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Fabrikator Mini - 3D Printer under $200

9/11/2015

12 Comments

 
I recently purchased a Fabrikator Mini 3D Printer. It was $179 when I bought it and $192 with shipping. The specs looked perfect for a small 3D printer that I could travel with. There are many times I'm traveling for work and have a difficult time getting my Filament Friday video out for my YouTube Channel. 

This 3D printer is small and only has an 80mm square print area but that works well for many small prints. Plus a print can be broken into smaller pieces and glued together.
 
Picture
For $179 I was shocked that it came fully assembled. Most low cost printers come as a kit and I didn't want a kit. It took a little assembly which was minor, such as connecting the Bowden tube for the filament and hooking up some cables, but that's standard with any printer.

My first prints went really well. They supplied a small amount of black PLA filament and it was just a little short of the plastic required to print the Chess Pawn from my book "Beginner's Guide to 3D Printing". The next steps are to test print with ABS plastic.
My first impressions are, this is a great printer. Especially for such a low cost. In fact, I'm getting better prints from it than I get from my Da Vinci 1.0's which cost a lot more. Stay tuned to here and my YouTube Channel for future updates on this 3D printer.
12 Comments
LA
9/19/2015 10:41:55 am

Enjoy watching your videos on the Fabrikator Mini 3D Printer. Almost went for one, but had to buy filament to feed my Da Vinci - maybe next month. The little printer looks like it would fit in a file cabinet.

Couple of quick questions you might comment on in a future video .....
How loud is the mini compared to Da Vinci? Had any problems with the motors overheating? (I read that quite a few have the current set too high causing the motors to overheat - jam or even begin to melt the plastic frame - just curious.)

Thanks - and more videos please..

Reply
Chuck Hellebuyck link
9/21/2015 07:45:02 pm

Mini is quieter. I haven't had any problem with overheating though they do get warm.

Reply
LA
9/21/2015 09:36:39 pm

Thanks Chuck. The Mini is definitly on my list.

PS -Just convered my Da Vinci over to Repetier and used your printer settings from your video. Made the job much easier. .

Ricky
10/10/2015 08:24:51 pm

Where did you buy the Fabrikator Mini 3D Printer?

Reply
chuck hellebuyck link
10/11/2015 11:35:08 am

Hobbyking.com

Reply
Steve Cuthbert
12/1/2015 01:04:14 pm

I got mine for $179 from Hobby King in China and had to pay a ton for shipping, but it was worth it. They have been on forever backorder for a couple months now.

Reply
Dave Bezinque
2/21/2016 06:56:58 am

My Fabrikator Mini 1.5 showed up yesterday and refuses to function. I can connect and disconnect with the Repetier software but don't get a start signal and the home command times out. Windows "devices and printers" sees the device and says that it is working properly. Really stumped and don't what to do next. Any ideas? is anyone else having this problem? Thanks for any help, Dave Bezinque

Reply
Chuck link
2/21/2016 04:19:06 pm

Do you have heated bed enabled?
That is a common problem.
The printer will wait for the heated bed to heat up which it never does because it doesn't have one.

Reply
Dave Bezinque
2/21/2016 04:37:02 pm

Thanks Chuck, under config, printer settings I set the default bed temp to 0. Is there somewhere else to turn off the bed in the config file?

choi
5/4/2016 05:04:03 pm

hello! i want buy fabrikator mini ?pls reply thx

Reply
chuck hellebuyck link
5/5/2016 11:27:16 am

HobbyKing.com. They will have more soon.

Reply
3d printer under 200 link
7/31/2018 02:31:47 am

I think that is very informative
Great article about what to consider 3d modelling.

Reply



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    About Chuck

    Chuck has been programming with PIC Microcontrollers since there were only five devices. Now there are over 700 and growing. He also has a lot of fun 3D printing designs using his Davinci 3D printer and TinkerCad software. In this series of blog posts and occasional videos on his YouTube Channel he tries to help you get started with electronics and 3D printing.

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