[Should I buy an Ultimaker?]

You're right, didnt knew that it was such old machine until i saw the post. With the prints that I made and the prints that I see online, its quite the improvement for a company that is around for a year.

I didnt really know much about Zcorp and the fact that they are expensive and fragile. Seems that it is only worth for visual prototypes.

[And so it begins... Spam...]

whats a flamer ?

Forum pyromaniac.

[<200 Dollar 3D modelers]

I learned Rhino3d. Its based on NURBS, for round & natural shapes its much better. I have to admit the pictures dont look so good, if you have flamingo (a renderer that you can buy) it will look beautiful and realistic.

I created a quite realistic XBOX gameconsole with rhino3d, but got to find it back (lost it somewhere on my old pc).

[Belt Wear]

i dont have one yet BUT if this belt broke, where can we get replacement parts ?

i dont see them for sale on the ultimaker website ?

what would a new belt cost ?

Ian

If you need replacement parts, best is to mail them. They dont sell it (yet) on the website.

[Advice about wchich CAD program]

I think you just summed up the 2 freeware programs that I would recommend. Besides sketchup I can work with Rhino3D, which is actually a bit of a pain-in-the-ass if you have never worked with 3d before, but they gave it to me in school and still using it for the more tricky builds.

When you just want to make some simple prints (for example a cup) then I would recommend sketchup, but if you want to get more into 3d I would really recommend blender, unless you want to spend X000 dollar on software.

[Real ideas for Ultimaker forum site]

Hi guys here are a few ideas rolling in my head for the forum.

(1) dump the boring top graphic banner as soon as possible. something bright and fun.

(2) setup a section for raw materials and suppliers.

(3) increase anti spambot measures, they really are starting to eat the forum before it starts.

(4) setup a nice little pub section where people can relay and introduce themselves.

(5) setup a section, Talking to Ultimaker Crew. Where you guys have some photos of yourselves and a little more information.

even more links to some cool youtube videos you guys have, i searched google and found some really cool ones.

also users can interact with you guys directly, that will really mak your corporate ID stronger !

(6) section just for new users, ie... me let the started asking the silly questions

(7) allow avatars for users. I wanted to put up a nice irish flag but cant find the option ?

that is my first few ideas.

best wishes guys.

Ian (irsh man in leipzig germany)

Good questions. Will ask them the next time I get to see them.

[Post your first stupid questions.... ME FIRST]

Or even brown/gray, like mine. I used some special fire clay for insulation.

[Should I buy an Ultimaker?]

If you want real quality, I would recommend getting a zcorp instead of a machine like the ultimaker. They can deal with overhangs and print really good quality prints (I heard that they can print stuff with accuracy of 0.01mm), or use a company like shapeways (if you cant afford to buy a zcorp).

The ultimaker can print out pretty decent prints, but they are only good for testruns (where you have something static in your hand and see how it will finally look like), not for a final print that you can show to your customers. Like owen said, the quality achieved by most people here is by constantly trying and tinkering with their machine. I do believe that you can get a fairly quality print out of a stock ultimaker, but from experience I found out that the quality you see on the websites can only be achieved after you spent several hours tinkering with it.

I had difficulty printing a simple whistle when I first started up the ultimaker, and it took me another hour to figure out that i had to slow down the connection between the ultimaker and the pc in order to make it work. If you are totally inexperienced with ultimakers, and dont have any technical background that could be of assistance when experiencing trouble, I wouldnt recommend using the ultimaker or a similar piece of hardware, but go straight for the commercial zcorp or similar.

Ultimaker (together with a LOT of other similar companies) are producing more "experimental" models than actual products that can compete with zcorp machines. Think of the ultimaker as an DIY kit that you can buy. Something like a HAM radio that you can build yourself, but it wont give you that really good reception from commercial products, unless you spend hours tinkering on the soft-/hardware. It purely depends on what you like to have and what your intentions are with the machine. For experimentation I would certainly recommend the ultimaker, but if you want to show your customers your products, I would go with the zcorp. They can produce better quality prints but at a higher cost than the ultimaker. Its all about what you want to do and how much you are willing to spend on the product.

[Nyan shields]

Also, it would be great for heated rooms

[fanholder for the ultimaker ?]

my question is, what is the benefit to having two fans ?

will this improve the print resolution ?

would this not possible cool down the heated nozzle ?

also, is this latest version tested with the newest ultimaker version ?

Benefit is that you can print with higher speeds & use more heat. It will also reduce warping, because you dont have to wait for the layer to cool down.

[And so it begins... Spam...]

Yes, you can always report it. That will make sure the mods & admins will get a message to clean up the mess. I think they also going to input captcha, but that will only filter 80% of the spambots.

(Report is that ! mark next to a post)

[What might be causing slip errors?]

My machine slipped just like yours when I first got it. There where three things I changed:

1) I found one of the end caps on the rods was too tight preventing the rod from rotating as freely as it could.

2) I Greased up the outside rods really well.

3) I turned up the power a tiny bit using the adjusters on the stepper driver boards.

Thanks, greenarrow. I might try number 3. Was this adjustment a hardware or software adjustment? I know how to modify the Arduino code and upload that. The hardware is more of a weak point for me

http://wiki.ultimaker.com/Electronics_build_guide

Link for number 3

[Testing/calibration routine in firmware?]

How I was thinking the calibration:

It could be a certain routine that you can implement. Something that when a certain M-code is inserted, the machine tries to forfill its routine and spits out the maximum values.

For testing, I would recommend using the increasing speed, until you start missing steps, after which you gradually speed down until you find the limit. For the limit I would recommend using a nominal value and its limits. Is the nominal value different than normal, or does it peak out its limit, then its a missed step. What also could be possible (and I think you can do it too) is using the endstops as an electrical switch using 2 pieces of foil/wire. As soon as they touch, they conduct electricity, and even though the switch hasnt been fully pressed the wires will still be connected.