Recommendation for a kit to build my first 3d printer.

Hi,

  Looks like I'm late to the party, but I thought I'd chime in.  I purchased a makerfarm i3v 8" model at the beginning of the summer.  I went with a kit primarily for the opportunity to build something, but price was also a consideration, as I could not find a satisfactory model below my price point.  The building process was pretty straightforward and the only real problems I encountered were NOOB style (e.g. not tightening set screws).  It took roughly three weeks for me to build, calibrate and get to know my printer sufficiently to print functional parts such as the gears to Greg's extruder.  I've designed a few things ( http://www.thingiverse.com/bobthechemist/about ) and have been able to print a number of basic designs. 

The greatest challenge I've had is bridging, which was only recently resolved by the addition of a cooling fan.  In my case, I was pleasantly surprised that the kit I purchased had all of the non-printable parts for this design, which either speaks to the suppliers forethought or the maker-communities ingenuity.  I can now print this bridge successfully in PLA.

In the several months since I've been printing with a kit-based printer, I've only had one functional problem, where I ended up clogging the hot end during a filament switch from ABS to PLA.  In this case, I ended up applying too much pressure to the filament and the hot end leaked.  Since I built the printer, it was pretty straightforward to remove the problem parts for repair, which required a lengthy soaking of the metal hot end components in a sonication bath containing methylene chloride.  (I have a laboratory outfitted to do such things, and would not recommend this for an at-home user.)  My point here is that I *don't* know if this type of problem would also happen with a commercial instrument that has sufficient bells and whistles to assist the user in changing filaments.

In the end, a major purpose for purchasing a kit rather than a commercial printer was the engineering design aspect of the hobby.  Not only did I want to build the unit, but I wanted a platform to modify, hack, break and repair.  If these tasks sound at all appealing, then I would recommend the kit approach.  (Now, given that I'm replying to your post 2 months late, I suspect you've already made your decision.)

Hi,

  Looks like I'm late to the party, but I thought I'd chime in.  I purchased a makerfarm i3v 8" model at the beginning of the summer.  I went with a kit primarily for the opportunity to build something, but price was also a consideration, as I could not find a satisfactory model below my price point.  The building process was pretty straightforward and the only real problems I encountered were NOOB style (e.g. not tightening set screws).  It took roughly three weeks for me to build, calibrate and get to know my printer sufficiently to print functional parts such as the gears to Greg's extruder.  I've designed a few things ( http://www.thingiverse.com/bobthechemist/about ) and have been able to print a number of basic designs. 

The greatest challenge I've had is bridging, which was only recently resolved by the addition of a cooling fan.  In my case, I was pleasantly surprised that the kit I purchased had all of the non-printable parts for this design, which either speaks to the suppliers forethought or the maker-communities ingenuity.  I can now print this bridge successfully in PLA.

In the several months since I've been printing with a kit-based printer, I've only had one functional problem, where I ended up clogging the hot end during a filament switch from ABS to PLA.  In this case, I ended up applying too much pressure to the filament and the hot end leaked.  Since I built the printer, it was pretty straightforward to remove the problem parts for repair, which required a lengthy soaking of the metal hot end components in a sonication bath containing methylene chloride.  (I have a laboratory outfitted to do such things, and would not recommend this for an at-home user.)  My point here is that I *don't* know if this type of problem would also happen with a commercial instrument that has sufficient bells and whistles to assist the user in changing filaments.

In the end, a major purpose for purchasing a kit rather than a commercial printer was the engineering design aspect of the hobby.  Not only did I want to build the unit, but I wanted a platform to modify, hack, break and repair.  If these tasks sound at all appealing, then I would recommend the kit approach.  (Now, given that I'm replying to your post 2 months late, I suspect you've already made your decision.)