Hello. Looking to buy in UK.

[skint 61]

Hello Ultimakers

I have recently started researching printers. The more I look, the more I want!

The usual reservations are holding me back;

 

• which printer to choose
  
• cost
  
• reliability
  
• maintenance and learning curve
  
• “ this next model printer is going to be better ....wait until…”
  
• will I spend £2000+ on a printer which eventually becomes my expensive office coffee mat :/
  

 

I am leaning towards the U2 for a few reasons, open source, nice friendly community (this forum), build size is nice, looks cool

Does anybody have any recommendations/experience of where to purchase in the UK? Also, there is a considerable cost saving if I was to purchase in $USD, it is possible bringing U2 into the UK without import duty?

Over & Out!

Skint

 

[ian 32]

Hi ! :smile:

 

• which printer to choose
  Answer: Ultimaker2.. its very well built, good quality and prints lunatic good prints !! serious GA GA good stuff !! I didnt have to to tweak my ultimaker2 and it just shoots out tasty model after tasty model... yum yum
  
• cost
  The printer is definitly a few quid but is it worth that... if you use this for personnel use only.. then use it for a year or two and then the honest answer is yes... or if you use it for a few work related projects.. then the thing basically pays for itself!
  
• reliability
  the um2 is for me fantastically reliable. i have heard about some people having too little plastic coming out of their print heads during printing. but I think ultimaker is addressing this at the moment and should or will be releasing a little easy upgrade to all existing customers soon.. I guess free for existing um2 customers But thank god it hasnt effected me and my other um2 friends :smile:
  
• maintenance and learning curve
  
• a drop of fine maschine oil on the axis bars once every few months to keep things slippy and nice and thats about it.....
  Learning curve... read a little bit into the forum and you will be more than ready by the time your ultimaker2 arrives... its very easy even an irish man can do it !! LOLL ;-)
  
• “ this next model printer is going to be better ....wait until…”
  thats my problem. i always thought that. I guess i learned that mentality from the ultimaker 1 but now with the ultimaker2.. it just prints like a god.... not joking.. im printing every day and night and starting to slowly run out of ideas what to print... LOL
  
• will I spend £2000+ on a printer which eventually becomes my expensive office coffee mat :/
  
• wont happen mate ! this maschine is built to print for a very long time.. question is... are you creative enough to own something like this ?
  

 

[ian 32]

seems like these guys have an english store and sell ultimaker2 !

http://www.imakr.com/product/view/ultimaker-2

 

[skint 61]

Haha Ian, good post. You have now added another few % to the YES side of my brain lol.

Yes I have looked at the Imakr site. The other one I have looked at are these guys based in London, with a showroom etc:

http://www.dream3d.co.uk/

£2000 looks like the price to pay. Or pay £1500+shipping from US.

 

[jonnybischof 60]

They (imakr) even supply Faberdashery PLA which is awesome!!

/edit:

On the "which printer to choose" side:

I am very happy with the Original Ultimaker that I own. You can get amazing printing quality with that machine (z-resolution goes down to 20 micrometers (*), and x-y is very precise even when inspecting with a microscope) and it has proven to be very reliable.

Next, you get Cura with the Ultimaker which works like a charm and is very intuitive to use. You can use Cura with other printers, but with an Ultimaker you don't have to configure any printer related data (like build size, printhead properties and what-not). Just click and print.

Now with the Ultimaker 2 you get an even better printer which already has everything built-in that you'll (most likely) ever need.

If you are a tinkerer and like to put stuff together, improve on it, and play with it, then you should get yourself an Original Ultimaker kit. With the kit, you'll learn much about the printer while you're assemblying it. But if you're not into that - go get an UM2.

But you shouldn't forget that a 3D printer (no matter which one) is a pretty complex machine. It's well possible that you might have to adjust one or another screw, tighten some belts or align something from time to time. Maybe print out one or another little tingy to improve that little detail over there... stuff like that.

But there is usually no rocket science involved, and the good people here are always willing to help troubleshooting.

So, expect that you may run into minor troubles - but nothing you can't solve easily enough.

(*)

Sander recently showed a part printed at 20 microns resolution in the "post your latest print" thread. I've only gone down to 30 microns so far - but that is already breathtaking

 

[skint 61]

Jonny,

Thanks for the info Pal. I did consider the original Ultimaker and building as a kit... but to be honest the difference in the cost to upgrade to the 2 seems worth it.

I was also considering the Form1 printer, quality looks superb... it just needs to double its print bed size!

Ive just realised that my profile image was from the Zurich Street parade!!

 

[skint 61]

Apologies for double post... just wanted to say I called Imakr. 2-3 week wait. More time to contemplate....O.O

 

[jonnybischof 60]

Consider one more thing for the Form1:

1 Liter of resin costs 149$. That's a LOT more than ABS or PLA filament.

The Ultimaker surpasses the resolution of the Form1. But I guess you can't just compare the two printers by resolution - the Form1 probably has some major advantages being an SL printer.

I agree that the UM2 is 100% worth the cost. It's more like a "do you prefer to build the printer yourself or not" thingy.

/edit:

Oh, and don't underestimate the build volume. I've already run into trouble that my build space was too small even with the Ultimaker. If it were even smaller, it would totally ruin the thing for me...

 

...

Ive just realised that my profile image was from the Zurich Street parade!!

 

Yay!!

Have to admit though, I've never been to the Street Parade. Can't stand that kind of music o.O

 

[skint 61]

Haha, it was a great few days. I think it was from about 4 years ago...and i`m still nursing the hangover

 

[thehitman04 0]

Imakr still have a waiting list but that dream 3d have 3 in stock. im literally gonna order mine right now and will have it by saturday with a bit of luck

 

[skint 61]

Good Luck Hitman.... its very exciting when you print your first item, even if it is just a tiny little robot lol

 

[thehitman04 0]

cheers bud, unfortunately i didn't get mine on Saturday, im guessing it must've been free next "working" day delivery instead, UPS says its ready for Monday delivery though so fingers crossed

 

[jameshs 42]

You need to think hard about the printer you get - I looked for a year and went for the UM1 - still do the research and would probably still make the same decision - the 1 has a really good price at the moment!

There is heaps you can do without a heated bed and just using PLA but if I wanted a second printer I would definatley look hard at the UM2 (the form is 'interesting' but post processing is gunky and the prints are not as 'strong' as fdm but I think they will get there.

Cura is a BIG plus and the community even bigger.

Lots of other well known brands out there - and good and bad results with all of them.

Use the time to learn 3D software, please don't just become a thingiverse printer

James

 

[skint 61]

Monday will be an exciting day for you then hitman

I made the right choice James

[matt_dt 0]

Hi folks!

I'm quite new to 3d printing, and only got my very own printer last week (ultimaker 2 by the way). I got mine from http://www.helpanyonecreate.co.uk who do have them and the kits in stock. Mine arrived next day too, and with free delivery which was a bonus.

Hope this helps guys. Oh, and the ultimaker 2 has been great so far. Did lots of research first, and pretty sure I made the right choice!

Matt

 

[fingerpuk 0]

Hello.

I'm in the UK also, I live in London. I've been researching which printer to buy for years since I worked on industrial 3D Systems printers, but that was a long time ago. I did order a Makerbot Rep 2 until my example prints arrived, shocked at how bad they were. Then I ordered a Form 1, but I've been waiting over a year and so many people are having problems and the VAT on importing the resin is silly expensive, so I'm in the process of canceling that. Then I discovered the Ultimaker and this place and thought I'd give it a try. Ordering soon

 

[skint 61]

LoL fingerpuk, you really have been around the block. Your right about the Form1, I have been speaking with a few people recently who have been having all kinds of issues... glad I went for the UM2. If your in London, Imakr has a store there, you can pop along and they do demo nights etc.

 

[fingerpuk 0]

Yes, I'm thinking of heading to the store to check them out and see what they can do. They have a deal on the Up! Mini, which could be my way into this hobby. But I think the UM V2 is going to offer more bang for buck in the long run.

 

[Artiz 27]

Hi ! :smile:

 

• which printer to choose

  Answer: Ultimaker2.. its very well built, good quality and prints lunatic good prints !! serious GA GA good stuff !! I didnt have to to tweak my ultimaker2 and it just shoots out tasty model after tasty model... yum yum

• cost

  The printer is definitly a few quid but is it worth that... if you use this for personnel use only.. then use it for a year or two and then the honest answer is yes... or if you use it for a few work related projects.. then the thing basically pays for itself!

• reliability

  the um2 is for me fantastically reliable. i have heard about some people having too little plastic coming out of their print heads during printing. but I think ultimaker is addressing this at the moment and should or will be releasing a little easy upgrade to all existing customers soon.. I guess free for existing um2 customers :)But thank god it hasnt effected me and my other um2 friends :smile:

• maintenance and learning curve

• a drop of fine maschine oil on the axis bars once every few months to keep things slippy and nice and thats about it.....

  Learning curve... read a little bit into the forum and you will be more than ready by the time your ultimaker2 arrives... its very easy even an irish man can do it !! LOLL ;-)

• “ this next model printer is going to be better ....wait until…”

  thats my problem. i always thought that. I guess i learned that mentality from the ultimaker 1 ;)but now with the ultimaker2.. it just prints like a god.... not joking.. im printing every day and night and starting to slowly run out of ideas what to print... LOL

• will I spend £2000+ on a printer which eventually becomes my expensive office coffee mat :/

• wont happen mate ! this maschine is built to print for a very long time.. question is... are you creative enough to own something like this ?

 

 

Loved this Ian... infectious enthusiasm. People tend toward 'caution' when recommending stuff just a bit too much online.

I'm with you... the technology is simply breathtaking... your concluding comment regarding being creative enough to own one is the starting place for my line of thinking... it rang a loud bell... enthusiasm is key!

It's a whole new world of unlimited product design created right in front of your very own eyes. Being 55 I've been kept waiting for this kind of 'super power' since childhood.

To be able to produce your thoughts into material reality... in about 15 hours usually.. is better than science fiction... and the tip of that material reality is the Ultimaker 2... make it simple and more people will like and buy it. Apple sell it because it also represents their philosophy of bloody expensive but perfect in every other way?

Because the thread is old I assume the OP bought his UM and now thinks the same way perchance?

Excellent comments Ian much thanks!

Edited April 13, 2016 by Guest