My $300 Prusa Mendel Build

January 6, 2012 in Odds & Ends, Technology by admin | 18 comments

I’ve set out to build a Prusa Mendel for $300. So far I think I’m doing pretty well. The top part is what I’ve already picked up, and the bottom part is what I have yet to purchase — that’s where I still have some flexibility in cost. The first column is the percentage of total cost for that part. Shipping charges for a group of items from the same supplier are listed with the first item in that group. [Note: This chart has been updated many times as I build, and as because I'm already up and running with my reprap 3D printer, there's no longer anything left to purchase.]

Where I discovered mistakes, I’ve corrected them. For example, I actually ordered nylock #6 nuts instead of regular ones. In cases like these, I’ve just corrected the prices and pretended like I never incurred the cost of the wrong product.

There’s one important point I’d like to make out here: I was patient, I waited for good deals (and occasionally got exceptional ones), and I arranged some group buys for bulk discounts. Often if you agree to purchase larger quantities of a product, you can secure a discounted rate, and so that’s what I did where I could. You might not find all of the same deals I did, but you may get pretty close if you are patient and work with your suppliers.

I’ve added a table below that breaks out the electronics order, including what I had on hand, what I bought from ebay, and what I didn’t actually need. (Welcome Hack A Day readers!)

Finally, be sure to scroll to the right in the spreadsheet views for important notes or shortcuts on most line items.

Electronics

Share

Tags: , , , , , ,

  3. sadface’s avatar

    sadface on March 8, 2012 at 11:13 am

    why you no electrionics breakdown

    1. admin’s avatar

      admin on March 8, 2012 at 11:25 am

      Good point — I’ll add it in a bit.

  5. Brett W. (FightCube.com)’s avatar

    Brett W. (FightCube.com) on March 8, 2012 at 6:08 pm

    You might want to share the direct link:

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AkoXY7tRJl37dElJd2tmZTlFNFdMdUpSVS1XamFFTUE&gid=0

    Thanks for sharing this! I’ve been wanting build a 3D printer and have been comparing the Makerbot Thing-o-matic to the Prusa Mendel. I think for $300 I could overlook the issues in stability that the Prusa Mendel has ;-) Good motivation to get building one!

    1. admin’s avatar

      admin on March 8, 2012 at 7:45 pm

      Thanks, Brett — that’s a good idea. This machine seems pretty darn stable to me. Next I’m going to try to build one for $250 :)

      1. Bill Berzinskas’s avatar

        Bill Berzinskas on May 3, 2013 at 12:27 pm

        Yeh, I think most of the “prusa stability” issues are in the i1 and i2.. i’ve got an i1 and i HATE the frame.. i3 seems WAY more stable!

  6. Mark R’s avatar

    Mark R on March 8, 2012 at 10:54 pm

    Awesome list! Best of luck meeting your goal!

    Been wanting to build one of these for a while but been debating on whether or not to source parts or buy a kit to put together.

    I think I may try and source it now :D

  8. Evan’s avatar

    Evan on March 12, 2012 at 11:06 pm

    I appreciate the list! A friend of mine just purchased a makergear prusa mendel kit for around $825. This list is very similar to the one I have been making but I am using the RAMPS board vs the Sanguinololu for the added stepper driver and features. Keep up the great work! I really appreciate someone putting out a great list of parts. Btw you might want to check that PSU you bought from the list with a oscilloscope under load if you have one. I have had issues with poorly made china power supplies before.

  10. karandex’s avatar

    karandex on April 2, 2012 at 4:04 pm

    are the threaded rods and nuts bolt stainless steel or mild steal

    1. admin’s avatar

      admin on April 2, 2012 at 4:57 pm

      They’re just plain vanilla zinc-plated for the threaded rods and nuts. So far everything has held up fine. The smooth rod is W1 tool steel.

  11. Treehouse Projects’s avatar

    Treehouse Projects on December 2, 2012 at 11:09 pm

    Hey! Awesome work! I have a few questions though, which I’d really appreciate if you could answer:

    1. Was 3400g/cm torque enough to run the machine at a reasonable speed?
    2. How come you did not require a hotbed?
    3. Why did you choose Greg’s extruder over Wade’s?

    Many thanks!

    1. admin’s avatar

      admin on December 3, 2012 at 9:39 am

      Sure thing — (1) the motor torque is fine for me. I run the drivers cool and the motors just a little warm (but not hot). I still haven’t gotten around to testing the upper limits of the machine, but the typical speeds I use in slic3r are 75 perimeters, 65 small perimeters, 90 infill, 80 solid infill, 50 top solid infill, 60 support material, 70 bridges, and 20 gap fill. Travel is 125. (2) I didn’t start with a heated bed because I was trying to hit the price target. PLA usually sticks well to blue painter’s tape, and that’s how I started. I added the heatbed later, though. (3) Greg’s is an improvement on Wade’s design, and it’s what was provided in the set of RP parts that I purchased. Let me know if you have any other questions!

  12. Max Tepermeister’s avatar

    Max Tepermeister on May 3, 2013 at 10:56 am

    first, very cool, planning to build one for this price myself. Second, why no belts in parts list?

    1. admin’s avatar

      admin on May 3, 2013 at 11:55 am

      Awesome! The belts are in there — they’re sixth from the end of the “purchased parts” list. I would recommend a smaller belt pitch and machined pulleys nowadays, though. You can get a GT2 belt/pulley kit for about $30, and you’ll have much better quality over the XL belts and printed pulleys.

Reply