Ultimaker S3 vs Ultimaker 3 Vs Next Ultimaker?

[Belezeebub 9]

S5 vs S3 Vs 3

 

Okay I sold my S5 because I needed a larger printer for a major contract, well that contract fell apart, due to current issues, so I need a new printer again. I loved my S5 do not get me wrong, And Once I get my tax return, I will be replacing my S5. But in the meantime, I need something I little more set and forget then my other printers.

I had only one nag about my S5 and that was what I would call tolerance I print a large number of inter-meshing items and to be honest my Taz 6 dose a better job, I adjusted off-sets and elephant foot and temp but never really got it dialed in so the first layers were fused and for 6k I was disappointed I had to futz with it after trying Gyro the Dodo by Virtox, Gyro air and a few different Planetary gear sets I just stop because I needed it to crank out orders, just never got back to it.

Even with the .25 it did not work for these items.

Oh well it was offset or settings moving on. I am looking at the 4K range and the 30-day time frame. Looking at the S3 or a UM3

I want dual extruder and it would be nice if I could shuffle some of my tighter tolerance parts over to it to free up other printers for bigger items.

Giving the criteria above would you do with the S3 or UM3 (maybe even more than one UM3)

Maybe the next Ultimaker is due out in my timeframe so I would be open to that also.

 

 

 

 

[RudydG 62]

I love my S5, but the printer is not as precise (tolerances / elephant foot), as my UM3 and UM2+

I can't speak of the S3, but my feeling is that the weight of the head and the moving axes are the most important factors in this behavior.

For me, the only thing missing on the UM3, is the filament detection. (and the levers of the feeder for easy loading of the filament)

 

[SandervG 1,521]

3 hours ago, RudydG said:

but my feeling is that the weight of the head and the moving axes are the most important factors

 

Generally speaking, these factors usually don't help to achieve higher accuracy, if you wish to maintain any form of speed. I think both Ultimaker S3 and Ultimaker 3 are good choices for you. In terms of accuracy, I don't think there would be that much difference, there are some differences between features like the flow sensor @RudydG mentions. And moving forward, you can expect more features to be added to the S-line printers than to the Ultimaker 3. 

 

Regarding elephant's foot; have you ever tried to add a negative value in 'Initial layer horizontal expansion'? The elephant's foot is created by the force applied on the first layer, because good adhesion on your buildplate is crucial to a successful print. 

[Smithy 1,146]

If you focus on the set and forget principal , then the S3 is much better than the UM3. With the S3 you get all the new features likes intent profiles and the material profiles.

 

54 minutes ago, SandervG said:

negative value in 'Initial layer horizontal expansion'

Very good hint, I mostly use -0.3 and have no issues with the elephant foot.

[Framar 38]

I'm a too running into poor tolerance results with our S5. Having to invest 5K into a printer I would try another dual printer brand. Not that the Ultimaker is not good but the tolerance issue is a deal braker for me... I would guess the S3 would print same as the S5...

[SandervG 1,521]

10 minutes ago, Framar said:

I'm a too running into poor tolerance results with our S5

 

Hi, what tolerances are you expecting, and which are you getting?

If you'd create a new thread with some of your findings and settings we can help and see if there is room for improvement. 

[ETA_Boeckle 0]

I would go for a UMS3 if you want it to be future proof. At work we have an UM2+ and an UM3 both are exellent machines but haven't had SW updates since ages.

I understand that UM is focussing on their newer product and (maybe) on new devlepoments.

 

But as a tech enthousiast I find it a little sad that thes printers aren't maintained any more. The Hardware of these is capable of much more than it does actually.