Considering buying! Your comments are welcome.

[Ross1234 0]

Hi

We are upgrading our office printer from an UP BOX and I am considering a UM3 or UM3E. 

Marketing and reviews have worked their magic on me but I'm just hoping for some general feedback on print times (...long print times are noted as cons on reviews) and some general thoughts on print quality and reliability from those who already own (...if I had my time again I would have...).

UPStudio and UM Cura are showing similar build times for same print parameters and a random selection of my 3D models. But folk on this forum are saying actual print times are often running significantly longer than Cura estimates (UPStudio seems pretty bang on for our tired old UP BOX).

I don't have any direct questions but am hoping for some general thoughts from those in the know to help make sure my expectations are realistic.

 

Thanks very much!

[ahoeben 1,987]

4 hours ago, Ross1234 said:

folk on this forum are saying actual print times are often running significantly longer than Cura estimates

 

For Ultimaker printers, the estimations that Cura makes are fairly accurate in my experience. For other printers, Cura may be missing information about how fast these printers are configured to move. That makes accurately predicting print-times impossible.

[Ross1234 0]

Thanks ahoeben. Than makes sense and is encouraging.

[ultiarjan 1,223]

Speed is always a trade-off with quality. If you don't need dual extrusion the um2 is faster than the 3 or 5 simply because the head is more light weight. The ability to use pva supports, more material types, and the ease of use make the 3 and 5 a more flexible choice. Owning both I still use the um2 a lot for single material prints.

[Ross1234 0]

Inertia in a heavier head therefore slower X/Y movements also makes sense. Trading speed for the ability to use more material types and also PVA support seems worthwhile for my application. Thanks ultiarjan