Ultimaker 2 - pros and cons?

[Sybren_Zwetsloo]

Hello Annika,

My recommendation would be to buy this printer. It is a very stable printer that gives good results. I have printed mainly with PLA, so can’t tell you much about the other mtaterials.

[insulaner]

Hi buy it ! It’s a funny experience.

[will_kostelecky]

I have an Ultimaker 2 and a Makerbot clone Wanhao Duplicator 4S. They are in two different classes from a price point which is a major con from the UM side. The beast is expensive! On the other hand you are getting quality for that money. The printer looks really nice, almost Apple’ish in terms of design.

The UM2 comes out of the box ready to print and do so at high quality. I was not particularly happy with some of the tuning options that Cura provides, in particular around bridging, but that is me being particular. I have moved to using Simplify3D and finally have a profile that I really like so I am happy with bridging!

Speaking of Simplify3D, and I am not marketing it just making a point, you normally should print from the SD card for reliability and even quality reasons, however, with Simplify3D you can print across the USB connection.

Whatever printer you get stay away from proprietary solutions. As someone else said…you need to be able to choose where you get your filament. I have cheap stuff that prints as well as expensive stuff. in that case you have to love the cheap stuff.

My one concern around the UM2 is whether you want to print ABS. IMHO the UM2 is really geared to printing PLA. No open printer is going to be as good at printing ABS as a closed printer. You can get stuff to close up the UM2 (even a bin liner can work) or you can keep it in a hot no draft closet, but if you should think about how much ABS you want to print before you buy the UM2.

Bottom line is that I would buy the UM2 again.

[will_kostelecky]

This is the truest of statements that I have ever read on a message board: “If you have never used a 3D printer before, then you are in for a shock, because 3D printing is really very, very hard beyond the simplest of things. …if you want really great results the greatest skill you need is infinite patience and print things really slowly.”

So very very true. It is lucky that I am retired because I have spent countless hours calibrating my two printers (UM2 and a Makertbot Clone) to be able to print a stupid calibration object (#3DBenchy). To the point of obsession. My wife would say beyond. But it is a beautiful thing when you see something go from your modeling software into reality and it is worth the pain.

[Bauermaker]

hi Annika

good choice, i have one Ultimaker 2 and 2 Ultimaker 1 and while i like the UM2, I still sometimes prefer the UM1 because everything is easier to fix and more hands on. The print quality is also pretty much the same, the single andvantage if the UM2 is that it has two fans, but you can easily add a second one to the UM1.

So if you are inclined to tinker a little bit i would recomend the Ultimaker 1+ (comes with a heated bed and the bed is a little bit “steadier” ) and you could also save some money

greetings

b

[3DBOX_3DBOX]

True, I have Ultimaker 2 and the heated bed always has probs.

[gr5org]

The heated bed stopped working for me after about 2 months but the forums told me exactly what to and it was easy to reflow the solder on that connector and it has worked fine for 2 years since then. I think their quality control is a bit better. Also someone complained about their customer service. That department has grown quite a bit and the people there are pretty smart now. They all speak english incredibly well. I think you’ll find it’s not *too* horrible. And if you are in USA and you ordered through their website then your support will most likely be from Memphis. Fast ship on parts and such from Memphis.

[harley573]

I have had my UM2 for six weeks and have run it more or less non stop for that entire time. I have two SD cards that I keep loaded with print files, so as one print finishes, I scrape it off, spray a light coat of hairspray down and immediately start the next print. The only down time is if a print finishes in the middle of the night or while I am at work. But the UM2 wasn’t exactly plug and play. When it arrived and I tried to go through the initial setup, it kept giving me errors because several of the belt gears were loose. I had to remove the sheetmetal covers and tighten up all the gears. After that, I had some issues leveling the bed properly. I followed the instructions to the letter 5 or 6 times and it failed to start a print every time. Finally, some magic happened and I got the bed leveling right and it was off to the races after that. I have been blown away by the print quality which rivals the quality of prints I do at work on our $50,000 Fortus 250MC. Prior to this purchase, I had a Rostock Max kit I built and after 2 years of ownership, I have still not gotten anything off it that is even close to the UM2 in terms of quality. Talk about finicky and having to tinker with something constantly! With the UM2, I had a few bumps starting out, but since getting it running initially, I haven’t touched it or given it a second thought. It’s so nice to be able to start a big print and not have to worry about whether or not it will finish properly. Most of the stuff I print is proprietary, so I can’t post photos of that, but I have printed a few things just for fun and I’ll attach a few photos of those things. I have printed in PLA, (several colors as well as glow in the dark), ABS, and Colorfabb XT and they all did great. I highly recommend the UM2. You won’t regret spending the money on it. I am now considering purchasing a second one myself.

[Robin]

I think they come with a new Teflon decoupler now that doesn’t wear out as fast.

[Didier_2]

Yes they are now delivered with a spare Teflon, a complete spare head and PT100 (temp sensor).

[Robin]

did not know that, but they should also be made of different material (glass filled).

[gr5org]

Starting at least a year ago UM switched to glass filled teflon. I’m not convinced they are any better. Some people at UM did some testing and concluded they were better. Anders Olsson I believe concluded they are worse (I could be confused about this). I have had no problem with either type (tried both) as I tend to keep things cool (typically 210C) and rarely stray from PLA. They are inexpensive. If you plan to print often at 250C or hotter I recommend you get the i2k from 3dsolex which will keep the teflon at 100C! But only if you do no retraction, lol. As soon as you do retraction it can bring molten plastic up into the teflon and warm it right up. 3dsolex also sells something they call the IPM which is horrible for PLA (molten pla sticks to it) but works great for ABS and other materials that need higher temperatures.

Anyway the teflon parts are relatively cheap (about $12 or €12 each from 3dsolex).

[Alangs1]

You run ninja flex in your UM2? Do you have the stock bowden still?

[Xeno]

Pro:

The Um is the best printer for it’s price

makes nice and (very) fast parts,

looks great on a desk

con:

difficult to change a nozzle size (3 mins on UM+)

need to print a better feeder first thing.

permanent fan behind the print head can be noisy.

not made for tinkering.

but for all UM printers, a very big pro, Cura !

[Topend3d]

Hi, i have really good success with PLA and soon I will be trying LDPE. The Material holder is not well designed and you can get some print fails due to the filament drum getting stuck or a tangle. I have no complaints about it. Really good detail and it has not failed a print where it wasn’t my fault. All in all i will purchase another when i need more production.

[steven_10]

the main problem is not the feeder but the friction from the spooler guide, and the filament holder, print upgraded versions on these and the standard feeder is ok, yes re-print an upgraded version eventually, but new guide and then spool holder 1st…

[steven_10]

for starters when printing ABS use kapton tape on the hot bed, bed temp needs to go upto 110°, check the 0.1mm bed distance and it WILL stick…lol. if you have problems with layer sep, then turn off the layer cooling fans.

with regards to the nozzle, to me its fairly easy to change! (should have tried changing one when we used NiChrome wire as a heating element.lol) you don’t have to strip the hole head down, you remove the layer cooling fans, then unscrew nozzle. that’s it!

only if you want to change the PTFE piece do you have to strip the head down.

Give me a shout through me hub if you want any specific help with any Ultimaker 2 setups. I am always happy to help.

[INFINITY3D]

Ciao noi siamo un Fab Lab e abbiamo solo una Ultimaker 2 che utilizziamo molto meno che il modello che per noi è migliore di Punta Sharebot ne abbiamo 6 e produciamo essendo distributori di filamenti di tutto con tutto più limitata Ultimaker 2 che quando utilizziamo filamenti speciali alluminio ecc troviamo delle imperfezioni sulle stampe ecc.comunque è una buona stamante attualmente pero noi che lavoriamo 15 ore al giorno essa è più limitata che altre.

[INFINITY3D]

Ciao noi siamo un Fab Lab e ABBIAMO solista Una Ultimaker 2 Che utilizziamo Molto Meno Che il modello di Che per Noi e Migliore di Punta Sharebot ne ABBIAMO 6 e produciamo being Distributori di filamenti di tutto con tutto Più limitata Ultimaker 2 Che when utilizziamo filamenti speciali alluminio ecc Troviamo delle imperfezioni Sulle stampe ecc.comunque e Una buona stamante attualmente pero Noi che Lavoriamo 15 ore al giorno ESSA e Piu limitata Che Altre.

[KCT]

English please