UM3 good quality but poor quality control

[Krasnoyask 7]

Hi all,

First time poster and Ultimaker owner signing in.

Why now? Why so late? Is it because the new Ultimaker 3 is that good I had to get one? Well it's pretty damned good.

Actually it's print quality is amazing. I printed a little piece as a test with the supplied materials and default settings. It's good, really good! I'll post a picture of it Monday as that's what you forum users really like is it not?

Its not all good though, I think the same person that assembled cor3ys assemble mine too. Shocking poor photo skills primed and insert

Now if that worked then you'll see is not as bad as cor3ys plus you just witnessed my picture posting skills going through the roof, or not.

So where was the quality control department when mine was build?

I used PVA in the second print core when I did the first print and this is when I noticed the quality control department was, well, not there? Missing? Ultimaker have one right? I'm sure they do its a nice machine, however mine has been assembled incorrectly! The X axis pulley on the front right hand side has been assembled on the shaft the wrong way around. Que photo and posting skills, insert image

or not? This makes the tooth belt totally out of alinement. So when the print head goes to the extreme right the tooth belt rides up the side of the pulley. So I can currently only use print core one and get away with printing on the far left of the print bed and this stills chews up the side of the tooth belt.

Not happy, but my first print on it cheers me up.

Quality control? Where's what I paid for?

Kind regards to all you community users.

[LePaul 321]

It's disappointing to see these sorts of posts given the hype and excitement for this new printer.

Did you contact the reseller to get the problem resolved? I'm pretty sure @sandervg would advise you to start there.

[korneel 176]

It's disappointing to see these sorts of posts given the hype and excitement for this new printer.  

Did you contact the reseller to get the problem resolved?   I'm pretty sure @sandervg would advise you to start there.

 

just took a look at my printers;

just it seems it's the wrong way around. while this is something you can fix yourself, I don't think it's something you should do. your reseller should be able to fix this for you.

the little nicks on the side of the printer.. sure, they should not have happened. I just checked my printers and 2 of them have something similar. did not even notice them up to now and i'm not going to exchange the printer over it honestly.

i fully understand the comment around how much you paid for it and that you want a flawless machine. i'm sure your reseller can help you. was the machine bought in the UK?

as far as @lepaul 's comment. well, I don't think it's disappointing. these things will always happen even with super strict quality control. i had to compare pictures like 5 times before I could see the pulley was the wrong way around. it's all humans that build these and these things can happen.

also, you have to keep in mind, people that have a bad experience will find their way to this forum. people who have great experiences, not so much.. so you will always get a skewed image.. way more unhappy people then happy people..

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi @Krasnoyask, welcome to the forums!

And definitely, I would love to see some pictures of what you made

I forwarded your message to my colleague who is collecting all feedback in terms of quality control etc, and it will certainly be used to optimize our processes even further.

Like mentioned above, the pulley is something you could fix yourself, but I don't think you must. It is not what you would expect from Ultimaker, however I can also imagine you maybe don't want to be without your Ultimaker 3 for some time when you just got it. So maybe you prefer to do it yourself. I will leave this up to you.

If you need any help determining where you should report when you want it to be fixed by an Ultimaker official, or if you need any instructions if you want to do it yourself, let me know!

Happy to read your are satisfied with the print quality, not rendering your feedback as irrelevant, but that is what matters!

Looking forward hearing from you!

[Krasnoyask 7]

I contacted 3DGBIRE at first, who were excellent and offered to replace the whole unit. 3DGBIRE confirmed it was incorrectly assembled and I pasted this on to the reseller. Straight replacement, they shipped out another and picked that one up today.

[Krasnoyask 7]

It's disappointing to see these sorts of posts given the hype and excitement for this new printer.  

Did you contact the reseller to get the problem resolved?   I'm pretty sure @sandervg would advise you to start there.

 

Hi LePaul,

The problem on that machine was resolved by a new replacement today. My post earlier was meant to be a reply to yourself. I found out how that works now.

[Krasnoyask 7]

 

It's disappointing to see these sorts of posts given the hype and excitement for this new printer.  

Did you contact the reseller to get the problem resolved?   I'm pretty sure @sandervg would advise you to start there.

 

just took a look at my printers;

just it seems it's the wrong way around. while this is something you can fix yourself, I don't think it's something you should do. your reseller should be able to fix this for you.

the little nicks on the side of the printer.. sure, they should not have happened. I just checked my printers and 2 of them have something similar. did not even notice them up to now and i'm not going to exchange the printer over it honestly.

i fully understand the comment around how much you paid for it and that you want a flawless machine. i'm sure your reseller can help you. was the machine bought in the UK?

as far as @lepaul 's comment. well, I don't think it's disappointing. these things will always happen even with super strict quality control. i had to compare pictures like 5 times before I could see the pulley was the wrong way around. it's all humans that build these and these things can happen.

also, you have to keep in mind, people that have a bad experience will find their way to this forum. people who have great experiences, not so much.. so you will always get a skewed image.. way more unhappy people then happy people..

 

Hi korneel,

Yes this was a UK purchase and I fully agree, I wouldn't have exchanged my printer over those little marks on the chassis sides either. Like you said they are hardly noticeable and its appears to part of the assembly process so some will be worse then others that's all.

[Krasnoyask 7]

Hi @Krasnoyask, welcome to the forums!

And definitely, I would love to see some pictures of what you made

I forwarded your message to my colleague who is collecting all feedback in terms of quality control etc, and it will certainly be used to optimize our processes even further.

Like mentioned above, the pulley is something you could fix yourself, but I don't think you must. It is not what you would expect from Ultimaker, however I can also imagine you maybe don't want to be without your Ultimaker 3 for some time when you just got it. So maybe you prefer to do it yourself. I will leave this up to you.

If you need any help determining where you should report when you want it to be fixed by an Ultimaker official, or if you need any instructions if you want to do it yourself, let me know!

Happy to read your are satisfied with the print quality, not rendering your feedback as irrelevant, but that is what matters!

Looking forward hearing from you!

 

Hi SandervG,

Thank you.

Not so much as what I made, more what your profiles, media and hardware created out of the box. So with that, what else would one print first on a Ultimaker other than

He looked so cute on his bed of PVA.

I think reliability, usability and print quality is what matters. A few assembly issues aside I think that's what Ultimaker do, I wouldn't be here if it didn't think that.

Should one expect a flawless machine?

[Krasnoyask 7]

Firstly I'd like to thank the reseller for shipping out the replacement unit and collecting the first one in one go.

So with the first unit returned and the second one ready to go am I stoaked? Let's find out and I'll let you be the judge of that.

Pulleys installed correctly? Check

Build marks? Check

So it's looking good right apart from the small side panel marks that they build in? Well, no. I can live with the small marks as its been pointed out that they are hardly noticeable and I agree with that. As an engineer working in many highly respected fields these next images make me cringe, that's bring on the previously acquired photo posting skills

Over tightened or shipping damage? The first I feel.

Ok so that's not the only ones like that if you think I had the camera skills to snap them all, but you get the picture.

Over tightened bolts to the point it deforms the chassis panels? Check

lets talk about the user interface or click wheel as its call, does it rotate smoothly? Nope. It rotates wonky and has a tight spot, incredibly annoying and off putting while trying to scroll. Skills, picture, insert

Tight point

Normal rotation point. See the gap difference feel the gap difference.

Binding click wheel? Check

Another known issue with the UM3 is the wiring rubbing on the belts and both my units had the led wiring rubbing on the pulleys. The led wiring can just be pushed out of the way, this is up in the very top left hand front corner of the printer. I didn't have the nesscery capture skills for that one but as for the rear left hand top corner I did

Rubbing wires on the belt

These flex back onto the belts if you try and push them clear and need fixing back.

Rubbing wires? Check

The material guide, it was fine one this first unit but this one has the guide popping out of the arm every chance it gets

Not a returing point but it shouldn't be happening.

Poor material guide? Check

So print quality, it was good on the first one really good so you'd expect the same? Wrong it may look as good, to be honest I haven't tried it as when I did a squareness check it was over 3mm out. Not cool, clearly not set up very well. Insert

Paper was only used to show the 3mm out of square. That's the gap on the top right hand corner.

Poorly set up? Check

Sense of humour failure? Check

Unhappy? Check

Stoaked? I think not

Edited November 23, 2016 by Guest

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi @Krasnoyask,

Thank you for your reply.

Kuddo's to 3DGBIRE acting so fast and the excellent service. I can only assume you have contacted them again about this?

I took the liberty to forward these photo's to our quality control. If they can contribute to optimize the process and prevent this from ever happening again, I think that is all we can wish for.

For you, I could go by every point and give you some advice on how to fix it, but I think (again) that is not what you paid for.

I would like to suggest to get in touch with your reseller again and I am pretty sure they will sort it out for you. Our apologies for the inconvenience. 3DGBIRE is an excellent partner, which they have already proven with your initial issue, and I'm sure they won't let you down this time either.

I'll send them a note too, just to make sure you are on the radar and we'll get you back to 3D printing in no time!

Apologies? Check.

Wishing you a great day? Check!

Let me know if you have any further questions.

[LePaul 321]

What a mess.

You should expect a pristine machine, carefully assembled and tested.

Don't settle for less.

[RetromanIE 41]

Hmm, I was planning on picking up an UM3 Extended in the next month or so to go alongside my UM2 Extended+. But now I think I'll wait as the quality control does seem shocking on these and I dont fancy sending a printer back multiple times to get one thats been put together by someone who gives a damn about their work.

Ultimaker, I'd be all over these quality control issues if i were you. Currently you have a great reputation in the 3D printing community, one that other companies would kill for. It'd be a real shame to get new reputation for expensive and badly built printers.

[Krasnoyask 7]

Hi @Krasnoyask,

Thank you for your reply.

Kuddo's to 3DGBIRE acting so fast and the excellent service. I can only assume you have contacted them again about this?

I took the liberty to forward these photo's to our quality control. If they can contribute to optimize the process and prevent this from ever happening again, I think that is all we can wish for.

For you, I could go by every point and give you some advice on how to fix it, but I think (again) that is not what you paid for.

I would like to suggest to get in touch with your reseller again and I am pretty sure they will sort it out for you. Our apologies for the inconvenience. 3DGBIRE is an excellent partner, which they have already proven with your initial issue, and I'm sure they won't let you down this time either.

I'll send them a note too, just to make sure you are on the radar and we'll get you back to 3D printing in no time!

Apologies? Check.

Wishing you a great day? Check!

Let me know if you have any further questions.

 

Hi SandervG

I believe my last message was a little miss leading, it was the reseller that replaced the first machine. Yes 3DGBIRE did offer to replace the printer so yes Kuddos to them.

The reseller was not able to help in assistance with the issues on the second printer, I could have forced a refund out of them but that leads down a road where I no longer have what I still think is the best printer on the market for my needs. It is well made just some assembly problems and I've just been unlucky. 3DGBIRE have been excellent today.

Apologies accepted? Check.

[Krasnoyask 7]

What a mess.  

You should expect a pristine machine, carefully assembled and tested.  

Don't settle for less.

 

Thanks LePaul, I do expect, and I think from all of this we can see just how good the Ultimaker support is. When you say don't settle for less do you mean another manufacturer?

[LePaul 321]

Thanks LePaul, I do expect, and I think from all of this we can see just how good the Ultimaker support is. When you say don't settle for less do you mean another manufacturer?

 

I mean that Ultimaker, through it reseller, should feel confident they are selling new printers that have been assembled properly, with pride and inspected.

You wouldn't accept a new car with motor troubles or a scratch. Same with your Ultimaker 3. I hope they make things right

[Krasnoyask 7]

I'd like to thank Jack and Alex at 3DGBIRE for there support today, you'd be hard pressed to find better. They are directly replacing the replacement tomorrow.

[Krasnoyask 7]

 

Thanks LePaul, I do expect, and I think from all of this we can see just how good the Ultimaker support is. When you say don't settle for less do you mean another manufacturer?

 

I mean that Ultimaker, through it reseller, should feel confident they are selling new printers that have been assembled properly, with pride and inspected.

You wouldn't accept a new car with motor troubles or a scratch.  Same with your Ultimaker 3.     I hope they make things right

 

I believe they are on the case and I have confidence in them and there products.

[Krasnoyask 7]

The replacement for the replacement, is it good?

Firstly I should thank SandervG, I know he would have spent the time and resolved some of the issues I had with the first two printers. Somethings could have been adjusted and made better with his help, so he gets a big thank you for all of his input. Some build quality issues could not have been put right, so I feel replacement was the best route to take.

Lets talk support, not the PVA type the UM3 puts down so awesomely but the other Ultimaker support, the customer support. It's first class! Ok I've had 3 printers now, but it's been within 4 working days. I've waited longer to get a RMA from lesser companies and have then had to pay to sent it back. Waited even longer for them to look at it and send the same thing back with the same problems. So anyone thinking of getting a Ultimaker 3 and have been put off don't be.

So, Ultimaker 3 number 3.

It's looking pretty perfect so far. Even the first one had the odd over tightened screw. The second made me wish I kept the first. I've gotten pretty good at the boxing unboxing routine, hope I don't speak to soon as I'm just setting it up to print, but so far this one stays here

Got to thank 3DGBIRE, they made this all pretty painless.

I'll update after a few prints.

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi @Krasnoyask, thank you for the update!

'The replacement of the replacement, is it good' That is the BIG question we all ask ourselves! I had a short rendezvous with 3DGBIRE just to make sure it is on their radar, and it was so I felt comfortable. They (and we) take service very seriously. I like to think at Ultimaker we look after our customers.

I am very happy to hear this one seems to have made it safely to your home. Now all is left, is an update on those first test prints!

Have a great day, and don't keep us waiting too long

[Krasnoyask 7]

Hi SandervG,

No problem at all, I believed an update was called for. I couldn't be happier with your customer service or the Ultimaker 3 for that matter

[Krasnoyask 7]

The test prints.

Having completed a few prints to make sure my future prints all assemble together I can say I am very happy. I did throw a couple of commonly printed items on just to check all was well. First up was the tree frog, set up to print on draft in Cura with the supplied PLA an no support.

You can clearly see every layer start/end point. A few Cura tweeks should minimise this. I wanted to try something that was awesome on the first UM3, cue the fantastic Ultimaker bot.

Seen here before taking along swim, he came out looking awesome just as before. Printed on normal with the same supplied PLA. Being super happy with this I loaded up some Semi Flex. I use this material because it's like self-cling on glass and stops anything from moving. These are for a clamp system, the frog was just a test before the clamp parts where printed.

Two of each item where printed and one was turned upside down so you could see the flat glossy side, the side that sticks. Over all pretty pleased with the way it prints flexables, I would like to try this on a 0.6mm AA core once they become available.

I'm really looking forward to print some transparent PETG on it this weekend. One of the main filaments I'll be using.

To sum all this up...

Ultimate Ultimaker? Check

Awesome customer support? Check

Customer impressed? Check

Edited November 25, 2016 by Guest
I should proof read before posting

[Krasnoyask 7]

Ok so I may have posted that update to early!

How long have I had this printer? Not long. Two days is it, something like that.

I've only printed during the evening in those two days and now this...

So do I get another one? I thought it was supposed to be third time lucky. Maybe its fourth or fifth tho.

I'm not the only one having this problem.

This is getting to be too much!!!

[Waternut13134 1]

Ok so I may have posted that update to early!

How long have I had this printer? Not long. Two days is it, something like that.

I've only printed during the evening in those two days and now this...

So do I get another one? I thought it was supposed to be third time lucky. Maybe its fourth or fifth tho.

I'm not the only one having this problem.

This is getting to be too much!!!

 

You may want to contact your reseller for a replacement. In the meantime I believe a file for the axis holder is on Youmagine that you can print and should tide you over in the meantime.

[Krasnoyask 7]

 

Ok so I may have posted that update to early!

How long have I had this printer? Not long. Two days is it, something like that.

I've only printed during the evening in those two days and now this...

So do I get another one? I thought it was supposed to be third time lucky. Maybe its fourth or fifth tho.

I'm not the only one having this problem.

This is getting to be too much!!!

 

You may want to contact your reseller for a replacement. In the meantime I believe a file for the axis holder is on Youmagine that you can print and should tide you over in the meantime.

 

Thanks Waternut13134, I think the reseller is only going to offer a refund at this point. Luckily 3DGBIRE are fantastic, however another under engineered part from Ultimaker isn't going to last much longer. Unless they release an updated/upgraded part I fear this could be an ongoing problem.

Great tip on a quick fix, much appreciated. I've currently have a cable tie pulling it back together.

I'll be interested to know if Ultimaker have addressed/or are looking at this issue.

Edited November 26, 2016 by Guest

[korneel 176]

Ok so I may have posted that update to early!

How long have I had this printer? Not long. Two days is it, something like that.

I've only printed during the evening in those two days and now this...

So do I get another one? I thought it was supposed to be third time lucky. Maybe its fourth or fifth tho.

I'm not the only one having this problem.

This is getting to be too much!!!

 

wow. how the hell did that happen?

that takes some serious force to break it.. just checked all of my printers, none of them have this..

was this like that when you got it? how did it happen?