Parts shopping time!

So I just purchased some of the parts I need for my RepRap. Those parts include:

5 Stepper Motors (unlike a regular servo motor, which just spins, a stepper motor moves in discreet clicks or "steps", so you can make it much more precise). I bought 5. 1 for the X axis, 1 for the Y axis, 2 for the Z axis (it requires 2 because it moves everything up and down), and 1 for the extruder itself. They were $15 each, so that's $75 so far.

Next came the RAMPS, which stands for "RepRap Arduino Mega Pololu Shield". Mego Pololu is just the name of the first model of the Ramps, and a "shield" is just a circuit board that goes on top of an Arduino. But more of that later. Anyway, the RAMPS is what runs all the motors. Now, you could go with separate drivers (chips that run each motor), but they can be this big, as opposed to the new Ramps, where you squeeze 5 drivers into a chip that is about the same size as an individual old-style driver. The Ramps cost me $80

Then, there is the Arduino itself. The brain. The heart of the whole printer. This is where all the magic happens, where you go from a computer model, to actually having the printed out model. In the past, people who were building RepRaps would use an Arduino Mega. Now, I will be using the brand new Arduino Due, which is special because it is the first one to use a 32-bit processor. Basically, it can run a lot more stuff, a lot faster. The Due cost me $50.

So far, I have spent ~$200. I will have some more costs, but none of them will be nearly this big. My goal is to have the RepRap up and running using under $350.