On Mon, 28 Sep 2015 14:59:42 +0100, Fredxxx wrote:

snip

Thanks for that insight, that was my understanding of current 3D
printers and good to hear a positive spin.

You are welcome.

I believe PLA is one of the easiest plastics to print (low extrusion
temperature (~200DegC) and no need for a temperature controlled
cabinet) and it is pretty strong and whilst flexible when thin, quite
rigid when solid.

My mates Mrs was tasked with pinning down a good starter printer and
in turn asked me for advice (don't know why, I'd not even seen one in
the flesh, let alone built one g). All I could offer was the
following (based on what I'd seen / read on the net and in no
particular order):

The frame should be as rigid as possible.

The design should be open source.

Any kit should be sourced from the UK.

There were a good few out there already.

They should have good reviews.

She came up with the MendelMax 1.5

We did like the Delta printers but thought for our first foray into
the world of 3D printing, a Cartesian printer would be better / safer.

As it turns out the MM has a reasonable print area (l=200, w=200,
h~150 mm) and runs for hours with little in the way of attention.

When first presented with the kit I / we questioned lots of things,
however and in the fullness of time, most of the things we questioned
now make very good sense.

So, the (very) rigid frame means it can be moved without anything
going out of calibration.

Parts and mods can be found all over the net.

Any issues with the original kit (missing parts) were resolved
quickly.

There were plenty of pictures and videos out there to assist us with
the build.

I now have all the electronics for mine (cheap, eBay), the extrusions
for the frame (Misumi Germany), the fastness (local Co), and I'm only
still considering the smooth rods and linear bearings [1]. The .9
degree stepper motors are sitting in my shopping basket.

I'm going to make the actual extruder myself but using some direct
drive parts bought from China (having a lathe helps with such things).

I hope to collect a floor mounted pillar drill soon and that, along
with a printed jig should help me enlarge the (56, two sets) extrusion
holes from 4 to 5mm diameter, ready for tapping to 6mm.

Cheers, T i m