Hello
I have an honest question.
Now that my finances are not as bad as it used to be… i want to get into 3d printing.
i incline myself to the DIY… or maybe it makes sense to buy a kit… .who knwos
anyways… my question is about design… I can’t decide betwen delta or mendel
I’ll wait on your reply
Personally can’t comment on a Delta, but my first 3D printer was a Makibox which wasn’t the best choice, but I got the makers bug big time so quickly moved on to a custom built Prusa i3 and haven’t looked back.
Prusa i3 Hephestos is great for newbies. Best building guide.
thank you guys for your quick response.
prusa kit it is. 
What’s your word on acrylic kits from ebay.?
I sense they have a good hot parts…
The Mendel90 was a really solid kit and a pleasure to build.
Acrylic is not strong enough for Prusa. Look for Prusa Hephestos, it isna great kit.
I built a Printrbot and just completed a Delta. by far the Delta was a much quicker build but the jury is still out on differences in print quality until I do more printing with the Delta…
Look for good reviews. And not just one or two. You are asking the right questions. I would also err to towards a metal frame vs. acrylic.
Cost cannot be removed from the choice of a 3d printer.
Reliability is a function of cost of the individual components. Accuracy is a function of the engineering. Of course the two are linked, but it does not mean that you cannot have a good machine at a low price. You can have a low cost, high accuracy, low reliability machine, or you can have a low cost, good accuracy and reliability machine.
The prusa i3 is made to be in the middle, there are a few flaws in the design regarding twist and torsion, but this can be fixed with a few addons.
The mendel90 solves the twist and torsion issues through good engineering, this raises the accuracy without raising cost. Reliability can only be solved through reliable components, high quality stepper motors and drivetrain components, high quality hotends, electronics and extruder.
For an i3, I am partial to the Graber design, however wood is not the best material.
Are Deltas high precision machines?
They seem a bit simpler than Cartesian… At least from where I’m standing.
I can’t see any real differences between Graber and prusa…
I’ve decided to go after this kit… Just because is full aluminum
What do you guys think.
The motors look painfully inadequate. Other than that, the design looks adaptable. Check for forums and reviews.
Ok
What I’m sensing here is that I’ll end up building a complete custom machine…
If you can build it, you can fix it!
The problem with it is costs/availability or parts.
I live in panama… Wich means everything must be imported somehow.
I’m thinking on a decent yet cheap kit and work around.
Replacement steppers would be about 30% more above the cost of the machine. Make sure the control board they provide is good quality. Other than that, most of the components are aluminum which means it’ll be hard to break. Thats assuming they are machined properly, but you can work around small issues by shimming and adjusting - it’s not fun to do but its free.
Designing and building your first machine is costly. A kit is a good way to go, but since its your first machine you wont know what to look for, what issues you’ll run into.
The most common failures of cheap machines are: hotend, bent rods, faulty electronics, cheap motors, bad engineering, poor quality printed parts. A lot of these you won’t know until you get the machine, others come with experience in knowing the stress points of the frame and materials.
Also make sure the electronics aren’t some custom job. Stick with the standard open source stuff. Then at least, if you have issues, you have other resources.
well
My first instention was to get a sunhokey acrylic kit… then upgrade the frame to full metal…
this folgertec kit seems to solve the frame thing but now aparently the servos sucks…
go figure