Choosing a first printer

Hello all,

I am trying to find a good first printer to build so I can learn more about them. I have read through many of the forums and it seems like the best option for a beginner is the Prusa I3 kit from makerfarm. Is this a good assumption? Is there any reason(s) I should not purchase this model for my first printer to build? If there are any topics that already discuss something similar that I may have missed (I apologize), please point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance.

My recommendation would be any printer with a large support community. The I3 definitely fits that condition. For now, don't worry about features. Learn the ropes and then figure out what is important to you for your second printer. You can get paralyzed with options so just get something that prints.

An other alternative is to get the worst one. This way, you'll learn a lot!
I personally have a MixG1 and I couldn't have made a better choice! I faced so many problems and now I can print at twice the speed of the original one. One problem solved at the time.

Sourcing all of the parts yourself will give you an even more thorough knowledge base by the time you got done. You could either build one of the various tested designs, just do all of your research and make a complete parts list (recommended). Or you could design an all new printer and build that (enter at your own risk).

@woodencase01:

+1

That is so true. For my first printer I got a LC Printrbot. I had to replace a ton of components with printed ones to get it to my standards. The whole time I was curse it saying "I could design better" but berating myself because I had never designed a production printer. If I had gotten a printer that was preassembed and took no effort to use then Simpson and Wally would probably not exist. (@Brook Drumm: Printrbot's are great and I am very thankful for what you have done. It just isn't designed how I would design it and there is nothing wrong with that.)

So all that said. Just get something. Don't over think it. You have a whole community here that will help you get over hurdles.

I completely understand how going through part by part or building a lower quality printer would allow me to learn the whole system better. I am afraid that if I do that, however, I may end up overwhelmed with problems instead of being able to tackle one problem at a time with help from others. It seems that many have had enough challenges to overcome when building the prusa i3 kit. Let us not forget that the end goal is to have a decent quality printer at the very least so I can print and learn more about what I want to be able to create! Thanks for all the help

On a first printer, there will be a lot of learning. You don't want it to become so frustrating that you give up on the process. It's *much* easier to struggle through a second printer than a first. Having a working machine (even if it is a very different design) makes doing the second one far less crazy.