Hello from United States :)

[jasonmm1979 0]

Hello everyone! I don't have a 3D printer yet, but I've been doing a lot of research and Ultimaker seems like it's definitely for me

I'm not the most technically inclined person in the world though. How easy is it to put together? Are there a lot of tutorials and things available?

Thanks!

Jason

 

[illuminarti 18]

Hi Jason!! Welcome to the forum. There are quite a few of us American users hanging around on the forum these days. I'm a Brit by birth, but I live in Memphis, TN. Whereabouts are you located?

Take a look at the wiki to see the assembly instructions. It's really not very hard - mostly just a question of screwing everything together in the right order, and paying attention to which way round things fit. And if you get stuck, I'm sure that if you post a question here, and maybe a few photos, you'll soon find someone willing to help you out. :-)

 

[jasonmm1979 0]

I live in northern Maine. A little town called Presque Isle. I intend on moving down south though. Thanks for the advice too

 

[illuminarti 18]

Well, the good news is that from there, almost anywhere in the country is 'South', so you'll have plenty of choices :-)

 

I live in northern Maine. A little town called Presque Isle. I intend on moving down south though. Thanks for the advice too

 

[jasonmm1979 0]

Good point!

How's TN? I've never been there

 

[jasonmm1979 0]

Couldn't I just buy an Assembled one? It would probably be simpler

 

[12much 0]

Hey Jason, welcome.

Take a look and see for your self how difficult it could be:-) If they can, you will. Good choice and good luck. Ther is a possibility for English subtitles, take a look in the right/bottom corner.

 

 

[illuminarti 18]

Haha, an assembled one would be simpler until the first time that you need to work on it, and then you haven't got the faintest idea how it all fits together :-) Seriously, I can't recommend enough building your own printer. This is a technology that still requires tinkering and maintenance to get the best out of it - and you will learn a huge amount, and be far more confident and capable when it comes to taking it apart again.

 

[jasonmm1979 0]

Cool! One more question

What happens when a new version comes out? Can the individual parts be replaced/upgraded?

Basically can I only buy it once, and then just replace the individual parts over time as needed?

 

[codemaven 0]

Hi Jason,

The Ultimaker is about 3 years old now (I think)... Over that time it's gone through numerous revisions, but all significant updates (so far) have come out in the form of retrofit kits to upgrade existing printers. I bought my Ultimaker back when they were first released (I had to wait a 6 week lead time as they were really far behind trying to meet early demand). Since then I've upgraded my extruder feed mechanism and my hot-end to newer versions. There are also newer versions of the electronics and other bits, but they do not have any effect on functionality.

The next bit to come out is a dual extruder upgrade. This has been long awaited by the community and will also be available as an upgrade for existing printers... The community is also hoping for a heated bed upgrade to be made available although many of us have built our own heated beds.

So yes, you can buy the printer now and upgrade or replace individual parts as new versions come out... However... I can't say if it will always be like this. The Ultimaker is the best 3d printer out there. The upgrades have kept it on top... But the design is a little old now (by 3d printer standards) and although it is still the best out there I don't think there are that many more upgrades that can be done to the existing printer without a complete re-design. I do not think Ulimaker intends to (or wants to) release a whole new Ultimaker-2, but I personally think its about time that they did come up with a whole new re-designed printer using everything they've learned. I have to emphasise that this is my personal opinion, I don't want to dissuade you from buying one of the current models.

Cheers,

Troy.

 

[jasonmm1979 0]

VERY informative Troy. Thank you!

 

[LePaul 321]

I live in northern Maine. A little town called Presque Isle. I intend on moving down south though. Thanks for the advice too

 

I'm in Bangor! 100 miles south of you.