Cube 3 vs Ultimaker 2?

[CaptainBisquick]

I’m reasonably set on buying an Ultimaker 2. Looks like it delivers on all fronts, which is what I want the most, something that delivers awesome speed, precision, reliability, and large build envelope. A lot to ask for.

Something puzzles me though. When I look at the Cube 3 sample parts they have at Best Buy, they look more detailed than any other print I’ve ever seen, even more detailed than the photos I see online. When looking at them, I can’t see any layers. What could possibly explain this? The guy at the store claims those prints really did come from the machine they have on display.

[MB3D]

Hi Robert,

the prints can be very large, so the layers aren’t that visible. Also if you print in ABS you can use acetone to melt the surface, this fuses together and will make layers impossible to see. I would definitely go for the Ultimaker, there is a giant community behind this printer series (there are three size versions of the UM2). You can find all kinds of updates and modifications for free online, those allow other nozzle sizes (higher detail or faster speed), also more materials and hardware improovements, like dual extrusion, other hotends for higher max temp, other LCD displays, controllability via WLAN and much more.

The cube 3 needs proprietary spools, so you can’t use 3rd party filaments, which would be a lot cheaper or would provide other properties.

Two alternatives might be the Lulzbot TAZ5 and the leapfrog Creatr / Creatr HS. All of those have large buildvolumes and good print speeds + quality. I wouldn’t recommend to go full speed with any of those printers, but you can go decently fast. To get faster prints, it would be more important, to have dual extrusion, to have the outside printed with a high resolution fine nozzle and the infill with a rough large nozzle.

Please upload the photos you found on the website or publish the link, i can’t find the pictures. If we could see the pictures, we could explain, why those prints look so good.

By the way, there’s barely a print that can’t be printed perfectly, with barely any visible layers etc. however this usually requires a few prints to improove. Remember, that those are advertisment pictures, there were probably some tries necessary to get that quality, or the operator had very much experience with his printer, that he calibrated perfectly.

I’d highly advise you to search local UM2’s and Cube 3’s, to take a look at the printers and ask the owners for their experience, they have no interest in selling you a printer, so their opinion will be very objective and they’ll be able to give you beginner-tips.

Here’s the link to search for both printers.

Online 3D Printing Service | Instant 3D Printing Quotes | Hubs

Just to give you a hint: 858 UM2’s are listed, while only Cube 3’s are only owned by 28 hubs.

Cheers,

Marius Breuer

[Xeno]

What Marius Breuer said, sound advise

[Tobias_Brinke]

Hey Robert!

After a long decision Process, I went for the Ultimaker 2 and I don’t regret it at all. The machine is sturdy and delivers awesome Prints! The only problem I had at the beginning was nozzle clog, but that resolved itself after a few prints!

The printer is sturdy and really well produced, the interface is intuitive and the Setup is almost as easy as plug and play!

The prints are really good and high in quality and on the highest setting, layers become almost invisible!
I have found out, that the white Innofil PLA is very runny, even at 180°C, so the print of my Marvin has a few Problems with overhangs, but that’s material fault, not the printers.

Even the really fast and high-speed prints at the lowest quality come out sturdy and without any defects or problems. I have been printing at up to 150mm/s on some quick parts I needed for a project and the printer handled it without any problems and motor skips.

Another thing that Marius already pointed out is that the Ultimaker can run almost any Mod and Filament. I have even printed with a Polyethylene-Copper Compound that we developed at the University and it prints that without any problems. I am sure that you could stick almost any Thermoplastic Polymer in the Printer (that isn’t too soft) and it would deliver a good print!

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

Grtz,
Tobias Brinke

[picasso3ds]

Ultimaker 2 the best the quality of its printing! accuracy. no competitors. printed layer was 20 microns

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20141222-russian-toy-designer-creates-complex-and-awesome-robot-toys-on-his-ultimaker-2-3d-printer.html

[fiilo]

Their customer service is terrible. If anything breaks on the machine, they are almost impossible to get a hold of. I certainly wont be purchasing another Ultimaker 2.

[will_kostelecky]

I am also a new owner of a U2 and do not regret it in the least. I started with a Prusa I3 and also have a Wanhao Duplicator 4S. A test print done at 70 microns, and probably in ABS, is going to be pretty smooth…particularly if the printer was slowed down as speed kills. The U2, as I am sure you know, can do 40 micron resolution. The time it takes to do prints at that level of detail is staggering though!

One of the things that I like about the U2 that I don’t like about the Cube 3 is the whole cartridge idea. I like the idea of being able to decide how much I want to spend on filament!

Good luck!

[will_kostelecky]

Wow. :-o I did not know it could do 20 microns. How the h— long did those prints take?

[Tobias_Brinke]

You must have had bad luck then. I’ve had no problems at all so far, they were really nice and support was great for me!

[picasso3ds]

pla 20 micron print/ but you need very cool plastic like innifil3d and print speed 25 mm sec

[picasso3ds]

some time very long

[steven_10]

No problems with service for me either! I think they have been moving offices or something recently so maybe that has caused a few delays.

[steven_10]

I would suggest that you print the improved spool holder and guide wheel, as this helps massively when you start to up the speeds, it reduces the resistance from the spool to the feeder helping to prevent under extrusion. can be found on the youmagine website.

[steven_10]

oh and to help the over hangs, junk the standard cooling ducts and make one of the improved ones again from youmagine, you will be amazed at the difference it makes!

[3d4you]

Ultimaker 2 is a great machine. Down to 25µm layers. Massive experience around. Works with any 2.85mm filament.

If you still doubt, you can test the printer at www.3d4you.net

[Tobias_Brinke]

Thanks for the tip, I’ll try that out

[iceman1979]

Their customer service has been amazing for me.

[gregh]

I also had some bad experience with customer service and also relatively long lead times to get parts.

HOWEVER: I spoke to their head of customer support at the London 3D Print show, as well as the MD of Ultimaker GB and the head of customer support for UM GB and my mind was put at ease that this was a temporary situation.

Ultimaker support in NL had been going through some growth changes, training new team members, etc. Also anyone reading this in the UK (& Ireland I think) be aware that you should be getting support from Ultimaker GB now. I wasn’t forwarded to their site correctly when I had these issues. Ultimaker GB also keep spares.

I have had good experiences with Ultimaker GB support since, I cannot speak for other regions.

[gregh]

Hi Steven,

There are several spool and fan duct upgrade available. Is there a most popular / accepted standard choice for each? If not which did you go for?

The ubiquitous feeder upgrade is this one which is an improvement on the original. Print one before you need it, I was using one printed with under extrusion for ages

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/alternative-um2-feeder-version-two

[steven_10]

i use this spooler with my color fab rolls.

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/low-friction-um2-spoolholder

and this for a guide

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/um2-bearing-filament-guide

for the cooling fan I use

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/ultimaker-2-fan-mount--2

I also have only just fitted a new feeder (after 1000 hours printing!), so I would say do the others 1st, starting with the guide.

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/alternative-um2-feeder-version-two