I've been 3D printing with a Tiertime Up! Plus2 for about three years now, and its a great printer.  Its very sturdy and accurate.  Its a workhorse that I've run almost constantly, with very little maintenance.  But it has a few limitations that are holding me back. The heat bed stopped working, and its just too small for many of the things I want to print nowadays.

Over the past few years I've been very active on Thingiverse, attended the Midwest RepRap Festival, and witnessed a buddy of mine build a RostockMAX from a kit.  I've learned a lot about how 3D printers work, and what their made of.  It's time to build one for myself.