I just purchased a new UM 2+ and it should be here Friday. I spent a good bit of time researching different 3D printers and this seemed the most recommended choice. This is my first one. I got it mainly for creating enclosures and parts for my electronics devices (Pi, Arduino, NetDuino, ect)
I have read a lot on the different filament pro's/con's and will be sticking with the Ultimaker branded PLA for the short term until I get a handle on the printer. I believe a spool of silver PLA comes in the box, but I also ordered a spool of white and black. I have read that even different colors can require slightly different settings so that was my plan with 3 colors.. learn the differences.
I looked around to see what others have created, and even watched a LOT of youtube videos. Some helpful, some not so much. The ones that were more helpful than not were on the slicing software. I know UM comes with Cura, and while I will probable use that when I first set it up and get it going, I'll probably switch to Simplify3D. I knows it cost $$, but from the videos and tutorials I have watched, it just seems like the best solution.
One thing that I have not figured out yet is the "creation" of 3D models themselves. I know I will need to learn some type of CAD software. Since I get a lot of parts from McMaster-Carr I do know that there website provides a lot of the CAD drawings for parts. I have downloaded a few simple parts as a SolidWorks CAD file, and then imported them into the onshape.com CAD software (free version). Then I exported them to STL and loaded them into Cura. Wow! That's slick.
So, my question is this... is there any other "tips" that I should know about (like the McMaster-Carr one), or guidelines that I should review? For example, perhaps there is a filament temperature guide (UM PLA White should be at 205c, but black should be at 210c) ... Or some videos that show what common issues look like (underextrusion or indication that the hot end is too cold, ect), and how to fix them?
Thanks, and look forward to working with my UM 2+.
Roy