Introducing: Ultimaker 2+ Connect

[SandervG 1,521]

Today we are launching a new and improved printer; the Ultimaker 2+ Connect. Following in the gigantic footsteps of the workhorse that is the Ultimaker 2+, the Ultimaker 2+ Connect has quite a legacy to live up to. Ultimaker Cura data tells us that since 2015, over 6 million prints have been prepared for the Ultimaker 2+. So where do we start to improve such a renowned printer?

 

• Network connectivity. As the name suggests, and technology of this day and age demands, you can now create a connection via Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Sending print jobs to the Ultimaker 2+ Connect via the Digital Factory is a breeze. 
• Next-gen components. A stiffer buildplate will ensure that your print will run reliably overnight or throughout the weekend. 
• Touchscreen. The Ultimaker 2+ Connect comes with a 2.4” color touchscreen. 
• Wide material choice. With 9 Ultimaker materials to choose from and unlimited third-party materials to use via our open filament system, you can always find the right material properties for your application. Third party material profiles will become available in the near future. 

 

 

A digital workflow

 

With the Ultimaker 2+ Connect you can leverage the full power of Ultimaker’s digital workflow. You’ll be able to enjoy the benefits of: 

 

• The digital factory. Share access to the Ultimaker 2+ Connect with your co-workers to increase uptime and productivity. Then monitor the progress remotely to know when it’s done. 
• Ultimaker Marketplace. Customize and enhance your slicing experience with plugins from the Ultimaker Marketplace, like CAD integrations. 
• Ultimaker Academy. By registering your Ultimaker 2+ Connect, you will receive free access to the onboarding course hosted in the Ultimaker Academy. (The same applies for the Ultimaker S3, S5 and the Pro Bundle). 

 

High uptime. Low maintenance.

 

With its updated and clean design, keeping your machine in tip-top shape will only take you 20 minutes a month with preventative maintenance. No tools required. 

 

Upgrade your experience

 

Nozzles. The Ultimaker 2+ Connect uses the same swappable nozzles, just as the Ultimaker 2+ did. This means you can swap a nozzle in a mere minute. Different sizes are available: 0.25mm for detailed prints, 0.4 and 0.6mm for regular prints and 0.8mm for fast drafts. 

The fact that the Ultimaker 2+ Connect is using nozzles instead of print cores, also means that it does not have active leveling. The build volume combined with the stiffer build plate allow this, without sacrificing reliability. 

 

Air manager. Designed to simply and effectively increase user safety, the Air manager removes up to 95% UFPs and shield users from hot and moving components inside the printer. The Ultimaker 2+ Connect Air Manager includes a single-speed fan to efficiently pull air through a large EPA filter. This gives you the flexibility to safely install multiple printers in one locations. 
 
The Ultimaker 2+ Connect Air Manager also fully covers the Ultimaker 2+ Connect’s build chamber with a front enclosure for a more stable printing environment, preventing anyone from touching hot and moving components and a draft entering the build space. 

 

 

Are you interested to learn more about the Ultimaker 2+ Connect? Feel free to ask us below! 

You can also read more about it here: See the Ultimaker 2+ Connect

[2go 6]

Looks great. I wonder, does this mean that regular Ultimaker 2+ is now discontinued?

[SandervG 1,521]

20 minutes ago, 2go said:

Looks great. I wonder, does this mean that regular Ultimaker 2+ is now discontinued?

 

Thanks! We're very excited too. Not yet as of right now. It does fill a space previously owned by the Ultimaker 2+. This means that at some point in the probably not so distant future, the Ultimaker 2+ will be discontinued. But spare parts will continue to stay available, for a few years after the discontinuation. Hope this helps! 

[donogh 2]

Any chance of an Air Manager for the S3 please?

[RudydG 62]

Great printer made better again! For me this is still the best Ultimaker in the pack.

 

Edited November 11, 2020 by RudydG

[SandervG 1,521]

2 hours ago, RudydG said:

Great printer made better again! For me this is still the best Ultimaker in the pack.

 

 

It is a really, really great printer. So are the S-line printers, but the simplicity and effectiveness of the Ultimaker 2+ (Connect) are difficult to beat. Will you be considering trying out the Ultimaker 2+ Connect? 

[RudydG 62]

22 minutes ago, SandervG said:

 

It is a really, really great printer. So are the S-line printers, but the simplicity and effectiveness of the Ultimaker 2+ (Connect) are difficult to beat. Will you be considering trying out the Ultimaker 2+ Connect? 

Yes, i probably wil try one out. The simplicity is everything! Also the printquality with the lightweight head.

 

 

Edited November 11, 2020 by RudydG

[dfrez 21]

As the owner of two UM2+, I find it admirable that Ultimaker is improving their older models instead of just leaving them in the dust, lol. Any chance of making a retrofit kit to make older UM2's compatible with the UM Digital Workflow? 

[gr5 2,176]

You would have to replace PCB and in the UM2 and you'd really want to add the touch screen to keep the software similar but now you need to change the frame (the UM2+ connect basically has the UM3 frame).  So now it's getting to be a very expensive upgrade kit.

[dfrez 21]

16 minutes ago, gr5 said:

You would have to replace PCB and in the UM2 and you'd really want to add the touch screen to keep the software similar but now you need to change the frame (the UM2+ connect basically has the UM3 frame).  So now it's getting to be a very expensive upgrade kit.

Yeah, I figured most of the functionality would be in the PCB. No idea if the old display would even be compatible, so I agree it does start to add up quickly. 

 

Oh well, was just wondering. lol. 

[Smithy 1,144]

45 minutes ago, gr5 said:

the UM2+ connect basically has the UM3 frame

The UM2C panel is slightly shorter than the UM3. The front enclosure of the advanced printing kit doesn't fit on the UM2C.

[SandervG 1,521]

And there is also a different Z stage. All things considered, where it made sense to enable an upgrade from UM2 to an UM2+, upgrading to an UM2+C doesn't make sense. It would have been really cool though, but unfortunately not possible. As mentioned, even the frame would need to be modified. 

[Torgeir 243]

Hi there,

 

Congratulation with a great looking "new borne" UM2C, that's seems to have all of the important upgrades from the new S series and still using the gantry with the light weight head we knows so well!

I'll think this is a great printer.

 

So a question; since the air manager is an optional item, does this mean it have it's own power core and on/off switch?

 

Will this air manager fit an UM2(+) -(maybe to wide) or UM3/S3 -(maybe to narrow)?

 

Thanks

Regards

Torgeir

[Smithy 1,144]

The UM2C Air Manager is connected in the same way as the S5 version, so no separate power supply and on/off switch. The  fan is controlled by the printer itself. 

 

It doesn't fit the S3 and due to the missing port in the UM2(+) you cannot use it there without making your own power supply and control logic.

 

I can measure it later if the Air Manager would fit physically the UM2(+) - I don't know it out of my head.

[UbuntuBirdy 56]

On 11/13/2020 at 1:15 PM, SandervG said:

And there is also a different Z stage. All things considered, where it made sense to enable an upgrade from UM2 to an UM2+, upgrading to an UM2+C doesn't make sense. It would have been really cool though, but unfortunately not possible. As mentioned, even the frame would need to be modified. 

So, you definitively kicked the philosophy that made Ultimaker great! The philosophy of having the option to upgrade the printer which I know well...

Hey Joe, I'm in your team now...

[Torgeir 243]

Hi Smithy,

 

Thanks for this info.

 

Regards

Torgeir.

[Smithy 1,144]

On 11/14/2020 at 7:59 PM, Smithy said:

I can measure it later if the Air Manager would fit physically the UM2(+)

 

@Torgeir

So, the UM2C has the same dimensions on the top as the UM3.

The UM2 is 1cm less deep, the width is the same as UM3/UM2C

 

 

[SandervG 1,521]

15 hours ago, UbuntuBirdy said:

So, you definitively kicked the philosophy that made Ultimaker great! The philosophy of having the option to upgrade the printer which I know well...

Hey Joe, I'm in your team now...

 

Sorry to hear so. It made sense to enable an option to upgrade an UM2 to an UM2+, or an UMO to an UMO+ because 'only' a few essential components were renewed. But the idea of upgrading an UM2+ to an UM2C was really pushing the boundaries of a reasonable product. And honestly, we felt it wasn't. It would create too many complexities, and it could never be a 'plug & play-upgrade'. If you rather have a DIY printer, there are plenty of options out there. 

 

The philosophy of upgrading our products is still very much alive though. Take a look at the firmware, which is updated frequently. Cura which is continuously being updated, Material Station & Air manager we released for the UMS5 and the materials & plugins we're adding to the marketplace. So it is still alive, but the time it takes to develop an upgrade, combined with the cost and complexities of installing it (like the tools it would require, and the margin of errors you introduce) have to add up. 

[Torgeir 243]

Hi Smithy,

 

Thank you very much.

 

Regards

Torgeir.

[UbuntuBirdy 56]

12 hours ago, SandervG said:

 

Take a look at the firmware, which is updated frequently.

erm... For the UM2+???

[donogh 2]

On 11/14/2020 at 6:59 PM, Smithy said:

The UM2C Air Manager is connected in the same way as the S5 version, so no separate power supply and on/off switch. The  fan is controlled by the printer itself. 

 

It doesn't fit the S3 and due to the missing port in the UM2(+) you cannot use it there without making your own power supply and control logic.

 

I can measure it later if the Air Manager would fit physically the UM2(+) - I don't know it out of my head.

 

Kind of seems like the S3 has become the neglected orphan of the lineup? No material station, no air manager -- it's more expensive and higher end than the UM2C but still comes with compromises in comparison, and it's almost in the same league as the S5, but not really.

[Smithy 1,144]

I don't think the S3 has compromises, it is a smaller version of the S5 and currently without air manager and material station, but we (or I) don't know if it is planned or not. Technically the S3 is prepared to handle both.

 

And I think you cannot really compare the S3 with the UM2C, they are different in many ways and the biggest difference is the print head (dual vs. single) and the ability to use the print cores.

 

But with all three printers it really depends what you need. There are many users who rarely print dual or even don't need it. So it that case a UM2C is a great alternative to the more expensive S-Line and you still get all the modern ways to use the printer like built in network and digital factory.

[donogh 2]

On 11/19/2020 at 11:21 AM, Smithy said:

I don't think the S3 has compromises, it is a smaller version of the S5 and currently without air manager and material station, but we (or I) don't know if it is planned or not. Technically the S3 is prepared to handle both.

 

And I think you cannot really compare the S3 with the UM2C, they are different in many ways and the biggest difference is the print head (dual vs. single) and the ability to use the print cores.

 

But with all three printers it really depends what you need. There are many users who rarely print dual or even don't need it. So it that case a UM2C is a great alternative to the more expensive S-Line and you still get all the modern ways to use the printer like built in network and digital factory.

 

Don't get me wrong, Smithy, I think the lineup is awesome. I wouldn't give up the print cores or the dual extrusion on the S3. It's just surprising that it doesn't even have an Air Manager, and that's been prioritised for the UM2C over the S3.

[Smithy 1,144]

I really don't know but I'm pretty sure that the S3 will also get an Air Manager in the foreseeable future. It simply makes sense to have it on the S-Line printers, because the S-Line printers are mainly used to print materials that require a stable environment.

[kawolski144 2]

I'm confused as to why the 2+ is replaced by the 2+ Connect without an upgrade option for current owners.

 

If this is true, then I'm out. I'll keep using my Ultimaker 2+ until it dies, but I'm not buying anymore Ultimaker products. I bought Ultimaker as upgradability was in the sprit of their products.  

 

Make it upgradable and let me keep this printer current or I can jump to a manufacturer who does.