EXTRUSION UPGRADE KIT UM2 - Worth the money ???

[greens83 5]

Fellow Ultimaker gurus,

Does anyone have any experience with this upgrade ?

http://3dgbire.com/products/extrusion-upgrade-kit

£400 is quite a price tag, Im wondering whether its worth that much and how much it could improve my prints. Any thoughts/opinions appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Jamie

[SandervG 1,521]

@Frederiekpascal, you have had a regular Ultimaker 2 and you now have moved towards an Ultimaker 2+ (Extended?) right?

What do you think about the difference in quality between the two machines?

Would you think it is worth it?

[frederiekpascal 193]

@Frederiekpascal, you have had a regular Ultimaker 2 and you now have moved towards an Ultimaker 2+ (Extended?) right?

What do you think about the difference in quality between the two machines?

Would you think it is worth it?

correct!

The biggest difference for me is the reliability of the UM2 plus ext compared to my "old" UM2. So that means, no more grinded filament, less clogged nozzles (doesn't matter that much because you can switch nozzles in 3 seconds) and much higher quality prints.

After +500 hours of printing with my UM2+, I still got a success rate of +95%

It's an expensive kit but it's a must-have for current UM2 users imo...

[donmilne 2]

I have ordered the kit, but it will take 3 weeks to arrive, and I'm unsure how much of it I'll fit. I use Robert's feeder and love how easy it makes it to change the filament. The new feeder looks more powerful, but to my mind still inherits a lot of flaws from the original (closed design collects debris during retraction, filament hard to change, tension fiddly to adjust.

I believe the closed design my be something to do with safety concerns. I don't share those concerns so I'm hopeful that at some point Robert will adapt his design to include the good features of the new feeder (gearing, hobbed drive).

[neotko 1,417]

I think it has a lever that you can push to release the filament. And the extruder gear it's 10mm so it has more grip on the filament

Edited March 13, 2016 by Guest

[SandervG 1,521]

I have ordered the kit, but it will take 3 weeks to arrive, and I'm unsure how much of it I'll fit. I use Robert's feeder and love how easy it makes it to change the filament. The new feeder looks more powerful, but to my mind still inherits a lot of flaws from the original (closed design collects debris during retraction, filament hard to change, tension fiddly to adjust.

I believe the closed design my be something to do with safety concerns. I don't share those concerns so I'm hopeful that at some point Robert will adapt his design to include the good features of the new feeder (gearing, hobbed drive).

 

Like @Neotko says it has a release-lever which you can pull to manually change filament. Do you have any other modifications that makes you wonder if it will fit?

[donmilne 2]

"Releasing the filament" isn't the same as "making it easy to change the filament"! In Robert's design one half of the feeder swings aside, allowing room for my fingers to get in there and coax a filament where I want it to go, before closing it all up again. So the whole design makes it easy to change filament, I wasn't just talking only about a pressure release. And there's the issue of debris collecting inside.

Another fatal flaw in the old feeder is that if you took the cover off to clean the inside, the stepper fell off the back, and the feeder bits dropped off the front. Then you needed 3 or 4 hands to put the puzzle back together. I believe that at least is fixed now, right? There is now some kind of permanent mounting plate?

Edited March 18, 2016 by Guest

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi, with one hand you can press the lever and with your other hand you can either pull out or push in the filament. This feeder is less likely to grind because the material is further away from the motor, it is a different motor so it won't get soft. Secondly, it is stronger so it won't give in to friction that easily, which means no grinding.

If you do end up needing to clean it, you can dismantle it from your Ultimaker with just 2 screws. The motor will stay in place due to the mounting plate, as you know / have guessed.

If you need it clean it even more, you can open it pretty easily even more when it is dismantled.

[donmilne 2]

I guess you're saying that my concern about cleaning may be misplaced because there won't be grinding debris, right? You have a good point there.

[frederiekpascal 193]

I guess you're saying that my concern about cleaning may be misplaced because there won't be grinding debris, right?  You have a good point there.

 

I can confirm that, after +750 hours of printing with my UM2+ ext, I've never seen any grinded filament or a dirty feeder.

Such a big difference compared to my UM2....

Edited March 19, 2016 by Guest

[SandervG 1,521]

I guess you're saying that my concern about cleaning may be misplaced because there won't be grinding debris, right?  You have a good point there.

 

Well, I'm not saying never. But a significantly reduced chance of happening for multiple reasons.. shall we settle for that?

[antonst13 0]

When will it be available in the US? It's been out of stock for a while now!

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi @Antonst13, usually posting a question just once should be sufficient to get an answer

Did you already place an order or are you looking to get one?

The resellers should be in touch with our distribution team and be able to get an update on when the Extrusion Upgrades will be back in stock. Have you tried talking to your local reseller?

Thank you!