Prusa i3 - Two very good looking kits, but which to choose?

Hi there folks,

First time poster on this forum, but I have been using the forum for a while to try and figure out what I should be looking for. I am a product design engineer and have been wanting my own desktop FDM printer for a while. I really like the idea of going open source and so RepRap was an obvious way to go. After doing quite a bit of research (mostly through this forum) I decided to side with the prusa i3 and wanted to get a kit so that I know all the components will work together. I know the importance of buying a kit from a reputable supplier so have avoided ebay and have found what seem to be two great kits. Trouble is... I'm now stuck as to which one to go for. here are my two options (unless anyone knows of a better deal with quality parts?)

ooznest - [ooznest.co.uk]

3dlabtek - [www.shop.3dlabtek.com]

My first question is, does anyone have any experience with either kit? I have found reviews for the ooznest kit but only on their website (so taken with a pinch of salt) and none for the 3Dlabtek kit. I have been in contact with both companies and both seem really genuine and really seem to know their stuff. Here are the differences as I see it:

3Dlabtek
Uses stainless steel rods (smooth but not hardened seemingly but apparently do not suffer from corrosion)
custom produced hot end 1.75mm or 3mm(followed by comments about avoiding chinese fake E3D hotends)
Greg's V3 extruder
6mm aluminium frame
choice of nozzle orifice size (0.3,0.4,0.5)
reinforced frame
aluminium x carriage (is this worth it?)
smart screen (a full graphical controller, seemingly good for when you upgrade to a dual extruding system)

Ooznest
hardened smooth rods (better for bearings seemingly which makes sense)
1.75mm hexagon hot end
bulldog extruder
6mm aluminium frame
auto levelling through firmware

Both kits are around the same price. I want to make sure I invest in the right kit as I want to get the best possible prints and don't want to have any headaches from poor parts or parts failing quickly.

Sorry for the overload of information... but I am looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say and wanted to give as much info as I could.

Looking forward to hearing back!

Ben

Hi Ben,

out of this two choises it is the ooznest.
That kit is really complete. Even the glass for the heatbed and 1kg of filament and a lot of other things in detail are part of the kit.
No hardened steel rod ist not the problem of rust, the problem ist more that the linear bearing will wear the rod out.

But for me there is no doubt, at the moment I would take only this kit: Mendel90
I have one (not a kit from nophead) and I am happy with it.

Lars

Hi Lars,

Thank you for getting back to me. It was between the mendal90 and the prusa i3 initially and I ended up siding with the prusa i3 for cost reasons more than anything else. What is it that makes the mendal90 better in your eyes? You'e thrown a spanner into the works now! :p

You get the glass for the heatbed and sample filament from the other company too it just doesn't explicitly say so (they say because the glass is a custom part depending on whether you want the aluminium as the print bed or not, as aluminium is supposedly better to print ABS on due to its excellent thermal properties). What makes the ooznest kit more complete? The other kit comes with an aluminium x carriage (not too sure how much that would improve things) and a reinforced frame (offers two more linking points to the Y carriage). I'm not sure if these are important extras but if it is going to make the printer more rigid and improve print quality, it makes sense in my mind to go for it.

Just trying to explore all options and to pick everyone's brains and absorb as much of your knowledge as possible.

Thanks again

Ben

I don't know the printer from ooznest but i have build three prusa i3's from 3dlabtek.
I bought only the hardware there. It is good quality. Nicely finished printed parts. Very complete set, more screws and nuts then you need.
I would go for the reinforced frame, the aluminum carriage is not a must but it is easier to mount the extruder and the hotend and you don't use any ty-raps.
Service is also very good, they answer all your questions.

As an owner of an OOZNEST printer I have to say to go for the ooz. its nice to put together, simple instruction, very little fine tuning in assembly and very reliable. All my issues have been down to me.

thanks for the feedback everyone! It seems like both kits are pretty good... which doesn't make my life any easier. I do like how simple the ooznest looks to put together but at the same time I like the extras the 3dlabtek comes with (reinforced frame and a better LCD display). I think I will be happy with whatever I go with. What are the main reasons for going for a mendal90 over a prusa i3? I know everyone says it's better, but what makes it better? A slightly more rigid frame? It seems like the most critical thing with reprap machines, is more to do with fine tuning as every machine is different (even among the same kits) to get the best print quality. The mendal90 seems to be quite a bit more than a prusa i3 which is the main thing putting me off, especially when the i3 looks to be pretty good.

I can imagine this is a topic that is often discussed here, but I'm sure there is always new light to shed.

Thanks again everyone!

OOZNEST easy winner
45 quid discount till 25 march

If i were you id order without the ABS and start your printing life the easy way with PLA
Also forget the kapton tape ...just use UHU stick on the glass bed ...nothing beats it

Good luck