foehnsturm

I am with you. When I was studying we had type wheel printers and dot matrix printers. When ink jet came up, no one thought of printing photos. It was a pain: bad quality and it took ages. And today ... Every time I see those 3D printer ads, proudly presenting parts almost as big as the printer I would like to add a subtitle: "Only took 3 days and 9 hours to print." And if you discover some flaws in your part ... But in the 2D analogy our printers are plotters and plotters never made it to mass market. The key to speed for reasonable price was parallelization. So we may be sitting on a evolutionary side branch here ;-)

For comparison: Standard setup with direct drive (and new pulleys). But I guess, the colorfabb filament affects the result because it extrudes considerably better. The surface looks quite good up to 300mm/s

Hi Calum, did you have a closer look at the z-axis coupler already? I did today, after some hours of test printing and adjusting as recommended without much success. All higher parts more or less showed the z-screw pitch. I have to admit, at least my z-axis coupler is Toys"R"us quality: nice surface, nice chamfers, 4 grub screws - but a 5 mm bore beyond good and evil. Even with my shaky Chinese hobby lathe it took only a few minutes to make a better part. Well, I had the 5 mm and 8 mm reamers, which I originally bought for the pulleys. Please Ultimaker, don't spoil such a clever machine design with crappy parts! Markus Before - after (corn canons for the kids)

Hi all,I'm very happy that you appreciate the parts. I will forward the compliments to the manufacturer.@Bob, I would be very happy to meet you this fall. Like beer gardens? @Everyone who asked for pulleys since then, There will be a second batch! I will reply to your messages when I'm clear about the schedule. Markus

All paid orders, including the US shipping are on the way.

US shipping complete. UltiFan, Nick, I'm sorry. I will put you down for the next batch if you like.

Hi Rob, You are absolutely right. I mixed up numbers when I was writing that post (and converting to direct drive at the same time). Fixed it now. Markus

Hi folks, All paid orders have been shipped today via Deutsche Post "Wertbrief" (insured letter). This includes the Aussie shipment. The US shipment is currently waiting for the last two payments to arrive. I would like to send out things until this Friday, as we are on holidays next week. Any pending orders have to be handled thereafter. Markus

This weekend my kids will have the opportunity to make some extra pocket money. @ all latecomers: Looks good so far, I'll send a message next week.

Good news, production is finished, I will pick up the pulleys this Thursday, grub screws should arrive today. Just in case if my set of 10 offer was too suggestive: Anyone who ordered 8x8mm but actually needs 10x8mm please leave me a message. Production yield will be a little higher than ordered. I will send messages with payment details at the end of the week. Markus

I really like the look and feel. Furthermore, it seems to extrude easier (lower viscosity?) as I'm printing about 20% faster with equal or superior quality. However, I've had some trouble with printing smaller parts printing on a heated glass bed (current setup: 65°C for first layer / 56°C thereafter). The PLA/PHA seems to stick less than standard PLA, which can be perfectly printed without using blue tape. Any recommendations for printing on that kind of heated bed? Markus

Dojan, there are three people who showed heavy interest but didn't get in touch so far: yourself, fluxline and MSURunner. You are still in my calculation but there are already guys who subscribed for a second batch as well. So either way it's fine. I just have to know.

Hi guys, Some people are already asking where and when to send the money, I like that ... However, I will send messages with payment details (Paypal preferred) together with a comercial invoice within the next week when I'm certain about the delivery date. Markus

Hi Zak, this were the last 12 pulleys I had. There is at least one other order from Australia. So we might arrange a combined shipping, as Joergen does for USA. The entire production lot is sold out now. If there is sufficient demand I will naturally organize a second production run. Anyone interested please send me a message. Markus

@Lars86 Hi Lars, 8 X 8 mm & 2 x 5mm? I will place you on Joergen's combined shipment. I would like to use Paypal and will send you a message when the pulleys are ready to dispatch. @gadgetfreak Hi Daniel, two full sets is o.k. I'm from Germany (Munich) and I'm afraid I won't make it to Erfurt. My (main job) customers have their big event, the LASER 2013 fair, at the same time. @Alexander Baloche Hey, good to hear from the Ultimaker team. I put you on the list. It's my conviction that there are local companies, which can provide high quality for a competitive price. Markus

Thanks Joergen. My fault, it will be M4, same as original UM (i've just edited the original post).

So here are the details: Ultimaker pulleys: [*]20 teeth, effective circular diameter same as original pulleys[*]dimensions: 17 mm (outer diameter) x 16.7 mm [*]8h7 or 5h7 center bore [*]two m4 threads with grub screws [*]vibratory deburred Introductory price for orders until May 6: [*]8x8 (8 x 8 mm): 44 € / 58 $[*]Set of 12 (10 x 8 mm, 2 x 5 mm): 66 € / 86 $ [*]... VAT and customs duty not included Payment via Paypal Suggested shipping: DHL small parcel, insured shipping within Europe: 4 to 10 € USA, overseas: 22 $ Orders so far: Dojan, Lars 86, Xeno, Joergen, illuminarti, snowygrouch, trion, fluxline, edis, (MSURunner) Please send me a message with your detailed order, address and email. I will place the order next week.

I will fix production details and the final pricing next Monday. Switching back to one M4 thread and re-using the grub screws might be a good idea. I'm using just one screw now and tightening two screws / pulley during adjustment seems to be cumbersome. Other opinions? Is there interest in 5 mm bore / stepper pulleys as well?

Up and running. Belt tension remained quite similar. Printed a .Outer dimensions used to be 19.7 to 19.8 mm with the standard setup. Now they are 19.9. Which makes me think that the printhead movement might respond better to the fast +0.1 mm / -0.1 mm stepping at the corners. Markus

Hmm, mainly for two reasons: I was looking for a drop-in replacement as simple as possible. And because I will get best manufacturing quality for the same price tag or less, compared to GT2, 20 teeth, 8 mm bore pulleys (of whichever quality). Markus

Well, not just some machine shop but the one where I am already placing orders for several thousands € a year. I had nothing but the original pulley and a belt. But the master craftsman and owner, who is approaching his 70s I think, is well versed and very cooperative. So he did me a favor. They make a lot of miniaturized stuff for the medical device industry and are used to deliver utmost precision. I have no exact price tag yet. But if I will manage to place an order of at least 100 pieces, they will be less expensive as anything else, mentioned in this thread (except Chinese bulk ware). My intention was just this: Markus

Finally they arrived. A nearby CNC turning shop produces some thousand gas burner jets for my wok burners each year. So I asked them, if they see a way to produce tailored pulleys for a reasonable price. For this reason it had to be a one-part-pulley instead of the three-part-pulleys, which are commonly available - and fall into pieces when drilled to 8mm, as I had to learn... Production samples arrived today. From left to right: Ulimaker pulley, standard pulley with pilot borehole, "new" pulley Ultimaker pulley, new pulley We tested the fitting by hand with an Ultimaker short belt, which I don't need anymore (thanks Calum). You can feel no play, whereas the original pulleys slightly move with a belt wound tightly around them. The pulleys feature a 8h7 center bore and two M3 threads. The small gap between the cogging and the flange is a trade-off of the one-pice design. I'm not sure whether this will increase belt wearing (if so, it should be possible to design and mount some split spacers to fill the gap). But compared to the wobbling original pulleys (hey, really ugly in closeup), which even seem to feature a slightly contorted cogging, it is definitely worth a try. I will be mounting the new pulleys the next days and keep you informed. Markus