[chbot] 3D printing

[Andrew Errington]

Hello everyone,

My 3D printer arrived today.  Now I can hang with the cool kids.

For the longest time I have coveted this:
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/catalogsearch/result/index/?dir=desc&order=price&q=Malyan+m200

It is the Malyan M200, aka the Monoprice MP Select Mini.  It was announced
to great excitement just over a year ago as the first actually decent 3D
printer for less than 200 US dollars:
https://hackaday.com/2016/06/13/review-monoprice-mp-select-mini-3d-printer/

So, for the price it's pretty good, all things considered.  I was overseas
when it was announced, and I didn't want to try and get one delivered to me
there, nor did I want to carry it back to NZ when I eventually returned.

I kept my eye on it at hobbyking, and another eye on the exchange rate.  As
you know, GST is not collected on imports if the GST amount is less than
NZD 60, which equates to a shipment value of NZD 400 including shipping.
Unfortunately, if you exceed this threshold you get some other fees tacked
on too, approximately an additional hundred dollars.

The shipping cost from Hong Kong is about USD 65, so all up it's right on
the edge of being slightly over the limit, depending on the exchange rate.

Lately the NZD has been quite strong so it was quite likely I would not be
over the limit, but it's marginal.

Last week I spotted it was on sale with about USD 50 discount.  I bought
one on Friday and it arrived today.  At least if you're paying that much
for shipping you actually get good service.  I bought the UK version to be
sure it was capable of 240V operation, but I think all models are the same,
just with a different figure-8 mains cable supplied.

Out of the box you get five metres of PLA and a microSD card with a sample
model (and the manual) on it.  They supply a small Allen key for you to
check the bed is level, after which you load the filament and press print.

Now I have joined the horde of 3D printer owners with no real need for
one... but it's cool.

Best wishes,

Andrew
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