Sintron 3D Printer Kossel Mini Reprap review

**DO NOT BUY this printer **

• No assembly instructions are provided with the components
• The instructions are only provided when you email the seller
• The instructions provided are for a different kit that has many different components
• The instructions provided are incomplete
• Does not show how to mount the printing bed
• Does not detail the connections correctly
• Does not detail the process of setting up the firmware
• The photo shown on the Ebay listing is not a working printer - the top platform is not mounted with the tensioning screws and there are a lot more wires!
• The design of the "auto-levelling probe" is unworkable - again configuration is not detailed in the instructions, but the main problem is that is simply too flimsy and grabs in the slot provided.
• Some of the nuts on the extruder holder cannot fit due to misshaped parts.
• The tie-rod ends bind and cause the extruder to jump.
• The aluminium arms do not tighten firmly against the plastic unless some of the plastic is filed off.
• Several of the nuts & bolts bind and are defective. The screws are obviously cheap and don't fit common drivers well.  Not enough washers were supplied.
• My unit was supplied with a faulty PTC fuse for the heat bed.

I am very dissatisfied with this printer.  Getting to the point of testing the printer has taken weeks, far longer than it should have.  The screws holding the tie-rod ends are not a neat fit and the binding on the tie-rods at the outer reaches of the printer causes the print head to jump and jerk the whole machine. The heating of the heat-bed has caused the stepper motors to get very hot and distort the corner pieces - now the stepper motors are angled which is distorting the drive belt.

The printer parts seem to be assembled in China and the design is of poor quality.
What a piece of crap!

If you have bought this printer....:

Here is how I mounted the top corners so that you can tension the belts - take care to install the corner pieces the right way up (nut hole towards the bottom):

You will need to cut the belts (this isn't explained in the instructions).  I think this uses washers that were supposed to be used for mounting the heat bed... need to find some more for there.  

Try to mount the heat bed away from the stepper motors (i.e. somehow lift it ~10mm).

Measure the heights from the bottom corners to the tops - these should all be the same to indicate the aluminium poles are inserted all the way in the bottom pieces. This is required to ensure a flat base platform which is essential to get the printing started.

Download the latest (1.6) Arduino software from www.arduino.cc - the 1.0.5 version gave me unresolvable G++ errors on my Linux system.  Use the Arduino software to compile & upload the Marlin firmware over USB - you will need to correct a few code errors - adding spaces or commenting out some lines.

Install Printrun, which provides Pronterface which can be used to send G-codes to control the printer. When you have Printrun working execute some commands to put the head near the plate like:

G28 ; find the home position (top)

G1 X0 Y0 Z50 ; go to 50mm above the bed

 - then step down towards zero - you will need to modify MANUAL_Z_HOME_POS in Configuration.h firmware file to calibrate the correct height of your printer.  Carefully send the printer to various positions to check your platform is level.

Install Slic3r which can be used to "slice" a STL file into G-code.