Build Your Very Own Prusa i3 - 3D Printer

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If you’re shopping for 3D printers, you’ll find all kinds of DIY 3D printing kits. While the price of a kit-printer is certainly attractive, building your own 3D printer can be a challenge. Poor documentation and limited support can frustrate even the die-hard maker.

The Bergen Makerspace is here to help with our three-day guided 3D printer build. In this class participants will be building their own Prusa i3 with support from the maker community. This is a challenging build. It is suitable for experienced and intermediate builders. Prior 3D printing experience recommend. Thanks to our friends at http://www.loverpi.com we are offering this class AND the printer to you for just $325. That includes a Prusa i3 acrylic printer kit with heated bed and filament. The printer kit alone retails for $250. Teams are encouraged and this can be a great learning experience for students (middle school and up)

Participants will receive custom build documentation, reference materials, guidance and instruction from the experienced builders at the Bergen Makerspace. On the first day, we will go through building the physical frame, mounting the electronics and testing the printer. The second day of our class will focus on how to successfully align and operate your Prusa i3. Participants should bring their own laptops (don’t forget your AC adapter)

Day 1 - February 16 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. - Introduction to 3D printing

During this session we will cover the options and challenges of building your own 3D printer kit. In addition you will learn basic operation and maintenance procedures you need to keep your printer working at its best. Refunds will be available through the end of this class.

Day 2 - February 25 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. - Build day
During this all-day build participants will be building their own Prusa i3 3D printer with support from the maker community. Students will receive custom build documentation, reference materials, guidance and instruction from the experienced builders at the Bergen Makerspace. We will go through building the physical frame, wiring, and firmware loading. Knowledge of the Arduino IDE helpful. Participants may want to bring their own laptops (don’t forget your AC adapter)

Day 3 - March 2 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. - Alignment day
On day 2 participants will be guided through the use of Pronterface software to perform a post-build functional test of their printers. Students will learn how to physically align the Prusa i3 as well as perform bed-leveling. They will learn how to setup Cura slicing software and run print tests to confirm proper alignment. Time allowing, students can print their first prints.