First homebuilt 3d printer

After a lot of research over the last year (and a lot of saving) my Printrbot PLUS will be at my house on Monday.  I’m entirely satisfied with my purchase as it will be at my house within 10 days of ordering.  So, where do I go from there?  Well, I’ve decided that after a few prints for fun of things that I’ve always wanted to have or do, I will be building another 3D printer as well as finishing the complete 3D Laser Scanner.  At this point, I’ve narrowed down my next printer design to either a MendelMax (1.5 or 2.0) or a Rostock delta printer.

I have multiple goals in doing so:
1) the ability to sell open source printers at conventions
2) improve designs to improve resolution and speed
3) the ability to print more objects or parts of a whole object simultaneously
4) build up my printer shop to print custom objects for people
5) print different variations of resolutions (one printer for bigger prototypes and maybe one for better/smoother resolution)

My first “real” print is going to be a custom mount for the laser to do laser scans.  My second “real” print is going to be a custom mount for my iPhone 4S to do 123D print scans.  Basically, my 3D scanner is going to have two mounts.  One for the laser and camera and one for just the phone camera.

My third “real” print is going to be parts for the Lyman Extruder.  And after that, I’ll be looking at building another printer.

I did a little research today on Lego train tracks… they cost about 3-4 bucks a piece.  The amount of plastic needed means that I can print one for less than 70 cents.  If I had a Lyman Extruder I would be able to print them for less than 10 cents each.

See Also:
http://reprap.org/wiki/Rostock
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:17175
http://www.reprap.org/wiki/MendelMax
http://www.mendelmax.com/