SyntaxTerror 344
I think you made a good choice. There's always grumbling about the price, but very few people who have prior experience with 3D printers wind up disappointed by the UM2+. I bought one. Played around with it for a couple of months getting happier and happier with it. And then I bought another. So watch yourself
Also, forgive me for prying... I know your location says Germany but are you somehow related to Scandinavia?
Recommended Posts
neotko 1,417
I had a davinci aio and a 2.0, both are really really really bad compared to a umo+
But I remember that it did two or 3 things right. Having an enclosed area to make very easy abs prints. Using a directdrive, speed/temp was a new concept when I started with an um, but not because the directdrive but that um print speed is just lightyears from what a davinci can do. Even a bad calibrated um will do better stuff than a davinci. But bowden makes more blobs, drips more when moving from a to b, so you will need to control more elements when printing more than one object at the same time. Also, since the top is open, you will get (imo) the nasty abs smell. That on the davinci was only when I opened the door (still the same thing).
If you really need abs, think about a door and an enclosure with a filter (there's quite a few youmagine models and some shop sells the thing ready to use).
IMO abs is crap, after learning pla, platec, abs is like a joke. The um since can use much more materials it allows you to play with more stuff. But don't thiythat you will be printing wood or flexibles first day, that materials for example, need fine tuning, special care of speed and feeder tension, and a long etc.
If you just want abs, ofc cura team has developed basic profiles so you don't need to adjust much, but the bare minimum for abs is a frontal door to keep the heat around.
Link to post
Share on other sites
SyntaxTerror 344
It's easy to get confused reading other people's opinions of various 3D printers. But in all fairness, it's rather difficult to compete with the UM2+. At least at this price point, even if it is expensive. It is a mature and reliable machine that produces high quality prints.
It's as with any other product. Opinions vary. Yes, there are printers that produce better quality. Yes, there are more reliable printers. Yes, there are cheaper printers.
Are there any that can truly claim to have it beat on all three points? If we put on the eyeglasses of neutrality - it's doubtful. There are some that are at least comparable. I will say that whenever you hear someone claiming they have the Ultimaker beat by miles at a much cheaper price point (like it seems trendy to do some places on the internet), I reserve the right to call bullshit.
There are many other excellent printers out there though. I've heard several people raving about the Zortrax M200, for instance. No doubt a solid printer. I hear it's very, very good for ABS printing. High quality prints, apparently very reliable, cheaper than the UM2+. I still wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole because of the closed ecosystem around it. I want versatility and hackability. I want to feed it whatever odd filament I stumble across. But that's just me.
You say you want ABS because your prints must survive elevated temperature. ABS is just one such choice. As neotko mentioned, there's PLATEC. I've been playing with ASA quite a bit too. Both of which don't stink up the house
Edited by GuestLink to post
Share on other sites
geert_2 560
ABS warps a lot and does not easily stick to a glass build plate. And its smell is toxic.
There are materials that are as heat-resistant and strong, but that do warp far less, stick better, and are not toxic: PET, more and more polyesters, high-temp PLA, nylon, PC,... And there will be more developed in the next years. So more and more people seem to move away from ABS.
An UM2 has the advantage that you can print all sorts of materials from all a lot of different manufacturers, as long as it is 2.85mm diameter, and not too flexible (as it is hard to push an elastic rubber band through a bowden tube). But every material (and every printer) has a learning curve, thus expect that.
Link to post
Share on other sites
krys 206
Hi there,
The others posts here have talked about the flexibility of the UM2+, alternatives to ABS that meet your requirements and about the Zortrax being good at ABS but with other potential downsides.
But I just wanted to mention, specifically, you can get very good ABS results with a UM2(+). But maybe not quite out of the box.
Traditional issues have been bed adhesion and warping. But with the new door+sheet addon from Ultimaker, or with BuildTak/PrintInZ/3DLac/ABS Juice/ABS Puck/etc. and some kind of enclosing, you can make it work.
Plus, you also get all the other great capabilities of the UM2+.
For enclosing, you can buy or build a front cover. For a top cover I use a plastic tote box from an office supply store that had good dimensions. I saw one person printed adapter clips to make a tote box work. Others have used giant turkey basting bags, vinyl table cloths, cardboard boxes, folded paper, fancy acrylic custom covers, etc. There are even a couple commercial offerings you can buy.
With enclosing to control ambient temperature and some kind of adhesion solution, ABS works just fine on a UM2+. But again, not so much out of the box.
As for smell and venting, you already have experience with that, but there are odourless ABSes out there like those from FormFutura.
All this said, I personally have only limited experience with ABS on UM2(+), but the above comes from both personal experience and a lot of reading of the UM forums.
I will say, that pretty much other than, say, PEEK, I have not found a material or object that I could not print on an UM2(+). So, you do definitely get a flexible machine that you can grow in to and experiment with. But as others have said, there are other options out there, so do your research.
Anyway, I hope this helps. Good luck!
Link to post
Share on other sites
krys 206
Oh, and please do share your conclusions and final choice with us! It is interesting to know what others think.
Link to post
Share on other sites
brunbjoern 0
Hello everyone,
many thanks for your replies and help provided! It is really appreciated!
I have ordered an UM2+ last night with a roll of ABS filament from Verbatim and am looking forward to give it a try.
I hope it doesn't get too frustrating before getting good prints.
I will let you know and I hope I don't have to cry out loud too many times for help.
Viele Grüße,
brunbjoern
Link to post
Share on other sites