The trouble with Open Source instructions

Progress - Putting together the Y-axis
Michael came over on Sunday afternoon to build the i3 in one sitting. I advised Michael that he was a little ambitious. We got this far:

Progress was hindered by the fact that we had printed out 4 different sets of build manuals and none of them matched the printed parts that I had purchased from eBay. I had cut the M10 threaded rods too short so I spent a few moments cursing at the inanimate objects before me.

Go wholesale if you can ...
Subsequently, a trip was made to Bunnings Warehoure. Bunnings Warehouse is just down the road and convenient but the mark up is incredible. If you have the time to go to a wholesaler during business hours, I'd recommend RGA Fasteners in Marrickville. I think an M10x1000 is around $AUD 2.00. If you're an idiot short on time like myself, it will cost you $AUD 6.45 for an M10x1200 threaded rod.

A little help from Michael

Michael
Michael is my brother-in-law who had a serious motorcycle accident 2 years ago. By serious, I mean serious enough to have a third of his skull removed to relieve the pressure from the trauma to the brain. He's recovering pretty well but he is still recovering.

Prior to his accident, Michael was a cadet a a construction company and his goal in life was to do well in construction. After his accident, I introduced him to Lego which was a great way to keep him occupied and challenge him mentally. Unfortunately, Lego is fairly expensive and the costs so far has tallied to over $1,000.

I hope building a 3D printer will grab his attention. So far so good.

Michael cleaning out the supports from the printed parts

Prusa i3 Bill of Materials: $502.67

Starting Again
Between starting a new job, getting married, honeymooning, finishing off a 7,000 word essay, making my apartment hospitable enough to be rented out, travelling to icy cold Indianapolis for work (mind you, the people there make you feel warm and fuzzy inside) and generally trying to stay out of trouble over the last 3 months, there hasn't been much time to embark on putting together the Prusa i3.

Relative cost bearing in mind the exchange rate
However, I did have enough time to compile the parts to build the Prusa i3. It would have been much cheaper if the American Dollar wasn't so strong Below is my bill of materials which are all in AUD and I estimate that the average exchange rate (that PayPal exchanges for you) was $AUD 1.00 = $USD 0.86. It would have been a lot cheaper too if I lived in the USA for the purposes of postage.

As a bit of context, I built the Prusa Iteration 2 for $AUD 514.00 at a time when $AUD 1.00 = $USD 1.04. So in relative USD terms, the Prusa i3 costs roughly $USD 432.30 compared to the Prusa Iteration 2 which cost me roughly $USD 534.

Bill of Materials (BOM)

Description	Quantity	Unit Price	Total Price	Comments	Source
RAMPS 1.4	1		$227.03		eBay
A4988 Step motor drivers	1
Arduino Mega 2560	1
Mechanical Endstop	6
Wiring Cables Set	14
GT2 Aluminium Pulley	3
GT2 Belt	2
Buda Hotend	1
LCD for RAMPS 1.4	1
SD for RAMPS 1.4	1
Heatbed	1
Cooler fan	1
Thermristors	2
NEMA 17 Stepper motors	5		$85.24		eBay
470mm 8mm smooth rod	2	$2.49/m 316 Steel $2.64/cut (4cuts)	$25.52	X Axis	Edcon Steel Revesby 7/122 Milperra Rd Revesby NSW 2122
370mm 8mm smooth rods	2			Y Axis
405mm 8mm smooth rod	2			Z Axis
20mm 8mm smooth	1		$0.00	Made from M8 Threaded Rod	Made from M8 Threaded Rod
400mm M10 threaded rod	2		$6.45	Y Axis	Bunnings - cheaper at RGA Fasteners
205mm M8 threaded rods	4		$4.50	Y Axis	Bunnings - cheaper at RGA Fasteners
~370mm M5 threaded rod	2	$1.50/metre	$1.50	Z Axis	RGA Fasteners @ $1.50 per metre
450x100x12mm wood	6		$7.70	Frame	Bunnings
475x100x15mm wood	1			Frame	Bunnings
Composite i3 frame	1		$84.00	Frame	eBay
Printed Parts Set	1		$49.05		eBay
M3x8 grub screw	3	0.223	$0.67	Min quantity of 10	eBay
M5 Nut	2	0.012	$0.02	Min Quantity of 100	RGA Fasteners
M3x10 Bolt	14	0.03	$0.42	Min Quantity of 100	RGA Fasteners
M8x40 Bolt	2	0	$0.00	Made from M8 Threaded Rod	Made from M8 Threaded Rod
M3 Nut	22	0.006	$0.13	Min Quantity of 100	RGA Fasteners
M4 Nut	4	0.011	$0.04	Min Quantity of 100	RGA Fasteners
M2.5 Machine Screws?	6	0.04	$0.24	Min Quantity of 100	RGA Fasteners
M8 Nut	36	0.015	$0.54	Min Quantity of 100	RGA Fasteners
M8 Washer	34	0.018	$0.61	Min Quantity of 100	RGA Fasteners
M3 Washer	16	0.01	$0.16	Min Quantity of 100	RGA Fasteners
M4x20 Bolt	2	0.048	$0.10	Min Quantity of 100	RGA Fasteners
M3x40 bolt	4	0.072	$0.29	Min Quantity of 100	RGA Fasteners
M3x20 bolt	16	0.034	$0.54	Min Quantity of 100	RGA Fasteners
M10 nut	12	0.022	$0.26	Min Quantity of 100	RGA Fasteners
M10 washer	8	0.021	$0.17	Min Quantity of 100	RGA Fasteners
M10 fender washer	4		need to buy/find	40c each	Bunnings
M3x25 bolt	2	0.04	$0.08	Min Quantity of 100	RGA Fasteners
M4x40 bolt	2	0.047	$0.09	Min Quantity of 100	RGA Fasteners
LM8UU (Asia) or LME8UU (US, Europe) linear bearings	10	0.586	$5.86	10	eBay
1.5cm vinyl tubing, 6.35mm OD 4.32mm ID (3cm total)	2	$0.00	$0.00	Pulled from fish tank air pump	Pulled from fish tank air pump
Roller skate 608z bearings	3	$0.30	$0.90	Min Quantity of 10	Min Quantity of 10
624z bearings	2	0.272	$0.54	Min Quantity of 10	Min Quantity of 10
		TOTAL	$AUD 502.67

Yes, I bought 2 frames (Timber and composite)
I started on the timber frame version because the timber for the frame would cost me all of $AUD 7.70: bargain. If you are going to build a reprap that you definitely will not be proud of to show your friends and family, I highly recommend the timber frame.

If you want to appear a little less uncool, get an aluminium frame or do what I did and bought a composite frame. I paid $AUD 84 (including postage) which is great value if you don't mind the gimp mask colour scheme.