Heekscad 0.16 for windows is now avialable

You can get it over at it's Google code webpage.

HeeksCAD is always my 1st suggestion for a solid modeler for several reasons.

-It will run off a Thumb drive no problem
-It's free
-It works
-It's easy
-It's GUI is dead simple easy
-It can handle all the major file formats (iges, dxf, jpg, stl, step, & svg)
-They don't make you jump though hoops to get it, just go there, download, and your good.

If you just need to design a part to print, and don't want to have to spend hours learning how to program 1st, or spend $50-$3000 on a design program which has lots of features you just don't need, well this is the program for you.

Cleaning ABS from a RepRap (or MB Cupcake) Nozzle & Barrel

Yet another in my series of how to do things in RepRap.  BTW I know that :

-ABS let's off some strong fumes when burnt (I have the windows open, and fan on high)
-ABS when burnt let's off black soot (I know, I had to dust the house after my wife tried to kill me)
-My had was under the drop zone for the plastic about 1/2 the time


Ohh and I let myself run low on alcohol, a 3 foot tall fireball is what ended the video (and a section of my eyebrows).  This will not happen if you don't let the alcohol get as low as I did (about 1cm).

Welcome to these Chinese Ebay, land of the $1105 Mendel

Ebay may be king in the US and the rest of the world, but in China, it's taobao.com.

Thought it would be intersting to see how RepRap is going in China, so I did a search for RepRap.  They have 1 person selling cast parts for $265, and a full mendel kit, using what looks like knock off Gen3 electronics for $1105.

You can go crusing for stuff in the reprap search translated to English via google here.

Considering how little competiton is going on over there at the moment I can't beleive the prices are so good.  One thing that was amusing, no pp3p Up! in their Ebay yet. :)

I have been trying to figure out how to list parts from the US on there for the last hour, how fun would be be to sell RAMPS boards and Prusa Menel Parts into THAT market :)

Cheap skates guide to a $510ish Mendel ($360 if you have access to a 3d printer)

(This was a much longer and more detailed post, but Blogger ate my 3 pager, I am not typing out all the details again, I don't love you that much :P)

Just a few shopping notes, getting ready to start building my second Prusa (3rd one will be a lobotomized Cupcake turned into a Prusa, poor MB) , and was going to use some of my lessons learned to make the next one a little cheaper.

Cheapest Electronics: Ultimachine DIY Kit $162 or $170 with shipping

I tried buying the generic Arudino off Ebay, or stepper controllers direct for Pololu.  Didn’t matter what I did, it was going to be $162 or more.  You can usually get the power supplies for dirt cheap at your local computer repair shop, just remember you need 60W plus.

Cheapest Full hot end: Makergear Hybrid Operators Pack $70 or $80 with shipping

The cheapest and most respected hot end in the community.  Mendel-Parts came close, but Shipping put it way over the top.

Cheapest Motors: Alltronics ~43n-cm NEMA17 Steppers $9.95 a piece or $55 with shipping and $5 more for the clips from Ultimachine

You will need to add the plugs for your ramps, and likely extend at least 3 of the stepper's wires, but if you need cheap, that's cheap, and the steppers are strong enough to each run an extruder.

Cheap Hardware:  You can get all the hardware for a Prusa Mendel locally.  The bearings from a skate shop, hardware from your local fastener supply (you have one local, I promise, and they are cheap on screws, threaded, and A2 tool rod).  I got all the hardware for my Prusa Mendel for $50.  If you try to buy this stuff online any savings is likely going to get killed by shipping.  If you’re scared to hobb your own bolt you can pick those up on Ebay for $10.

RP parts (the plastic bits):  CHEAPEST place is likely always going to be #reprap IRC, the RepRap forum, and Ebay.  Currently Prusa parts are going for $125-$150.  Just keep in mind if you get a "normal" Sells Mendel, you’re going to pay $100 more for the plastic, and then $100 for the added hardware it needs for no benefit in build quality. 

Next cheapest place, but (unless order from the right person on Ebay) higher quallity will be the Webshops that sell RP parts.  These include Makergear, Emakershop, and a few others I can't think of right now.

So the total is:
Electronics $170
Motors $60
Hot End $80
Hardware $50
RP Parts $150 if you need them

So that comes to $360 is the cost of a second RepRap, and if your new to the hobby a Prusa can be self sourced for $510.  Of course this is trying to minimize cost.  If you want a HBP, or not to have to solder much, etc etc then the price goes up.  Getting the Electornics done by Ultimachine and getting the motors from him so you don't have to deal with any soldering outside the hot end would add $100. HPB is going to run you $50+ from Ultimachine or Makergear. 

2 years ago the official RepRap was Darwin, and at the time the official cost to self source (if you had access to the RP Parts) was over $1000.  A Year ago a Sells Mendel costs $600-$700 if you had access to the RP Parts (And VERY few people did).  Now we as a community are down to less than $400 dollars.  Amazing times my friends.

The power of a good name.

A year ago I bought my Makerbot, It printed 2-3 times then it broke, I then bought some replacement parts from Makerbot, and followed some advice from some guys in the Makerbot Google Group.  Sage advice like "Crank the Heck out of the idler wheel", I then need new idler wheels from Makerbot, and "Turn your temp up higher", and then  I need to buy a new PTFE after it comes off the barrel, and then my favorite "You have a clog, you need to rebuild your hot end", whole new thermistors and nichome.  5-6 times.  MONTHS of no printing.  This is heart breaking when you where promised a 3d printer.

After a bit I realized that Rick at Makergear was actually willing to help a person instead of just filling orders.  I starting going to Makergear because they where on average 20% cheaper than Makerbot, and the Makerbot Google Group was making me a very regular purchaser of extruder parts, I kept going to Makergear because over the course of a few orders my Makerbot started to work as a printer and not a Science Fair Electronics Project Kit it had become.

Now I wake up in the middle of the night, and see that Rick at Makergear has managed to sell out of the 1st batch of his Prusa Mendel kit, and is on batch 2.  We have not seen a picture, nor a video of it printing, heck we don't even know how close to the current Github Prusa it's going to be or how he is going to power that HUGE HBP.  But you know what?  I have NEVER, in all the 300+ blogs I follow though the Google Aggregate feeder, nor in my obsessive following of the RepRap/Makergear/Makerbot forums, or my near constant vigile in the #reprap and #makergear IRC channels EVER seen Rick not deliver everything he has ever promised, and a little bit more.

Wiki's and Forums are great, but sometimes having someone around who cares enough about his good name to spend dozens of hours a week doing the customer service and design work to fix the flawed designs of others, well it's humbling. 


Congratulations Makergear, I am glad you guys have a commercial success in your kit, and I know Rick will not sleep untill all those Prusa are Grimlin Proof Resistant.

I'm still extruding, are you?

First Robotics Design Principles.

It's not RepRap, but good design is universal.

This will be a good series to follow.  Do you have a 1st in your area?  Unfortunately the nearest one to me is over 2 hours drive :(.  We as a community make the perfect mentors, and resources for these teams.

11 Predictions for 2011

1. By the end of 2011 the majority of Printed parts sold on Ebay will be of the Prusa instead of Sells Mendel variety.

2. Ultimaker will be released by Erik, and he will have found a solution for the latency issues of the bowden extruder, which will drastically improve the build quality of those style extruders (and paste extruders)

3. RAMPS by Ultimachine will continue it's improvement, and become the de facto of electronics for RepRap in 2011 as Gen3 by Makerbot was in 2010.  RAMPS will have HBP, Multi Extruder, Bluetooth, Print from SD, and be a SMD board.

4.  The wedge "Mendel" design will continue to be the mainstay of RepRap design though 2011 for FDM, but RepRap will officially add a pic-n-place either detla or arm based, and a "offical" CNC Router design.

5 The Makergear Prusa Kit will become the most popular "RepRap" kit, because Makergear is the only kit seller that does not rely on forums to do their Tech Support.  Relying on Forums/Wiki for tech support isn't community; it's just lazy/cheap if the seller is not active in that wiki/forum.

6. By the end of 2011 more 1.75 filiment will be sold than 3mm.

7. Makerbot will offer a commerical "plug and play" 3d printer in 2011.  It will retail between $3000 - $4000, and will use the Gen4 Electronics. I think Gen4 was not designed for Thing-o-Matic (it could have been run on Gen3 or Ramps just as easily).  Gen4 I think is the brain for that industrially manufactured non kit printer, and Thing-o-Matic is being used as a field test for those electronics.  I don't believe Makerwave  is dead yet.

8. Legal action will be threatened against Thingiverse some time in 2011 for distributing proprietarily designs.  It will make big news in the real world.

9. By the end of 2011 more of the "who is making what" photos on Thingiverse will be RepRap printed than Makerbot product printed.

10. Before the end of the year the average cost for the RP parts for a full sized 20x20cm print area Mendel will be $75 (with some being as cheap as $50), full "kits" will be available for $550, and fully integrated and tested RepRap will be avialbe for $750.

11.  Someone is going to offer an injection molded 3d printer before the end of the year.