Um2 extended vs extended plus

[622548 1]

I am in the market for buying an ultimaker extended or extended plus and was wondering if paying some more money actually makes a difference?

[Labern 774]

Yes it's well worth it to get the plus.

All the changes made address a lot of the annoyances that the standard UM2's had. Making the print quality, reliability and use much better.

You can make some of the changes to the extended to make it more like the plus but starting out I think you would be better off just getting the plus version.

[valcrow 144]

Hi fellow Canadian!

If you're getting it new, there isn't any place that sells the UM2:EXT non-plus in Canada that I'm aware of, we've switched to the plus version only for a while now.

The non-plus was already a great machine, but the + upgrades adds a lot of reliability and quality of life refinements onto the non-plus that IMO is a MUST if you are a heavy user.

Basically all the parts that were causing minor annoyances and some major annoyances (like the feeder) have been addressed:

Here are some of the things that are upgraded from the + and non +.

-Hot end housing now glass filled (more durable)

-Fan shroud is larger to accompany olsson block

-olsson block now pre-installed including 4x nozzles sizes.

-new geared feeder with manual latch (much more reliable)

-TFM coupler update (the part that requires the most maintenance now lasts 3-5x as long if not longer (like 2000 hours))

-Better heater cartridge, & sensor

Even things like better bed clips.

So yeah all of those things, you will eventually want to upgrade on the UM:EXT non-plus anyways eventually so it's good to get it all factory installed and tested all in one.

[622548 1]

I am ordering from the US and possibly getting a refurbished unit to save money. But what I want to know is if you can actually notice print quality changes with the extended plus. I am a student and don't really see the point in having 0.25 nozzles that help with more detailed prints... Any thoughts?

[622548 1]

http://fbrc8.com/collections/refurbished-printers/products/copy-of-refurbished-ultimaker-2-extended

[valcrow 144]

I am ordering from the US and possibly getting a refurbished unit to save money. But what I want to know is if you can actually notice print quality changes with the extended plus. I am a student and don't really see the point in having 0.25 nozzles that help with more detailed prints... Any thoughts?

 

Ah I see. Well if anyone can refurb them properly it's Fbrc8

I would say there is a slight quality difference between the 2 and the 2+. It doesn't come from the nozzle size so much as the fact that feeder is stronger and more reliable at extruding a more exact amount. More reliable extrusion results in better prints. Usually this is the difference between a really well closed in top layer and one with small gaps. The quality of the side walls is not noticable between the + and non +.

The smaller nozzle is not as big of a deal as the bigger nozzles actually. But having the OPTION to change them cannot be underestimated. You can halve the time of a print by using a larger nozzle, while keeping the layer height the same so the quality is almost indistinguishable. When you're talking about hours, this is a big deal. 20 hrs to 10 hours is a huge difference. The small nozzles are good for really detailed small things. You can even get some 1.5mm ones. But I have to say I don't use them that often.

Labern here is the master of small prints so he can chime in more on those.

If you want to save some money, there isn't a HUGE difference between the + and the non+ in terms of sheer output quality. I would say again that you're sacrificing a bit of reliability and a lot of versatility. The + is also much better at the higher temperature engineering materials (Nylon, polycarbonate, TPU, CPE+)

One thing you should consider getting immediately if you decide on a non+ is the TFM coupler that comes standard with the UM2+. It's probably the single most important part.

(http://shop3d.ca/product/ultimaker-tfm-coupler-and-tfm-isolator-bundle/) Ask fbrc8 if they have one to sell you if you do get it from them. Otherwise we carry them.

[meduza 191]

I would say that if you are on a tight budget and can live with slower printing for the same quality, it might make sense to get a refurbished UM2 Extended, it is a good machine, but the UM2+ is really the better and most reliable printer.

If i were you, i would get the refurbished UM2 Extended that is upgraded with the new upgrade kit from fbrc8, you still save about 450$ compared to a new UM2+ Extended, but get the best machine possible!

[622548 1]

I think I might get the um2+ non extended because my projects shouldn't be that big anyway.

Edited August 30, 2016 by Guest

[meduza 191]

If you are not making tall stuff, you should absolutely go with a UM2+, no reason to spend extra if you are on a tight budget and not have a use for it... Also the refurb upgraded printers with a 750$ discount is a crazy good deal!

Edited August 23, 2016 by Guest

[622548 1]

Dang, after consideration, I really think having extra build space is a good thing to have. But like you said, um2+ is more reliable but I'm not sure I need swappable nozzles. I could install the the Olsson block on my own if I were sticking with the non plus extended version...

Edited August 30, 2016 by Guest

[meduza 191]

The reliability comes both from the feeder and from the new TFM coupler with ridgid spacer, the Olsson block is more about convenience and flexibility (and if you ever want to print for example carbon fiber filled materials, then you should really get a printer with a Olsson block or it will get expensive fast...)

If you want to get a regular UM2 extended and on the cheap get it as close to the UM2+ as you can with community upgrades, then this is what you should do:

1.) Get a Olsson block and install it (might also want to get a 35W heater to get the best performance)

2.) Get a TFM coupler:

http://fbrc8.com/collections/ultimaker-2-spare-parts/products/tfm-isolator-coupler-um2-um2-go-ext-plus and print a spacer for it: https://www.youmagine.com/designs/ultimaker-2-spring-replacement

3.) Swap the fan shroud for Labern's Fan Shroud:

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/um2-dual-fan-shroud

4.) Swap the feeder for IRobertI's feeder and my belt geared feeder upgrade:

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/alternative-um2-feeder-version-two

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/meduza-um2-belt-geared-feeder-improved

This will bring you at least halfway to a 2+ model in performance.

Edited August 30, 2016 by Guest

[frederiekpascal 193]

Don't think twice, the plus is the way to go.

I had the UM2 with the upgrades mentioned by @meduza (not the TFM coupler though, that didn't exist then) but the reliability of the UM2+ is so much better.

[flowalistik 181]

Go for the UM2+ Extended. I upgraded my Ultimaker 2 and it was a completely different machine. Printing quality didn't improve too much as it was already really good, but in terms of reliability there was a great improvement, which will save me a lot of hours (dis)assembling the printer to do some maintenance.