As you might have heard, we ended last week with a big bang: we released the 2015 3D Printer Guide based on a total of 2279 of your reviews. This resulted in an 18 printer shortlist with more than 10 reviews, spread out through 5 categories - Enthusiasts 3D printers, Plug’n’Play, KIT/ DIY, Budget and Resin printers. So we decided to dedicate this entire week to discussing the finalists of each category, by inviting both the community and the featured manufacturers to share their thoughts and/or questions.
We’ll kick off the week with the Enthusiasts: Makergear, FF3DP, Ultimaker, BQ and Lulzbot.
Do you guys have any questions for them?
Let us hear it!
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@Jeroen_35 @MantaFrida @kimgressens @Bristol3DPrint @rafaroldan @Premium @thinkitmakeit @FiberPad @Pot8oSH3D @marie_dunst @shawndonovan15 @Ken_8 any thoughts?
If anyone has questions on the Ultimaker 2 please fire away! 
sam@Bristol3DPrint
Thanks, Sam What do you think of the finalists in the Enthusiast category?
I’m still entusiastic about my Ultimaker2, the magic of creating something out of the blue and then see it come to life is just great. At this moment I don’t care so much about other 3d-printers. The only thing I’m struggeling with is the variety in filment quality. Some are very brittle but print pretty good and others are nice and strong but printing is more difficult.
I tweaked my UM2 with a microswitch to swiftly turn the led-lights on and off instead of going through the menu’s. I let it print in the dark at night because I don’t want to attract people from outside. Also I tried to tweak the feeder but in the end I mounted the original because it’s good enough.
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My opinion is similar to Jeroen_35. I’ve got an Ultimaker 2 and it’s amazing. I like how everything works perfectly, and how easy is to fix or change anything. I love spending hours fixing 3d printers, but with the Ultimaker 2 I spend that time watching how it prints.
The only thing is the filament. When you usea good filament, the prints are great, but when you try printing with a low quality filament (not precise diamenter or bubbles inside the filament), it’s more possible to have problems (normally because of the filament’s diamenter and the bowden tube).
If I could ask for anything else, it would be wi-fi connection so I can check how the printing process is going when I’m not home!
James_2
7
love my UMO so much I bought a second one.
Have the +upgrade just need time to install it!
James
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3DbyCB
8
I own a Makergear m2 and can’t speak highly enough of this printer. It has a great build volume for the price and it just works. I start a print in the mornings before I leave for work and when I get home I have a finished product ready to go. I have been building assembly’s and all the parts fit together nicely. Once the bedwas leveled I have not had to go back and adjust. It is just a quality product and ththe customer support is great even answering questions at 9pm local time on a Friday night when in hd some issues in the beginning. The only downside is that it doesn’t have a lcd screen for true stand alone printing but you do have the option to upgrade with a Viki lcd screen. Otherwise your have to start ad card prints through the slicer. I ended up purchasing the simplify3d software to run the machine but I heard it works a lol with the free slicers as well.
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Hey guys,
I’m looking in to buy one of these printers. Can someone with experience with them tell me their opinion? I’ve been mainly looking at the Makergear M2, Ultimaker 2, and Creator Pro.
Relevant info: the printer will be in my room, i’d like to print in nylong or alteast this Bridge Features, and would like the lowest cost. However, I am willing to sacrifice these for quality and reliability. I have been using a replicator 2X and we constantly have problems both with quality and with constant needed maintenance.
Thanks
Hey Jeff, you might want to also check some of the community reviews in the 3d printer guide: Best 3D Printer Guide 2023 | Hubs. And good luck with finding your printer 
I just want to add that I have ultimaker2 and makerbot replicator2 and unfortunately I have to admit that Makerbot has a better print quality, however I am not happy with the quality both of them. I think of buying a Leapfrog Xeed
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I have an Ultimaker 2. Can’t really say how it compares to other printers, becuase it’s the first one I have owned. It is quite tinkerer-friendly, can produce impressive quality at relatively low speeds, and can be ramped up to really fast speeds at the cost of quality.
I use all sorts of filament, cheap no-name garbage PLA and quality branded stuff. They all need to be fine-tuned to get the most out of them. The UM2 is a bit like a finely-tuned sportscar. You can get it to do all manner of weird stuff, if you play around with it.
Build quality is really good. Interface is good. Prints from an SD card, which is both great and a bit inconvenient at times, but YMMV on this sort of thing.
I have a Flash Forge Creator Pro and am thoroughly impressed. Took about 2 hours to set up, few failed prints learing about bed and nozzle temps, but now produces quality prints. It scored 24/30 on the ‘Make’ test. I think it is one of the best values, and hard to beat at under $1000 USD.
Chayak
14
The Lulzbot TAZ is a great printer. Mine didn’t ‘just work’ though and that’s a common theme you’ll hear in reviews. It’s a printer you have to really learn but once you do it’ll be very reliable and consisant.
The Ultimaker 2… hasn’t arrived yet 
aprzy15
15
I own a Makergear M2 and I am very happy with the results I get from it. 95% of the time, the printer works without a hitch. Once tuned, the M2 will churn out high quality prints with ease. However, there is one problem with the M2 that has drove me mad at times. The extruder that comes with the printer is built using 3D printed parts. I spent $1,800 on a machine that uses cheap and weak 3D printed parts to construct the extruder which I consider to be the heart of the printer. Now I am probably being a little too harsh on these parts. My extruder held up mine for many months before I had to replace it with more 3D printed parts, which isn’t a big problem, it’s just a headache. But the nice thing about the M2 is that you can upgrade it, which is probably what I’ll do.
Overall I would recommend the M2 to any 3D printer Hobbiest.
Run an RPI with Octopi for wifi! Ha that rhymed. I’ve had mine going for about a month on the RPI and it works great. The start gcode is a little fussy, but other then that I can remote in and do what ever I need with the camera on it.
I’m looking to get another printer to go with my UM2. My big issue is size. I know the M2 has a bigger build volume but I am worried about the open build format. What kind of warping and delamination do you see on Nylon and ABS. I put a door on the front of my UM2 and I never have any problems with ABS or Nylon.
