Find Yourself a 3D Printer - 3D Printing: Build your Own 3D Printer and Print your own 3D Objects - page 29

Figure 2.4 The unassembled Printrbot Simple.
Keep in mind that the Printrbot Simple is exactly that—simple. It has a limited
number of parts required to build it (see Chapter 3 ) . Now imagine a larger, more
advanced 3D printer; it's likely to have even more parts.
Some 3D printers come with instructions tucked into the box for assembly, where-
as others have the build instructions available online. My personal preference is
online building instructions. They typically come with full-color photographs; er-
rors are typically corrected as soon as they are found, and corrections are posted
immediately. However, you may have only a printed manual with your 3D kit, so
be aware that assembly instructions vary from kit to kit. It never hurts to ask about
what types of assembly instructions are available when ordering a kit!
Tech support is also a big deal. Find out if your 3D printer seller offers a forum
where you can post questions. Most do, but not all. It's great to be able to log in
to a company's online forum and post a quick question along with a photo or two
if necessary. You'll often find that fellow kit owners are fast to respond and offer
help, often faster than the in-house technical support folks.