To buy or not to buy a not assembled 3D printer?
In most of the cases 3D printers bought from china are shipped non assembled. This means that the user should invest allot of the time to understand the assembly instructions and create the printer by himself. Then he must configure the printer and make several tests before he is able to succeed. This situation is actually funny! I personally had a wonderful time setting up the 3D printer kits I bought
Pros:
- Such 3D printers are usually less expensive that others
- While you are setting up your printer you actually understand how it works
- The initial printing setup will make you expert in configuring your printer in the future and will help you easily identify problems and deficiencies
- It is nice that each printer has an active community of users creating components to improve the quality and robustness of the design. In this way you can continue improving your 3D printer all the time
Cons:
- If you fail in this process you might not get to 3D printing at all
- DYI 3D printers are usually less robust and you will need to fine tune them all the time
Currently the world of 3D printing is progressing and you can find inexpensive pre-assembled 3D printers online that will get you going in a couple of hours.
Advice : If you are not a DYI kind of person skip 3D printer kits and buy and per-assembled one. Creating your first 3D printer from just the parts could be a pain in the ass for you…but if you are into such thing definitely try it