The Prusa Mini is an affordable 3D printer that is also open source (so you may see “copies” of it from other brands). It is slightly more expensive than some other entry-level 3D printers, BUT it works out of the box, there are ample resources easily available, and customer service is excellent.
Setting up the Prusa Mini
We suggest ordering the semi-assembled version of the Prusa Mini (there is currently no fully assembled version). The video below provides a very easy guide in addition to the instructions provided with the machine. If there are any questions about the printer, Prusa has a nice library of information that can assist you.
After you have assembled the 3D printer, we suggest you upgrade to an E3D V7 nozzle with a 0.6mm opening (the standard is 0.4mm). Your prints will not be as accurate, but will be 50% faster in print time. And, because manipulatives are mostly different geometric shapes, the details can suffer a tiny bit. Below is a video overview of how to change the nozzle easily (and it is fairly easy).
Printing Stuff
To print anything on a 3D printer, you need an STL file. It includes three-dimensional shapes for whatever you are wanting to print/create. You can find them on this website or on repositories like Thingiverse. Some files on Thingiverse do not work as advertised and you may want to adjust them in free STL editors like TinkerCad (see tutorial on that).
After you have an STL file you wish to print, you need to use PrusaSlicer to prepare it for printing. Below is a brief overview of how to do that (with a few tips included).
After you finish printing your stl file, now you need to get it off the plate. It’s a very simple process, but we made a video for it anyhow:
Changing Filament
You need filament to print on 3D printers. The video below shows you how to change the filament.
When looking for filament, we suggest using vendors such as IIIDMax or SUNLU because of the reasonable price point and quality.
