joatrash

Hello again all. So, trying to keep myself entjusiastic about getting a UM2 I was wondering if anyone has shots of prints that rival the insanely detailed 2-key side Yoda? I know 100 microns is good for general use, but where are all the other 20 micron, 25+ hour insanely detailed marathon prints? Do they exist?

How much does ABS vs PLA shrink?

Also, you just added shrinkage to my list of worries, lol! I design lots of precision addons for props. Shrinkage in sls is barely noticeable, but if you print too thick parts they can warp...

The big players don't really seem interested in the prosumer space, besides the careful dabbling that's going on. I don't think things will progress at the pace of current hype either. People compare it to the evolution of the 2d printer but the main difference is that the average person doesn't have any real use for a. 3d printer. I see them evolving at the same pace as maybe Wacom tablets. I could deal with the design issues of SLA if the general tech were more evolved and if there was a stable/reliable source but buying something like a F1 feels like it comes with the risk of being a very expensive paperweight within a short amount of time. The UM2 seems like a fine machine, but I might need more predictability before I get one... we'll see. It's a shame 3D Systems haven't done a prosumer MJM machine... that'd be something!

Hi again all. You know, the more I read, the more unsure I get it seems. Or rather, the more sure I get that the sub-$5k printer industry just hasn't come far enough for what I need... yet. Being honest with myself, if I'm not getting these results: http://www.hive76.org/insane-3d-printing-resolution-ultimaker-under-the-micro ...in 8/10 prints within my first week or two of owning the thing I'd probably get pretty frustrated and likely give up. When I need to print, it will be very specific jobs and I'm not at all into printing for the sake of experimenting or tinkering. Of all I have seen, only the UM2 and Form 1 come close to what I need (and the latter seems to be so full of startup gremlins it's a miracle when someone gets a print... if they're lucky to even have taken delivery of one, lol!). But warpage, sagging, banding and all the other things worry me. My other option is to keep using my two go-to vendors for printing. (I use one for the ulta detail stuff and another for pl2000 prints). The only thing is that I have one very big job planned that will cost 1/3 of the cost of an UM2 to do in pl2000 that is mostly flat surfaces... my idea was to sibk hat money into a printer and do it myself, but I don't have the time for too much tinkering. Maybe there's a way I could get one of my models tested on an um2 somewhere as a proof of concept. (I know there are a couple Swedes here faily local to where I live.) Any ideas? Thanks again for all the friendly respoonses I've gotten so far, and Happy Holidays! //Joe

Thanks for the very informative answers guys. Looks like I'm definitely leaning towards an UM2 some time early in the new year. I'll do some experimenting with Cura. The holes that I sometimes get in my meshes seem to be the result of the exporter generating two identical vertices in the same place but not welding them. So, the models are actually watertight. The intersecting meshes however, might pose a problem. Boolean operations to fuse several meshes are usually messy affairs so I tend to avoid them. I guess my next move is to get a printed sample of pla and ABS to see how they behave when glued and worked.

Hello everyone. Rest at ease, while this is my first post, it's not yet another "which printer should I get" query. Rather, it's more along the lines of "Should I bother getting one at all or keep using commercial vendors?" Here's the thing. I'm a bit of a prop and modelmaker. For the last few years I've been printing stuff for my kits on high-end machines through various vendors ( high detail MJM and SLS) but it become frustrating. It's horribly expensive prototyping stuff that is mainly for my own use, I don't like waiting two weeks and the restrictions some vendors have on printing even the most unrealistic scifi weapon is a big hassle. I've got projects lined up right now that will definitely cost more to print at a commercial vendor than if I got an Ultimaker 2 (or even a Form 1). Naturally I've been considering getting my own printer for a while. My concern however, is that all of the prosumer machines available right now are either more of a hobby in themselves (you have to LOVE the tinkering process) or will just not do what I want them to do. I've uploaded photos of a few models in my gallery: http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/gallery/album/336-models-done-on-high-end-machines/ Ultimaker 2 seems to have the most detailed prints out there (aside from the resin printers like the Form 1 which I am also considering). I've seen the 20 micron Yoda and the devil head. But what does it actually take to get those results? I've been scouring forums in seach of answers and am none the wiser. Am I looking at lots of failed prints or drastic changes in setup every time I print a new model? Am I going to spend more time getting the machine to do what I want than modeling? I realize that it will take some more work if I want to get the same kind of detail I need, that it will take a bit of time to learn the printer, and that I might have to send out for SOME super-detail jobs. But the question is- how much? Currently, even the most high-end machine will turn out parts that needs SOME cleanup but my fear is that these prosumer machines will need so much that keping things like perfect symmetry in parts will be impossible. I'm more interested in the modeling and finishing the model than the printing aspect. One thing I can say however, is that print time is not a factor I care about- I'm used to waiting 10+ days for a package to arrive, so waiting 15 hours for the printer to finish is not a problem. A couple questions, if you'll excuse the newbness of them: Will an Ultimaker2 print 20 microns (i.e. golden yoda and devil head quality) with what comes in the box (aside from perhaps upgrading software) or will I need to experiment and mod hardware like crazy to get there? If the UM can do HIPS (as I have seen indicated here and there), why are so few using it? I mean... it's fantastic material to work with if you're used to gluing models together... and it sands very well. When modeling for one of these printers, does the mesh have to be CLOSED if it is orientable for it to print? Often when I export my models (from a high-end prog) Netfabb says they are not closed even though I made triple-sure that they are before exporting. It usually isn't a problem when I send out for prints. Can I have intersecting geometry (i.e. one closed rectangle stuck halfway into a closed sphere to create ONE solid model?) I ask because I sometimes do very complex models made up of dozens of smaller pieces that intersect. The "big" print vendors can handle these types of models. So what do you all think- looking at the stuff I'm used to doing, will I have any real use for a machine like the UM2 or should I wait? Thanks in advance, //Joe