Sometime around the beginning of next year I would like to host another RepRap 3D printer build class. This time instead of building one 3D printer as a group, I would like to have each student purchase their own low-cost kit and we would build it together. Participants would walk away with their own working printer.
The best US-based kit I can find for the price seems to be this kit by Makerfarm, the base kit is $375, it does not include a 12v 30amp PSU which can be sourced at various other places like amazon.
I could do an eventbrite link and pre-order the kits, but I know there would be a significant up-charge for the fees, I can see if Makerfarm would do a group discount. I would probably limit the class to 5 students.
BTW, this wouldn’t be until the current Mendel90 project is finished. I realize that buying a kit is much easier logistically than the Mendel90 build was from scratch. The makerfarm kit estimates 3 hours to build so the class wouldn’t be more than two 4 hour sessions.
Beginning of year, I’m expecting more towards March (hopefully when I get a little extra money to buy a kit). I think it would be easier to purchase separately but to make it work for the class, I can maybe do a group order for the class.
I would be willing to assist with the class. I have built a Prusa i3 from scratch and then a mini Kossel from scratch so I have real world experience with the printer and its headaches lol
I messaged them to ask if there would be any discounts if we did a group buy for the kits. I would prefer we did a group buy so we make sure we get them at the same time. I need to make sure we can commit to a group buy though.
I would also like to see if they have source files for the laser cut parts so we can hopefully make our own. I learned from the last class that self-sourcing is not worth it IMO, companies like makerfarm probably aren’t making that much of a margin on these kits, you would pay more for shipping 10 different parts than you save.
Hey mitch is there any chance u can or know someone i could pay to assist me with loading firmware on ramps fd board… I have everything im just missing something…
Looking at the firmware from Geeetech’s wiki page, it looks like it has .ino files so I’m sure it has to be loaded using the Arduino IDE, compiled and uploaded. It also has a SD-Image folder I don’t know if it runs off an SD card like the Smoothieboard.
I personally am not a fan of the Prusa configuration. I had one and it was frequently burdened with numerous issues.
Especially if you go for the kits with numerous threaded rods etc.
There is this Ultimaker 2 Aluminum extrusion clone on Thingiverse that is IMHO much more appealing for numerous reasons, one in particular is a easily scalable height, robust build quality, and high quality prints.
I have been looking to simplify the design a bit and have most of the parts (except printed) to build it.
Perhaps we could do a group buy on the components from robotdigg or smw3d.com?
I would be interested in a class, especially on all of the electronics configuration. I also decided against the prusa, or at least the acrylic/wood frame variants. I am currently gathering parts to build one of these:
It’s similar to the prusa, but it uses 20x20 extrusions for the frame, making it much more rigid and durable. I’ll be doing a couple of things different though - I plan on using a direct drive bowden extruder setup, and I may use a rambo board instead of RAMPS.
@thetazzbot I definitely like that idea, but I think it would cost a lot more in parts and it’s not a complete kit. I like the idea of the makerfarm kit because it’s <$400 kit that can fit in a couple hours of class time. The mendel90 was too complicated the entire class, and most of the time was acquiring parts. If you want to figuring out all the sourcing and host a group buy I’d be willing to help.
I agree I think the assembly should be strait forward, the actual class should be: how 3D printers work, the parts of a 3D printer, choosing components, and the other part should be calibration and tuning.
Because I’m being laid off from my primary job at Verizon, I don’t think I could afford my own kit, maybe we could make this more of a workshop where you bring in your own printer of choice and source your own components. We can stick with general how to’s for cartesian design 3D printers, since most of our electronics will be exactly the same. Maybe dive into Marlin calibration, etc.
TL:DR; Have a workshop class on 3D printer/Reprap basics, work on own designs with general calibration.
