UM III Vs UM S5, Vs Tax Pro, vs Raise3d Pro 2

[Belezeebub 9]

I have posted this on similar forums I am only looking for first hand reviews please.

I don’t consider myself an expert but I currently have four printers, I have owned seven and I am adding a fifth next month.

Features I want

Dual extruders, Repeatability, reliability, and high tolerances.

I print PLA 70%, PETG 20% and ABS+ others 5%

While I do have commercial contracts to design and print items, I don’t do it for profit it just keeps me in filament.

I love my Taz 6 I have every tool head they make, and I will shout from the mountain tops that the only fails I have had with it where my fault. (why don’t I use this one you might ask because the second nozzle drags and dribbles and IMHO a .05 is just too big a nozzle for my moving parts, plus screen season is coming up and my Taz will be printing 24x7 to get out orders at 40 pairs per build plate)

I hated my MK3 IMHO to call it merely garbage was an insult to garbage I returned it (and no it was not a kit)

What do I want in the next printer? Open box, cut zip ties load filament and hit Go. I already have three printers to tinker with I don’t need another one.

60% of my prints have motion or moving parts hence my request for high Tolerance.

I have my options narrowed down to a Taz pro, Um3 or UM s5 or a Raise3d Pro2

I don’t mind the upfront cost I due care about the in many cases the triple the filament cost.

For instance, when my customer calls for 1000 of thing:2963356 I know it will cost me X I will charge him Y and the profit will buy me four rolls of hatch box to play with.

 

Questions

I am about to start printing color Lithopanes using some photoshop/gimp tricks and CMYK PLA the .06 will be great for that

Taz and R3d P2 all have lifting nozzle, the UM3/ UM S5 have dual.  

So, if you won 5k in the lottery which printer would you get?

[gr5 2,167]

Well if you ask @korneel he'd say get an S5.  He has 8 of them and prints stuff like crazy on them.  Pretty much 24/7.  For money.  And he used have many UM3s (I think 8 as well).

 

If you ask me I'd say buy a bunch of um2go's.

 

I have 7 Ultimakers (UMO, UM2, UM2go x3, um3, S5) and if you really need dual and wanted to stick with Ultimaker, consider the UM3.  The quality goes down slightly with size so that's why I love my um2go's the most.  I'd rather have 5 little printers than one big printer.  However the um2go will absolutely not be a "cut the zip ties and go" kind of printer.  I upgraded to heated beds and more powerful feeders and olsson blocks on all 3 of them.  But I love my babies.

 

The UM3 and S5 di indeed have lifting nozzles.  The right nozzle goes up and down such that it is always either higher then the left or lower than the left. 

 

If you want to print with CF or glowfill and you don't want to modify even a tiny little thing then you will have to go with S5 as that's the only UM printer out of the box that deals with CF.  Modifying a UM3 for CF is pretty easy.

 

The UM printers are relatively well built and dependable.  But I have no idea if you will love them or hate them.

[Belezeebub 9]

55 minutes ago, gr5 said:

"cut the zip ties and go"

Thank you for your input that is one vote for the UM3, I'll pass on the Um2go if I wanted a printer I need to mod I could get 5 Ender 3's and put every upgrade part on them and still be cheaper then the UM S5 but I have been there and done that I'll wait for the movie, I'm 50 tiny screws to loose and even smaller measurements don't make me happy.