Buying a Prusa i3

Hubert_Trahan · 2016-02-22T05:12:20.000Z

Hi everybody! I’m about to dive into the world of 3D printing and finally chose the Prusa i3 (or steel version) to start with. However, when I started looking for seller, I found so many different manufacturers from so many sites. I was wondering from which seller/manufacturer I should buy, since the quality of the parts are really important to me! (I don’t want a cheap plastic chinese version) Thanks for guiding me to the best seller I could find who could deliver to Canada!

Hubert_Trahan · 2016-02-22T05:17:58.000Z

Hephestos, GEEEEtek, Hictop, HE, Electron, … So many choices, what to choose!!!

karlzhao314 · 2016-02-22T07:24:04.000Z

Hi Hubert, owner of two Prusas here.

Personally out of all Prusa i3s I’m extremely partial to the P3Steel, so that’s what I’ll recommend. Acrylic and plywood Prusa i3s have a lot of wobble in their sheet frame, and while I haven’t used aluminum i3s I’ve heard they also have a significant amount. The wobble translates to poor print quality and sometimes even loss of tramming (90 degree angles). My steel i3 is rock solid, and the way it’s designed allows for zero warping of the frame, resulting in perfect angles every single time. It even allows for higher speeds since the frame is more solid.

The only vendor I know of that sells P3Steel kits is Kitprinter3D. However, another option you could take is sourcing a frame from them or from Ebay and buying all of the other parts separately, which would be a longer and probably tougher project but may be cheaper and would certainly give you a lot more customization.

Last thing I’ll say is that you shouldn’t be afraid of Chinese parts. Stick with genuine brand-name parts for the parts that require precision (the hotend, the rods, etc) but for a lot of the other less significant parts (the endstops, the belts, even the controller board) Chinese parts work just as well as more expensive US or Europe-made parts.

Hope this helped!

-Karl Zhao

EwoudDesign · 2016-02-22T13:49:15.000Z

I bought an original Prusa i3 (http://shop.prusa3d.com/en/). Yes you pay a bit more, but the service you get when assembling your kit is exceptional! It also benefits from the steel main structure against warping, and the solid printed ABS parts are also sturdy and durable. After assembling it turned out one of the end-stops was faulty, and within two days they sent me a replacement part, so again great service (basically 24/7 online).

Also, printing quality is great, and because you can set all the temperatures, speeds, fans etc yourself you can really experiment with a lot of different materials and shapes.

Any update is also communicated to you, so you can make the prints and order the parts correctly; nice tinkering guaranteed!

Greets,

Ewoud

Glostick21 · 2016-02-22T20:18:28.000Z

I purchased my Prusa i3 Org. and I really like mine. I had mine printing for about 4 days non stop. I purchase an extra glass so I can just change the glass and start the next job. What ever you do, don’t purchase the fake ones.

I

Hubert_Trahan · 2016-02-22T23:06:37.000Z

I cant seem to find the Prusa Steel version on the link you sent me, only the original kit.

Hubert_Trahan · 2016-02-22T23:08:47.000Z

Thanks for the tip! I’ll definitely get the steel version then! What kit could I buy if I already got a working power supply?

karlzhao314 · 2016-02-22T23:38:07.000Z

I can’t remember off the top of my head, but I think on the same website they have the option to customize a (standard) Prusa i3 kit and one of the options is a P3Steel frame. You could try that kit and there might be an option to remove the power supply.

karlzhao314 · 2016-02-22T23:40:47.000Z

I’m assuming by fake ones you mean ones that aren’t genuine Prusa branded, in which case I’m going to have to disagree. Most of the Prusa i3 kids out there have absolutely nothing wrong with them, and often cost a heck of a lot less. In fact, a lot of them even have enhancements that give them advantages over the genuine Prusa i3, such as leadscrew Z axes. I would only buy the original if supporting Josef Prusa was my primary concern.

Hubert_Trahan · 2016-02-22T23:53:33.000Z

What do you guys think about this one?

Hubert_Trahan · 2016-02-22T23:55:47.000Z

Its not the steel version, but it is so cheap!

replikeo.com

This domain may be for sale!

Hubert_Trahan · 2016-02-23T00:34:42.000Z

Or this one?

KHannon · 2016-02-23T20:22:17.000Z

Speaking as someone who bought an i3 from a lesser known site, you can’t put a price on frustration. For me, the first months with my printer we’re full of stress as mine came with little to no instructions and a very small community. Despite the fact that it came with quality components, mine came with a electrical fault which I spent a long time trying to diagnose. The manufacturer sent me two batches of replacement electronics, which didn’t solve the problem. After a great deal of head scratching I identified that the fault lay in a $2 component and my printer is working great.

Although I some money buying from this site, the lack of a active community and users to identify problem meant that the company were not aware of product faults. So I would advise that you spend some time reading through the companies forums, instructions and troubleshooting pages. They should play a serious role in your decision.

EwoudDesign · 2016-02-24T15:48:56.000Z

Yeah I directed you to the original kit,

The vertical frame and the horizontal axis are all made of aluminum, also, the axis are all connected with m10 threaded rods at solid 90 degree angles.

But yeah not like the Prusa Steel which is completely out of…steel:D

Still i have no problems with warping or inaccuracies of the frame

Cheese3DPrints · 2016-02-24T21:23:50.000Z

I completely agree. I also have an original i3 kit, and it has just blown me away in every way. The parts are all very high quality, well made, and they use only the best electronics (miniRambo, E3D V6, etc…). When my printbed was damaged in shipping, they dispatched a new one the next day. The customer support is just great. Every tool required is provided, even down to the fact that at one point two tiny screws need to be tightened, so a whole separate screwdriver was included. While I have never used a P3Steel, I can say that once properly tightened the lasercut aluminium frame has excellent rigidity, and I have printed up to 150mm/s without issue. Print quality is really pretty good, and with the aluminium over acrylic or plywood frame it can handle damn quick speeds. The only downside is that you have to be prepared to do a lot of tinkering to get it working well, but as long as you know what you are doing that is fine. I would 100% recommend this as great value printer, though a little bit of previous experience is probably helpful.

JGAURORA · 2016-02-26T02:12:33.000Z

here link you can find a matel frame printer kit. professional manufacturer of 3d printer !! http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/2015-hot-sale-JG-Aurora-FDM-3d-printer-kits-Acrylic-print-support-ABS-PLA-filament-LCD/1759640_32320380486.html