And bed leveling is not such as a big issue as a cartesian printer.... Where you can build auto bed leveling these days..

I think a delta printer looks cooler and i dont think the quality differs much.

Good luck.

There are a *lot* of choices in the i3 area. I think that competition is always a good thing for the consumer. Finding a good open source Delta kit is harder. Finding three or four good ones of the same design to pick between is quite hard.

The cartesian printer "thinks" X,Y,Z that makes some issues easier on one of them. The Delta with a Bowden tube setup has much less moving mass. Weight reduction is the big reason for a Bowden, retraction performance is the main argument against a Bowden. Some filaments / hot ends / printing styles / people are less critical in terms of retraction than others. Low mass is the key to high(er) speed. Loading hot end fans, direct drive extruders, bed leaving servos, LED lights and other stuff onto an i3 carriage is "how it's done". If you made that same set of decisions on a Delta it's no longer light weight.

An i3 will give you a silly high level of Z resolution. You don't need the resolution it supplies. You also don't need much Z speed on an i3. A Delta gives you similar resolution in all three axis. The big(er) resolution issue on a Delta is how well the math models your specific mechanicals.

Moving carriage printers (as in X/Y) are not a great idea for 5' tall prints. A fixed carriage machine (like a Delta) is a better idea for tall skinny prints. None of these printers are a good idea for 5' cubes...

What ever you get , who ever you get it from- think about the level of support and documentation you get with the kit. I'd claim that on your first build, support is a very big issue. It's a "you don't know what you don't know" sort of thing. You *might* not have any questions and everything just works. You also might be like 99% of the people who do a first build - there's *something* that just doesn't quite work the way you thought it did. Much better to have a kit supplier who does good support *and* to have forms like this than to just have one or the other. Waiting for Uncle Bob to wake from his "nap" for the answer to a question can be a pain.

Finally - this stuff is addictive, you are just looking at the first printer in your life. There will be (many) more.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/2013 01:44PM by uncle_bob.

Thanks for the excellent information Bob. I already broke down and ordered the i3 kit, can't wait to get started building.

Good info about not adding more weight to the delta.

Don't give up on the idea of a Delta. I think everybody should have one. I'm just not sure that they make the best first kit printer (yet).

I just built a Rostock Max as my first printer a couple of weeks ago...went off without a hitch. Check out the seemecnc forums to get the latest build guide. Read through it and see if it looks like something you are capable of.