DIY printer kits

ok, so dont get it from amazon. duly noted:)

I have been looking at the ANET A8

is my height to small or to large? when you say "limited choices"? If it is to big, then anything that can allow me to print a paintball 10 round tube which is 8inches i think. I can always connect pieces together. YAY for duct tape haha

yes, close to set it and forget it would be nice:) im not looking for perfection in my parts. I mean, i have a davinci jr 1.0 that i set it and forget it and to me it produces decent parts to my liking. So anything that can produce just as good as parts as my jr1.0 and lets me leave the house while it prints, im cool with that because i can save profiles:)

Good to know about software. What do you recommend?

I can handle 8inch print volume and i think i would be fine. In fact, i would be more than fine:)
Thanks again

I found this forum after I bought my Flsun cube.   I might not have purchased it had I come here first, but I will live with my decision. 

My purchase was a risk that I was willing to take.  My printer to my door was just under $350.
I have wasted more money on other boneheaded this before so I was okay if it did NOT turn out. 

My purchase is completely R & D and I've enlisted a few friends and my bother inlaw to see if we can get this crap shoot to print. 

Once I finish this semester in college I'll have a time to dig in. 

I also agree in the 3D printing world nothing is turn key and you will spend a bunch of time modifying what you get. 

Good Luck
Todd

"Dont buy Anet A8, need lots of Mods to get it work well. For kits, if can not afford CR10S, check Ender-3. It does not meet all your goals, for reasons heartless mentioned. but it is as close as it gets in terms of price, build volume, and quality."
"I also suggest NOT getting the Anet - anything - they are just not very good."

Thank you for this. I had it saved in my wishlist for a few days. This is why i am here. I want to learn these things so thanks for helping me out with that. I could have wasted money, time and precious amounts of energy. I have also checked out the ender 3 and i do like the looks of that one. I have had that in my wish list as well. it has a 9inch print height and is a decent price. What are others opinions of this one?

https://www.amazon.com/Creality-High-pr … &psc=1

I know the link is from amazon, doesnt mean i have to buy it from there haha

"Personally, I do not recommend "leaving the house" with a printer running, EVER.. with ANY printer.
Don't care what brand, model, etc.. there are just too many things that can go wrong and you could come home to a disaster.. as in something failed on the printer and it caught fire and burned your house down kind of disaster. "

I knew the hotend was that hot but can PLA or ABS ignite at those temps? I see what you are saying and your telling me not to even risk it. My unit is enclosed i have left the house or went to bed, so far no failed prints or any serious issues. But i do not want to take that risk either.

"maybe 8" if you are lucky, 7" practical would be more like it (specs may say one thing, but reality usually falls short by a little..)"
Im guessing larger format printers are going to be expensive or a hassle? the Creality has a 14 or so inch print volume but i know nothing of the CR10. Also, i will try and learn how to cut parts so i can assemble them in pieces. Can this be done with all ready created stl's such as those found on thingverse?

" stay away from Simplify3D (aka S3D)"
Thank you for letting me know. I was looking into this product. i was going to try the free trial and see how i liked it. I have toyed around with slic3r but i can not get it to work on my davinci. I do have threedubber and i know i can copy an old header file over but i really like seeing how much time, temp, etc on my lcd screen, but that is beyond the point of this thread. Thus said, i can see how slic3r is really great for open source printers though. I will have to check out ultimaker

Thank you for all of this info.

have you bothered to look at the Folger Tech kits?

the FT-5 large format has a build area of 12" x 12" x roughly 15.5" high and costs $500 - that is a lot of printer for the price.
Bigger than the Prusa (which happens to be running behind on orders) for less money.

it will work just fine in stock form - there is no need to upgrade anything.
I did change the hotend on mine to an E3D Volcano AFTER building it stock and getting it running.

These were all printed with the stock hotend.

rc plane wing section - in progress

finished wing section

Z height test

overhang test - the part is upside down from the way it was printed..

Not this one, it is over priced. Creality Ender-3 price should range from $160-$199, depend on the deal you get. Ender-3X and Ender-3 Pro is patched and patch-patched version and slightly more expensive.

Ender-3: $249
https://www.amazon.com/Luxnwatts-Creali … ds=ender-3

Ender-3X: $269
https://www.amazon.com/Creality-Upgrade … ds=ender-3

Ender-3 Pro: $279
https://www.amazon.com/Comgrow-Creality … amp;sr=8-1

These are all amazon price from Creality agent company, they are about $100 higher than the price they got from Creality. But you get faster shipping and faster customer service. Creality use agent company in U.S.A. to reduce the cost for retail and customer service, that's why the list price from official store are always over priced because they don't want to compete with agents. You can also order from aliexpress for price of $170, $199, and $250, but it takes three weeks to arrive and replacement parts also takes long time to arrive if you are unlucky.

Ender-3's print bed is actually slightly bigger than 230 X 230 mm instead of advertised 220 X 220 mm, Z axis is 250mm which is about 9.8 inch.

CR-10 mini and Cr-10S are also good options and with larger build volume, but they cost around $320 and $430 and I would not recommend spend so much money on a 3D printer kit. Even with Ender-3, I would not recommend you get them at amazon price, wait and looking for deals if you are not in big hurry.

There are multiple post described their experience with FT-5 build process, so that you know what to expect.

http://www.soliforum.com/topic/16800/fo … -r2-build/
http://www.soliforum.com/topic/14957/folgertech-ft5/

I was also once passionate about large build volume printers, and got myself two CR-10S (300X300X400mm) and two CR-10 mini (300X220X300mm) when the deal is really good, they generate really good quality print after tighten all wheels and belts, but I find myself don't really need that large build volume. I guess it feels good that you know you can print large item just in case one day you need it, lol. The reality is I often print four or more items at once on my Ender-3 (230X230X250mm) and MonoPrice machines (200X200X180mm).

Newegg also carry these printers, if you are also boycott aliexpress or amazon for whatever reasons.

Those are nice but they are on pre-order for the third of January.

$2,000 was half price for a Makerbot last I remember. the printer you describe was the Solidoodle Workbench and it too was a couple thousand bucks and never sold on Amazon. sounds like pipe dreaming

I just finished building an FT-5 and would like to add my 'name' to the endorsements above. The machine is almost endlessly customizable and its rectangular shape makes it supremely eligible for an enclosure. I haven't yet made full use of its massive build volume, but it's good to know it's there if I need it.

The experience of building your first FT-5 will tax your patience to the utmost, or at least, if it's your first build. The construction manual is massive, but is poorly written and suffers from substandard photography. Once you're done, though, you'll know the machine inside and out and be much more able to do troubleshooting if issues arise. There's also a thriving online community full of people who are willing to help out.

I'd say, get the Folger FT-5 kit and save the money for a hotter hot end, a silicone heater bed, a filament dryer, a filament drybox, an enclosure if you need one, etc.