questions of building a 3D printer

Hey Vicky

I have built many of printers over the year and I must say my first one was nothing but hair pulling but it got easier from there.  Now with that said you can buy kits that have everything you need to build a 3D printer with a little time to assemble and calibrate you will be ready to print.  If you don’t feel your ability is up to speed you could always buy one that is assembled and calibrated.  I would check out reprap.org.  This is a great place for information on printers and parts and instructions on how to make them.

If this is going to be your first printer then I would recommend that you stay away from the dual extruder until you have a full understanding how everything works.  Here is a general list of what you will need, now how many you need or what model you choose will depend on what model printer you decide to build or what option you feel is right for the job.

Controller board

Motors

Hotend

Filament drive system

Heatbed(if you feel this is something you want)

Hardware (frame,belts,pulleys, nuts and bolts)

Filament (abs,pla or something else you prefer)

The build is using the ord bot design which is a good design.  Very simple to build.  I would check out the Mendelmax 2.0.  This is a great printer to build and print on.

Hope this gets you going in the right direction.  If you have any more questions don’t hesitate to ask.

Nate

Thanks a lot, as a begainer, I am so happy that i can get help of all of you so that I don't need to waste time on uncessary things.

Does the list you given above include all the thing i may need in this project. I want to order most od them in sainsmart, i also hear that the budget may up to $1500, That seems a little high for me, do you guys have any recommendations which can help me to save  money ?

Hey Vicky

I forgot to put on the list wire and connection but thats minimal.  Now the list is just a high level outline of what you need.  For example, depending on what controller board you use, you might need to also purchase stepper drivers.   If you are looking at a printer for home use then maybe you would be interested in the Printrbot Simple ($299) http://printrbot.com/shop/printrbot-simple/  assembley required or the MakiBox A6 LT ($200) https://store.makibox.com/#/product-detail?type=1&&option=31 some assembly required.  Is there a reason you want to order from Sainsmart?

Nate

This looks like a post tied to SainSmart's current efforts to get people to buy their product by illustrating its use in building a 3D Printer. They specify their own electronics, filament, etc so that people will see them as a one-stop-shopping option for building what is essentially a RepRap printer.

I have tried the SainSmart filament but its packaging was so poor I had to respool the whole batch onto a plastic spool that was large enough to hold it before it was useful. SainSmart saved money by spooling filament on a spool too small to hold all of the material without letting loops slip off mid print and with a paper structural component that comes apart very easily. As I noted in Amazon, the filament is very good quality (if you like orange instead of red, etc) but I would recommended any filament that comes on a plastic spool large enough to hold all of it before I will buy SainSmart's filament product again.

Vicky, if you are not part of SainSmart's advertising team, I suggest you look at some of the lower-cost designs Nate mentioned and also the many variations of 3D Printers that can be self-built at RepRap.org. SainSmart's equipment can be used but the more common components have popular alternatives amongst those who build 3D printers regularly - the jHead hot end, the RAMBo or RUMBA electronics, even the RAMPS board itself atop a common Arduino Mega board from Radio Shack or similar sources are common alternatives with alternatives from sources like RepRapDiscount as a popular component vendor.

Kirk

There is absolutley no need of spending $1500 on a 3d printer, you can get a full prusa i3 kit and instructions from http://www.makerfarm.com/index.php/3d-printer-kits/prusa-i3-kit.html for $520 and they are very helpful if you need any help. As a side note their filament is also very good quality and pretty cheap compared to lots of other places.

Kalani

I think this was an effort by SainSmart to get people interested in their products.  That is one think that bothers me with some of these companies is that they get people that dont really understand what they need thinking that if they purchase one part through them then you need to purchase all.  This is far from the truth.

Nate

I agree, Nate. It is unfortunate that businesses attempt to disguise their advertising under a cloak of pretending to be others with real questions, which waste the time of those willing to try to help and spread disinformation in an effort to capture commercial success without bothering to provide a better product than their competitors. One benefit of open forums for makers to share their experiences is that charlatans are quickly unmasked and their snake-old products exiled to the trash heap of similar dross. Online marketplaced like Amazon can still be gamed by paying for false positive reviews, so I tend to read the negative before buying for those tend to be more real. If the bad is something I can deal with, the product is likely closer to what I want than the rainbows and unicorns promised by the so-called "positive feedback" paid testimonials.