Which Ultimaker 3D Printer is Proper for Me?


Check out what makes every Ultimaker 3D printer tick and which one is greatest suited to your initiatives.

Ultimaker has been within the desktop 3D printing trade for a very long time. They’ve aimed to be a solution to each a part of the 3D printing course of, from filament, to their free slicing software program Cura, to polished and top quality 3D printers. The newest fashions from Ultimaker are a drive to be reckoned with, from the one extrusion Ultimaker 2+ Join to the twin extrusion Ultimaker S3 or Ultimaker S5. With out realizing what to search for, it may be laborious to check completely different fashions and know which one is greatest for you, fortunately you’ve gotten the Execs at MatterHackers that will help you in your journey.

Let’s bounce into it-

Ultimaker 3D Printers at a Look

  • Construct Quantity: The Ultimaker S5 is the biggest of all of them, with the Ultimaker S3 and Ultimaker 2+ Join having nearly an identical sizes.
  • Extrusion: Whilst you received’t see enhancements within the already wonderful print high quality, the S3 and S5 are twin extrusion 3D printers.
  • Hotend {Hardware}: Merely unlatching and changing the Print Core is all it takes to alter the hotend in an S3 or S5, however a nozzle wrench and a correctly sized nozzle is what you want for an Ultimaker 2+ Join.
  • Temperatures: The “S” Sequence printers can attain 140°C on the mattress and 280°C on the nozzle, however the 2+ Join maxes out at 110°C on the mattress and 260°C on he nozzle.
  • Filtration: Extra equipment just like the Air Supervisor is accessible to filter the air high quality or management airflow of the Ultimaker 2+ Join or the Ultimaker S5, however no such add-on is made by Ultimaker for the S3
  • Value: Because the options differ so drastically between every mannequin it’s laborious to really evaluate, however objectively, the Ultimaker 2+ Join is probably the most cheap of the Ultimaker line of 3D printers.
  • Materials Station: To totally unlock the potential of a print farm utilizing Ultimaker machines, the sensible materials swapping and humidity managed Materials Station is a strong add-on solely accessible for the Ultimaker S5.

Construct Quantity

Between the three Ultimaker fashions, there are actually solely two measurement courses. The Ultimaker 2+ Join and Ultimaker S3, without having precisely the identical construct quantity dimensions will in follow be nearly an identical: the two+ Join has a construct quantity of 223mm huge x 220mm deep x 205mm tall, and the S3 has a construct quantity of 230mm huge x 190mm deep x 200mm tall. In distinction, the Ultimaker S5 is significantly bigger than each with a construct quantity 330mm huge x 240mm deep x 300mm tall. The tradeoff between the Ultimaker S3 and a pair of+ Join is kind of the marginally shallower construct quantity in trade for twin extrusion. If each are an necessary issue to your success, then the Ultimaker S5 pulls no punches and is the construct quantity champion.

The Ultimaker S5 has the largest build volume of the lineup by a considerable margin.

The Ultimaker S5 has the biggest construct quantity of the lineup by a substantial margin.

Variety of Extruders

Aside from measurement, the obvious distinction between these Ultimaker 3D printers is that the Ultimaker 2+ Join is single extrusion and the Ultimaker S3 and S5 are twin extrusion. Within the case of the two+ Join, you’re restricted to 3D printing in just one materials (or colour) at a time. Assist buildings should be extruded in the identical materials as your construct materials, which is completely serviceable, you’ll simply must take the time to chip and clip away on the helps to disclose your 3D print beneath. With the S3 and S5, you’ve gotten two nozzles, with the second lifting and reducing when wanted to stop smearing of fabric. You’ll be able to use two colours or supplies in the identical 3D print, which lets you use dissolvable help supplies so you possibly can toss your completed 3D print in a bathtub of water and easily look ahead to the helps to dissolve away, or you possibly can print distinctive fashions in two colours to point out off particular options. 

While simple, the one nozzle of the Ultimaker 2+ Connect gives you a lot of freedom in choosing your nozzle.

Whereas easy, the one nozzle of the Ultimaker 2+ Join offers you a variety of freedom in selecting your nozzle.

Hotend {Hardware}

What actually units the Ultimaker S3 and Ultimaker S5 other than different 3D printers is how they incorporate their hotend elements. The place the Ultimaker 2+ Join has the heatsink, heatbreak, heater block, and nozzle all rigidly mounted to the printhead, the S3 and S5 use “Print Cores.” These are elements that function every little thing wanted to make a hotend in a single simply detachable package deal, so you possibly can swap out the whole Print Core if you would like a brand new nozzle measurement, new nozzle materials, or if you wish to take away it for normal upkeep. Merely observe the wizard to take away materials, decrease the fan bracket, pinch and take away a core, insert the brand new one, and prepare for printing. And since every Print Core has a built-in PCB, the Ultimaker will keep in mind the offsets for the nozzle’s place so that you don’t must utterly recalibrate the printer after swapping Print Cores. With the Ultimaker 2+ Join, it’s a extra conventional setup with a nozzle that wants a hex wrench to take away. This has its advantages in that you simply aren’t restricted to the Print Cores that Ulitmaker provides and might as a substitute use principally any M6 threaded nozzle, just like the Olsson Ruby or NozzleX on the Ultimaker 2+ Join, supplying you with the liberty to experiment as you want.

Print Cores makeup the entire hotend in the S Series, from heat sink to nozzle it's all quickly removeable and interchangeable.

Print Cores make-up the whole hotend within the S Sequence, from warmth sink to nozzle it is all shortly removeable and interchangeable.

Most Temperatures

The temperatures that your 3D printer can attain dictate what supplies you possibly can and might’t work with. Within the case of the Ultimaker 2+ Join, its most mattress temperature is 110° and the Ultimaker S3 and Ultimaker S5 have a most mattress temperature of 140°C, so you possibly can relaxation straightforward realizing the mattress is not going to be your limiting issue as it could possibly attain the best temperature for even probably the most excessive supplies like ABS or Polycarbonate. Moreover, they differ within the temperatures that the nozzle can attain; as a result of the Ultimaker S3 and S5 each make the most of Print Cores, the utmost printing temperature is 280°C which ought to enable for the usage of most supplies which you could 3D print with. However, due to its building, the Ultimaker 2+ Join is proscribed to 260°C, which is sufficient for any Ultimaker supplies, however could show troublesome for different manufacturers of filament that want greater temperatures.

The beds of the Ultimaker S3 and S5 are able to reach an astounding 140C, more than enough heat for even the most difficult 3D printing materials.

The beds of the Ultimaker S3 and S5 are capable of attain an astounding 140C, greater than sufficient warmth for even probably the most troublesome 3D printing supplies.

Mattress Leveling

For any 3D printer, having a construct floor as flat as attainable is important for persistently easy first layers. Through the use of “float glass” – a particular kind of glass designed to be very flat – in each Ultimaker 3D printer, you might be assured that the primary layer will probably be flat. Among the many 3 Ultimaker fashions accessible, every use a three-point leveling system to regulate the aircraft the mattress sits in: tighten or loosen every thumbwheel beneath the mattress and the whole construct plate tilts to extra carefully match the aircraft the nozzle strikes in. Nevertheless, the Ultimaker S3 and Ultimaker S5 take a step additional and make the most of a sensor constructed into the mattress and printhead to gauge the true form of the glass, making a mesh to mechanically high quality tune the nozzle’s distance from the glass so it could possibly all the time be the identical distance, thereby guaranteeing you don’t have areas of the construct plate that introduce adhesion issues.

By using the nozzle itself as the bed probe, the Ultimaker S3 and S5 have a uniform first layer thickness ensuring consistent adhesion.

Through the use of the nozzle itself because the mattress probe, the Ultimaker S3 and S5 have a uniform first layer thickness guaranteeing constant adhesion.

Air Filtration and Management

If you recognize you’re going to be printing with a number of the stinkier 3D printing supplies like ABS or Polycarbonate, having in-built filtration to wash the air of the printer is a worthwhile funding. The Ultimaker 2+ Join and Ultimaker S5 have the Air Supervisor add-on which you could buy that merely plug into the again of the Ultimaker, snap onto the highest, and supply full management of the air surrounding the 3D print. Within the case of the Ultimaker S3, there isn’t a filtration choice accessible from Ultimaker.

Ultimaker Air Managers or third party add-ons are able to both filter outgoing air and cycle to keep the internal temperature within a consistent range.

Ultimaker Air Managers or third occasion add-ons are capable of each filter outgoing air and cycle to maintain the interior temperature inside a constant vary.

Value

It may be laborious to check pricing for machines which are so comparable and but have some fairly important variations. Whereas the Ultimaker 2+ Join and Ultimaker S3 have comparable construct volumes, the two+ Join is sort of a bit cheaper than the S3 at the price of being solely single extrusion. Between the Ultimaker S3 and S5, the general distinction is their construct quantity and the add-ons which are accessible; the Ultimaker S5 is the biggest Ultimaker accessible so when you plan on producing bigger 3D prints then that is your choice, and it’s the one “S” sequence printer to have any add-ons.

To be a 3D printing behemoth, it's clear that the Ultimaker S5 is going to be the most expensive of the Ultimaker lineup.

To be a 3D printing behemoth, it is clear that the Ultimaker S5 goes to be the costliest of the Ultimaker lineup.

Materials Station

To actually step up the Ultimaker S5’s talents, the Ultimaker Materials Station is designed to handle all your supplies without delay with none consumer intervention. With six completely different materials bays, you possibly can preserve a number of supplies or colours loaded and on the prepared (though you possibly can solely use 2 supplies per print job). The primary objective of that is to completely make the most of the Ultimaker Cloud to ship, for instance, a Yellow PLA with PVA print to your cloud-synced print farm and have the Ultimaker S5 mechanically unload filament and cargo within the desired supplies to get began. Paired with a sensor in each bay to find out in the event that they’ve run out of fabric earlier than the job is completed, and you may have a virtually utterly hands-free print job from begin to end, save for the print elimination.

A fully loaded Material Station ready to cycle through different materials to keep an Ultimaker S5 stocked and loaded.

A totally loaded Materials Station able to cycle by means of completely different supplies to maintain an Ultimaker S5 stocked and loaded.

Ultimaker has established itself as an all-encompassing 3D printer producer with a solution for each step of the printing course of. Hopefully issues are a bit clearer now and you’ve got the correct thought of which Ultimaker 3D printer would be the printer for you. To be taught extra and order your Ultimaker right now, try the.

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