I’m trying to find parts for the RepRapPro Mendel. Ideally I’m looking for a kit, I don’t have $500 to spend and that seems to be the cheapest I can buy one for… Does anyone know how I can get away with the build for only a couple of hundred? I really want to get into 3D printing, but the price is limiting.
It’s not investing in the emerging technology that I’m worried about… I’m not a techy that has to has the latest and greatest. It’s the opportunity to learn and begin studying this technology in advance for prospective professional opportunities in the future.
If it doesn’t have to be a RepRap, what about the MakiBox? If you order one now (for $300 + shipping), you might get one beginning next year. @Nils_Hitze knows more about that
I think you can exchange time for money to some degree (however if you don’t have extra time either, you might have to wait as @Brad_Koehn suggested :).
Seems like the price concentration for the RepRap (at least the one I built) was centered around the control electronics and the hot-end, perhaps the stepper motors. If you have the time you can salvage a lot of the parts for these components from discarded electronic devices. It would involve both hardware & software engineering, but you’d know a lot about your machine by the time you’re done 
I’d actually prefer spending the time to get to know the machine. I have no problem meddling with the electronics until I figure it out. The kits seem priced excessively though. It’s not just me either. There’s a group of people I’m helping to learn about computers / electronics / 3d printing with this project. I know we could pool resources - but as I’m the one helping to show them how this works, I’d rather figure it out on my own, before asking them to invest their resources. Then hopefully I could enable them use their resources to improve on whatever shared knowledge that we gain. Maybe I can recoup some cost from selling discount kits on ebay or a webstore - for less than what everyone else is selling them at - to help more people gain access to this technology.
The Makibox is definitely a bit more in the price range. The RepRapPro Mendel was attractive though, due to its ability to print multiple materials and potentially circuit boards. I’m not sure if this is something that you have all tried yet, but I’m extremely interested in producing my own basic electronics.
I realize too, that it would be possible to print the parts for the RepRap using the Makibox.
I appreciate any feedback you guys have.
Time isn’t the limiting factor for me, just cost.
Buy a #makibox - for 300 $US you get an ikea-like kit which is assembled ready to print in an hour
Reading some of the threads, there is also Printrbot being recommended. Any comparisons on those two model? Also are there any recommendations for UK based kits (saves shipping…)