Tag Archives: Isaac Mendel

RepRap and MakerBot alternatives [Draft 04/05/2010]

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[Holy cow.  Can you imagine a time when a person could singlehandedly have made a comprehensive list of all open source 3D printers in an afternoon?]

Here’s a list of all of the RepRap, RepStrap, and MakerBot open source 3d plastic FDM 3d printers I can find.  When possible I’ve tried to link to the official site, helpful derivative sites, instructions, and parts.  I’ve also included some notes.

  1. RepRap – The ultimate in DIY personal fabrication technology.  Source everything yourself and put it together!
    1. Mendel –
      1. parts on ebay
      2. bearings – http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/kit9060
  2. Darwin –
    1. Ponoko Darwin Acrylic lasercut parts – http://www.ponoko.com/showroom/reprap/free-acrylic-reprap-v1-1–2083
  3. Mini-Mendel
  4. Isaac Mendel http://isaac-mendel.blogspot.com/
  5. Fab@Home
  6. MakerBot –
  7. McWire – http://reprap.org/wiki/McWire_Cartesian_Bot_1_2#This_project_is_no_longer_actively_developed.___For_newer_mcwire_info.2C_please_see_http:.2F.2Fobjects.reprap.org.2Fwiki.2FDevelopment:McWire
  8. ShaperCube –
    1. http://wiki.shapercube.com/wagn/Shapercube_Assembly
  9. Profound Devices –
    1. http://www.profounddevices.com/
  10. RepMan –
    1. http://www.bitsfrombytes.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=168&category_id=5&flypage=flypage-ask.tpl&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=100005
  11. Tommilese –
Drafts Zero - The Lost Blog Posts
  1. The Lost Blog Posts
  2. Plastruder! [Draft 12/25/2009]
  3. UNTITLED [Draft 12/25/2009]
  4. Preparing to print [Draft 12/27/2009]
  5. More prints [Draft 01/04/2010]
  6. Prototype Pricing [Draft 01/19/2010]
  7. MakerBot tuning [Draft 01/20/2010]
  8. Plastic Screw Anchor [Draft 02/02/2010]
  9. Magic [Draft 02/03/2010]
  10. How are you printing with PLA? [Draft 02/16/2010]
  11. Rebuilding my extruder [Draft 02/16/2010]
  12. MY robot [Draft 02/18/2010]
  13. more things i learned [Draft 02/20/2010]
  14. First commissioned piece! [Draft 02/22/2010]
  15. MakerBot: Toy or Tool? [02/25/2010]
  16. Idea for Skeinforge settings… [Draft 03/27/2010]
  17. RepRap and MakerBot alternatives [Draft 04/05/2010]
  18. RepRap Parts for Sale [Draft 04/07/2010]

Have we reached the bottom already?

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Having reached the bottom of a market can actually be a very good thing.  It means anyone who wants a set of RepRap parts can have them for as little as the market will bear.  Right now there are lots of options for someone who wants to get involved in building a RepRap/RepStrap.  You can get a MakerBot, RapMan, ShaperCube, Profound Devices, Isaac Mendel, or pick up a large selection of parts on eBay.

As an owner of a MakerBot, I’m far more likely to want to print up my own RepRap parts than buy them.  However, each of Spacexula‘s Mendel print sets would probably take me 2-3 hours of print time plus about 15 minutes of human intervention/monitoring.1  I would of course also print up parts for any friends/family who wanted parts. 2  I’d be willing to do this to create my own Mendel, but the idea of spending three weeks3 , say $30 in plastic4 , and about six broken up over that three weeks fiddling with stuff5 makes me wonder if there’s a better way to make $300.00.

Setting that aside, I wonder where the bottom of the RepRap parts market is heading?  Spacexula has suggested around $250 or so based upon the price for lasercut parts.  I suspect the price of printed parts will always be higher than the price for lasercut or molded parts – because of the time involved.  Lasercut parts can be cranked out as quickly  as a lasercan cut. 6  Molded parts can be churned out as quickly as the poured material can be dried.  Plus, no matter how nice lasercut/molded parts are – you still have a RepStrap, not a true RepRap.  Assuming identical quality, I’m probably always going to be more interested in printed parts over alternatives.

  1. Such as setting up, warming up, untangling plastic, checking, peeling off, etc. [↩]
  2. At this point, this is purely theoretical/hypothetical since none of my family/friends are interested in their own RepRap.  Hmm…  Maybe I should talk about RepRap MORE??? [↩]
  3. A little over one sheet a day [↩]
  4. I haven’t weighed a sheet of Mendel parts, so this is pure conjecture. [↩]
  5. Assuming no extruder clogs, blocks, PTFE bulging, oozing down the threads, and problem free printing… [↩]
  6. How many phasers could a laser slice if a laser could slice phasers? [↩]