Tevo Tarantula

After deciding on the Tevo Tarantula these are some links / places i used to follow / buy it

• Bought from: https://www.3dprintersbay.com/ 
• there are alternatives like Aliexpress or some other places. this site has an issues with their customer service. But it eventually arrives. I found this to be the cheapest at the time of buying it. 
• I think from any source you guy, you get 2 rolls of filament, usually one PLA and one ABS. use the PLA first befoire you go on ABS (read up about ABS before you move to it)
• Groups: 
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TEVO.3dprinter.owners   This is the only place for owners of this machine. Its hard to navigate this group, but it has immense knowledge power and there is no wrong question here
• Wiki: http://tevoprinters.wikidot.com/tarantula-hardware-assembly : this has useful links. Do make sure you go through the hot end assembly, its the most crucial of all. Dont just take the face face value of what you get in the box, take the hot end parts out and redo it. and then some more when its hot
• Software

               Every 3d printer needs to be fed a file so how do you do that?

•                 Modelling Software: Fusion 360 (free) : this is where you can create your 3D model. there are tons of free and Paid softwares that create 3D models. the idea behind them is so that they can export STL files which are 3D models with a mesh assigned to it
• 3D printer command software (or slicer software): Cura 2.5. (this has worked best for me) again there are a few free and paid softwares for this. In case of Cura, it has a setting for prusa i3 printer. Tevo is based on a prusa i3 so it works. If you get a large bed, make sure to change the size of the bed.

My first 3d Printer Journey

It had been a while that i was fascinated by 3D Printers and over the years the technology was more and more accessible.
Seeing a 3D printer in action in front of me boosted my inner need to get one.

After reading a lot on these I ended up getting the Tevo Tarantula (i was choosing this between the Anet A8)

So these are the different factors that made me chose the 3D printer i have
1. Cost
2. Ease of use
3. Printing material
4. Setup time
5. Support (Dont expect support from manufacturers so easily)

Cost
I was looking for a "CHEAP AS" printer because

• Its a learning experience
• I still dont know what im going to do with it
• What if I fail ?
• Researching about these told me that you need a high level of engineering skills to put it all together. - Was kind of alright with this, but I still had my doubts

Ease of use

• Usability is really not an issue. The real issue for use is "Can you draw 3D objects?"

apart from that, its simply throw the files into an SD card, chuck it into the printer and start printing

• Loading the 3D printer is fairly simple, especially after you have built it yourself and know what you are doing

Printing material
3D printers dont use ink, they use plastic filaments. Basically a 1.75mm thick plastic wire. However, they come in different materials. PLA and ABS being the most common. You also get wood polymers and metallic ones too.
The extruder in a 3D printer (the one that melts the plastic and places it in the right place) needs to be able to achieve this. Also the processing board needs to support this.
Very cheap printers may only support PLA and not ABS. ABS is a much more tougher plastic but needs to be printed in a very controlled manner (something i have yet to learn). But if you are careful about what you are buying, printers around the same price margin can support different materials.
Difference being around $10 - 30  i decided to make sure ABS was an option as well. (Although, you may be able to upgrade the extruder)

Setup time
Usually this is one of the least thought of, but I took just under 8 hours to set mine up. People take longer and may do things incorrectly and will take days. So patience and attention to detail is required as the setup manuals arent very descriptive. BE PREPARED

Support
Being cheap printers and you are assembling things by yourself, you cant expect support from the manufacturer. usually you will find groups of that printer on facebook, or some other kind of forum. Its very helpful and you will find yourself helping others in no time once you have got yours setup