So I’ve been wanting to buy a 3D printer for many years now, but there is SO MUCH

out there that i am afraid that I am going to buy a junky printer because I didnt ask enough questions or something lol I know there are tons of threads already about “which printer to buy”,

but i have a couple of specific questions that I couldnt find answers to:-)

I am going to use the printer for all sorts of things, I am in to every facet of radio controlled hobbies, i love robotics, i love to design and build, so its safe to say that i will be printing non stop!

So i have some questions… I have been doing tons of research but i would still like to hear from the guys that actually use the printers and know what they are doing:-)

first question, Cartesian, Delta, or Polar?

I really love the delta style for the large print area and well, it looks awesome:-) but ive heard that the print quality from a delta is not quite as clean as a cartesian setup. Is that true or a myth? I just recently heard about the Polar style, i honestly dont know much about that one…

Second question: To build a kit, or buy complete? i really love to build things, and ive heard that building a printer kit is a great way to understand the mechanics and how everything works, but the downside is that it takes longer to setup and hard to tweak the printer to get it working right.

saving money buying a kit sounds great to me, but not if its going to take me forever to get the thing working correctly lol

I want a high quality print, but my budget is not very much, im looking somewhere between

200 and 300 bucks most likely, so I guess that limits my options. So here are a couple printers I have been looking at, if any of you guys have any comments on any of these or suggestions

on printers I have not listed, please let me know!

FLSUN 3D Metal Frame Kossel Delta DIY KIT – Auto Leveling – Sells for $225

HE 3D K200 SINLGE/DUAL EXTRUDER DELTA 3D PRINTER KIT $239

Monoprice Select mini $220

Reprap Prusa I3 MK8 DIY kit around $300(apparently theres a ton of prusa i3 clones, any certain ones to get or to stay away from?)

I am kind of leaning towards either a prusa I3 or maybe one of the delta kits that I listed above.

Please, if there is a better printer that i dont know about, let me know!

Thanks so much guys, any help will be much appreciated!

Jared

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Hey Jared,

I recently also bought my first printer for the same reason as you rc hobbies.

for your first question i went with a delta and the reason is because it is stronger, larger build space, easier to put together, and costs less then most printers.

Just for reference i bought the k200 delta printer kit and i had very minor problems in putting it together, they have video tutorials that show you roughly how to put it together. Not that it is easy, took me about 10 hours (because I’m noob) and then another 10 fixing software. For instance the motherboards when you hook them up on to a computer are not recognized so you have to download some drivers to get it to work (you get what you pay for but its only an extra step and wasn’t to big of a deal) k200 is about as high quality you can get at that price range. prints at 50 microns (0.05mm every other printer prints at 100 microns). I also had some minor problems with 1 bad part but if you buy form 3d printers online store the support there is absolutely fantastic! the k200 is also better because it is more flexible. I bought a heat bed with it and you can also buy a dual extruder. and it comes with a bunch of extra items. The learning curve is steep but i decided that i would buy something great that i had to put together that something cheap assembled for the same price. Also putting it together forces you to know more about your printer so if you run into problems they are easier to solve. I do not know how good the other printer from personal experience but there stats are nowhere near as good as the k200. If you have any question please ask and i will do my best to answer quickly.