Hello All,  My FRC robotics team is interested in getting a sub-$1000 printer.

3D Printing
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Hello All,
My FRC robotics team is interested in getting a sub-$1000 printer. We are looking for one that has an 8" x 8" heated platform, potential upgradability (i.e. being able to use an all-metal hotend), and generally a robust and reliable printer. Unfortunately, our school district only allows us to make a purchase within the US, so unfortunately, printers like the Mendel90 is not an option.
Thanks in advance,

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Build your own ?

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Printrbot Simple? It maybe a 6x6 though.

I have a RigidBot that does 10x10x10 within your price range. There has been some wide spread issues which are all able to be resolved with upgrades. I would do your research on the google+ site for it prior to running and getting it. It is now a well running machine since I have gone to a all metal hot end and swapped the power supply. Some people have experienced issues with the main board however. You can buy it with out a main board and power supply for $450.

Even with the upgrades I’m under a $1000 but it’s not a out of the box machine.

Cant you buy a Mendel90 from a U.S. Supplier?

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Build area is 11" radius or 7.7782 square
Only thing I would do different out of the box is dump the power resistors for a cartridge heater.
@SeeMeCNC1

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Our new metal Printrbot Plus is getting close. It will be 10" cube build volume. We should have it for sale on Black Friday (fingers crossed) and ship before Christmas. It starts at $999 for pla only and a heated bed upgrade will follow on shortly (going with a 24V upgrade we dreamed up for better heat). It will ship with the new all metal hotend and new Gear Head extruder. X&y are linear rails, z is 12mm bar.

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@Brook_Drumm you build some nice stuff. I have a funding request in at work to by a simple for my robotics club.

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Thanks! Good luck!

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I suggest the MakerFarm Prusa 10" i3 kit, really good kit, plus great support.

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@Shachar_Weis ​​​, I would love to do that, but I don’t think my team would let me D:
@Nathan_Brunne ​​​, I have heard about the venerable support of Makerfarm, but I’ve heard that some of the kits are a bit fiddly, thanks for the recommendation, though!
@Brook_Drumm ​​​, The simple metal seems like a great option, just a few questions: What’s the heat-up time for the simple metal’s heated bed upgrade? When is the approximate release date of the All-metal UBIS and the dual-drive extruder? Really looking forward to those