I wonder what your favourite self-build/open source 3d printer is for direct extrusion?

3D Printing
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I wonder what your favourite self-build/open source 3d printer is for direct extrusion? I’m looking for something solid, normally sized, maybe ready for a second extruder later. I’m already running one wonderful Eusthatios and am looking for a good direct drive companion especially for flex and other special filaments.

I’m also thinking about probably buying a Hephestos 2 from BQ as a less time consuming alternative, but after clearing up my shop chaos today i noticed that there’s probably enough vitamins for 5 printers lying around so a self build variant should be the smarter solution.

But which one is great in print quality and also practical for a self build? SparkCube? Prusa i3? What do you like most?

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I don’t usually promote non repraps but the BQ you are looking at is top boys. Really impressive results as far as I’ve seen

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Yeah I heard that already from some friends and the fellow bq relatives @foosel @Nils_Hitze and @Thomas_Sanladerer whom I trust completely even though they work for the BQ guys. It’s just a decision of investing some build time vs. investing some more money instead.

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I am loving the Talos3D Spartan by @Alex_Lee ​. Think about it as a 8x8x8 open builds v-slot / v-wheel printer with a frame similar to a Lulzbot Taz. He has 100% of the source files out on his github. I haven’t even turned on my HercuLien or Eustathios in a while. For smaller objects smaller printers just plain perform better. Plus I hadn’t had direct drive before… So I am having a blast with Flexible Filament.

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Prusa i3 because it’s hackable, cheap, easy to build and there are tons of mods to make it good for your UseCase.

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I believe that @Richard_Horne also has one

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The i3 or Alexs talos. That printer really looks great.

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@Helmi Here is some pictures I took of the Spartan after I built it: https://plus.google.com/+EricLiensMind/posts/4cYjjETKoum

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@Griffin_Paquette I do (well a pre-production prototype BQ Hep 2) - And it’s very easy to build, setup and calibrate. The only negative is that is has no heated bed. Apart from that the quality is fantastic for the price. And in my opinion it’s also the best printer and extruder combination to-date for printing FilaFlex (TPU) rubber materials you can get.

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thanks guys.

@Eclsnowman I’m indeed a member of the Talos group for quite a while and looked at the orderable kits today as sourcing open build stuff here in Germany is bit of a problem. Sounds like a good option if shipping isn’t too immense.

@Richard_Horne I’ve already seen your Hep2 video of course. seems to be a well designed hi Q i3 variant with a great extruder.