Prusa i3 Frames

Hello guys I'm new here.

I'm starting to build my first Reprap Prusa i3 Printer.
I just bought the printed parts for the wood frame, because i couldn't afford the aluminum single plated, so heres a question.
a friend of mine just offered to cut the aluminum for me, but i got the parts for the wood frame. are there an alternative where i can use the printed parts for the wood frame on an aluminum frame, or are there some documentation on a frame ? maybe i have to draw one of my own ?

and 1 more question:

Pros and cons on Bowden and Direct Feed Extruders, that would help me a lot

Thanks in advance

The printed parts for the wood box frame will not (for the most part) work with the single sheet aluminum frame. Most of the money is in "stuff" other than the printed parts. I'd re-sell the box parts and move on.

A Bowden tube will cost you more. It will result in a lighter carriage. That's not as big a deal on an i3 as on something like a Delta. A Bowden will / may / might not be as good for high speed retraction as a carriage mounted extruder. On an i3 direct drive seems to be the most common choice.

Ahh alrighty then, i have to consider my option then..


Ill stick to the direct feed then

It's not an either / or one decision forever sort of thing. You can start with one extruder and convert to another one later on. Having a printer to print parts for a printer is a good thing ...

Hence why there are so many i3 variants.

To some extent there are variants "because you can". To another degree there are variants because better parts do indeed come along.

Well i always liked the Delta machines, but i think it would be easier to start of with the Prusa i3 because of the information and its somewhat easier to understand as a first time printer.
and if i had a 3d printer i could always just print some parts for the delta or another printer later. but i just thought i could get the box frame printed parts and make the box, and afterwards get the delta, but now I'm in the situation where i can get the frame in aluminum, and thought maybe there were a combo of box frame and alu

Yeah there are a lot of nice printers out there, that are an extended version of the originals. Those printers are nice but often more work for a first time printer

An i3 kit from a good supplier is about the lowest risk low cost first printer you can find. The "buy a bunch of parts" approach has the risk of buying parts that don't quite fit together. That's true regardless of the printer type you are trying to build. There's a lot of money in things like smooth rods, motors, and electronics. You can indeed fully research all the aspects of each, the information is out there. Some of what you find will be contradictory, and you will have to decide who's right. Making those judgements without ever having seen a printer is a bit tough. My guess is that most of us make a few mistakes trying to work stuff out.

I can't emphasize the "good supplier" phrase in Uncle Bob's post. I bought the crappy AliExpress kit for $300 and have replaced everything except the acrylic frame -which is next on my list
Wish I had done more reading and bought from MakerFarm etc...

@ TRoager

Reading the wiki pages on the Prusa i3 and its various variants will go a long way to answering most of your questions and doubts.

Just sayin'...

Read this before you "invest" in a $300 printer kit.