My buying experience...

[somewhereinla 2]

Buying experience:

I live in California, so I bought my Ultimaker2 from the only reseller in the U.S, Makershed. When I found Makershed, they were expecting stock "soon", I could not pre-order, they instructed me to forward my email address as they were building a waiting list. I would be informed as soon as they arrived. After 2-3 weeks of waiting, I checked their website and it the UM2 was back in stock. I ordered one that day. @ things surprised me though, they never sent an email and they bumped up the price by $300, which I sought was bad test and bad business. I understand the demand and supply concept, but don't advertise a price when you don't have the stock and then change it as soon as you do.

Delivery:

Fed-ex dropped the package yesterday. The box wasn't in great shape, but nothing dramatic, that is until I actually opened it. Two of the packaging corners were crushed. I took the UM2 off the box, followed the provided instructions, turn it on, and nothing was working properly, the belt mechanism jammed, the machine was making very pound noise, I turned it off immediately. I called Makershed, early in the afternoon, no answer. I left a message but never got a call back. I am assuming that customer support isn't their priority. I am an industrial designer, I have built a couple CNC and own a replicator (gen1) as well, so I decided to give it a shot. Upon close inspection, I realized that the timing pulley weren't properly fastened, causing the rods to snap out of the bearing, which in turn caused the belt to un-tight. Also the kill switch do not seem to work as well. I carefully re-aligned all the component and after a few trials, I was able to print a very decent print. I run the extrusion test, found somewhere on this forum, and got to the 10mm mark. Although, at 10mm you can see it becomes to degrade... nothing dramatic.

Un-resolved problems:

The fan(s) are very loud, I measured the noise at 75-80 decibel, which is a huge jump from the 49 decibel advertised.

When the UM2 zero-in on the back left corner it, the whole machine start shaking, probably due to the kill switch not working. I have forwarded my concerns to Ultimaker support and awaiting an answer.

Conclusion:

If the test prints hadn't come out as nice as they did, the machine would be on it's way back.

If Ultimaker reads this post here are two humble advices:

1/ Use hi-density foam AND double box. There is a reason why your competition does it. Boxes for that type of equipment aren't just use to ship one way, they are useful when equipment need service, storage, or when you move. They also send an important message about the company "caring" for what they make. First impression is important...

2/ Choose your reseller wisely, more that resellers they should be your ambassador, protect your brand and support your customers. I have spend 20 years in branding/consumer research and I can tell you how damaging a couple of negative review can do to a company.

3/ Despite the problems so far, i know I am going to love the UM2. I like the design, the compact footprint, the extruder design, and once I figure out the remaining problems, I know this will end up being a happy purchase. As for my Makerbot, I think it will soon find its new home on ebay.

cheers.

 

[ian 32]

im really happy that in the end you liked your ultimaker2 printer.

It is a super 3d printer but you are right.. there are some points in the packaging that ultimaker still needs to address.

But I spotted another moderator forwarding those very concerns onto ultimaker today.. so your opinion and experiences do go back to ultimaker. :-)

If you need any help or tips with anything.. just ask on the forum and im sure you will be happily swamped with answers!

Ian :-)

 

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi somewhereinla,

Thank you for your post.

It is always great to get feedback, because it gives us the chance to grow and meet your expectations.

Like Ian said, I am very glad that overall you are very happy with the Ultimaker which is what matters.

But if there are things that can me improved from ordering until that point I would be happy to know.

Coincidentally, we have just made another improvement to the packaging and it is being tested now.

It mainly involves the bottom tray to make it stronger and can take higher impacts.

I do not think that the pulleys had anything to do with the rod escaping from the sliderblock.

A couple of times I have heard it before, but this usually happens during shipment, and the rod

can be very easily snapped back in place by pushing it back in. Was this as easy for you as well?

Can you let me know what the current status is with your end stop?

I am glad you have managed to get 10m3, that is a great achievement!

About the noisy fans, do you mean just the 3rd fan on the back of the printhead of also the 2 fans on the side?

The one on the back should be rather quiet, but sometimes one of the wires inside the printhead are slightly touching

the blades of the fan causing some additional noise. Could you check if it can rotate freely?

Looking forward to hear about your findings and keep us up to date about experience

 

[chrisr 18]

SandervG, on 04 Apr 2014 - 1:19 PM, said:

Coincidentally, we have just made another improvement to the packaging and it is being tested now.

It mainly involves the bottom tray to make it stronger and can take higher impacts.

 

The problem with the packaging is that the internal packing is way too rigid. It transfers every single knock, bump and shake directly through to the printer. The last thing you want to do is make the bottom packing even stronger. The packing needs to act as a shock absorber and absorb knocks by cushioning the printer.

You need to use foam or something similar...

I've already been emailing Marrit about this as my printer arrived completely out of true and I rejected it. But I'm not getting anywhere fast. Very disappointing experience so far.

 

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi Chris,

Could you share your ticket-ID with me?

I can notify Marrit about your situation so we can move towards a faster solution and a positive experience for you

Perhaps I did not use the correct words, my apologies.

I did mean it could absorb blows much better.

 

[chrisr 18]

Hi Chris,

Could you share your ticket-ID with me?

I can notify Marrit about your situation so we can move towards a faster solution and a positive experience for you

Perhaps I did not use the correct words, my apologies.

I did mean it could absorb blows much better.

 

Ticket ID: RFS-647-14763

Department: Support

Type: Issue

Status: Open

Priority: Critical

Hi Sander,

So that all correspondance regarding this issue is in one place, please liase with Damian at Technology supplies. Marrit already has all the correspondance and details to date.

I'm looking for a thorougly checked and working replacement (not a rebuild or repair) properly packaged to withstand shipping.

Regards,

Chris

(Edit for additional clarity)

[sebastianf 0]

Reading this thread makes me wonder if it would be wise to order one. South Africa is a long way for services should it arrive broken. Unless you have a South African reseller...

 

[somewhereinla 2]

I thought I would post an update.

Most of the problems I had are resolved:

The fans. All the screws were tight, but most of what I read including a suggestion from support leads to a problem with tightening... I removed all the screws, inspected the fans and carefully re-insert each screws. The noise is gone. So problem#1 is solved.

As far as the kill switch not working, upon close inspection, I noticed that the problem was with the left fan hitting the left panel and preventing the kill switch located in the back left corner ( controlling the x axis ) to fully engaged the 0n/off switch ( the little click you hear). I was missing 2mm. I bent the metal strip of the kill switch by about 2mm to compensate.

The UM2 is now homing normally. Problem 2 solved.

Last but not least, I did notice that one screw/bolt holding the frames together was missing... I am going to contact support to get a replacement.

On a positive note, the UM2 has been printing like a champ. I do need to start playing with the settings a little to get better overhangs, for better aesthetics, , but as is, out of the box it is really good already and all the parts I have printed so far are usable...

cheers.

 

[lord-devil 1]

I hope they upgrade their quality management... I guess those things are not related to shipment problems and could be easily avoided. Doesn't each printer print a test example to check if everything is alright? I wonder why the home position problem or missing screws (rattling etc.) don't get catched at this process?

At least most of problems could get easily resolved... but stil I hope I am more lucky than you in 8 weeks when I should receive my machine

 

[swoop 0]

Buying experience:

I live in California, so I bought my Ultimaker2 from the only reseller in the U.S, Makershed. When I found Makershed, they were expecting stock "soon", I could not pre-order, they instructed me to forward my email address as they were building a waiting list. I would be informed as soon as they arrived. After 2-3 weeks of waiting, I checked their website and it the UM2 was back in stock. I ordered one that day. @ things surprised me though, they never sent an email and they bumped up the price by $300, which I sought was bad test and bad business. I understand the demand and supply concept, but don't advertise a price when you don't have the stock and then change it as soon as you do.

Delivery:

Fed-ex dropped the package yesterday. The box wasn't in great shape, but nothing dramatic, that is until I actually opened it. Two of the packaging corners were crushed. I took the UM2 off the box, followed the provided instructions, turn it on, and nothing was working properly, the belt mechanism jammed, the machine was making very pound noise, I turned it off immediately. I called Makershed, early in the afternoon, no answer. I left a message but never got a call back. I am assuming that customer support isn't their priority. I am an industrial designer, I have built a couple CNC and own a replicator (gen1) as well, so I decided to give it a shot. Upon close inspection, I realized that the timing pulley weren't properly fastened, causing the rods to snap out of the bearing, which in turn caused the belt to un-tight. Also the kill switch do not seem to work as well. I carefully re-aligned all the component and after a few trials, I was able to print a very decent print. I run the extrusion test, found somewhere on this forum, and got to the 10mm mark. Although, at 10mm you can see it becomes to degrade... nothing dramatic.

Un-resolved problems:

The fan(s) are very loud, I measured the noise at 75-80 decibel, which is a huge jump from the 49 decibel advertised.

When the UM2 zero-in on the back left corner it, the whole machine start shaking, probably due to the kill switch not working. I have forwarded my concerns to Ultimaker support and awaiting an answer.

Conclusion:

If the test prints hadn't come out as nice as they did, the machine would be on it's way back.

If Ultimaker reads this post here are two humble advices:

1/ Use hi-density foam AND double box. There is a reason why your competition does it. Boxes for that type of equipment aren't just use to ship one way, they are useful when equipment need service, storage, or when you move. They also send an important message about the company "caring" for what they make. First impression is important...

2/ Choose your reseller wisely, more that resellers they should be your ambassador, protect your brand and support your customers. I have spend 20 years in branding/consumer research and I can tell you how damaging a couple of negative review can do to a company.

3/ Despite the problems so far, i know I am going to love the UM2. I like the design, the compact footprint, the extruder design, and once I figure out the remaining problems, I know this will end up being a happy purchase. As for my Makerbot, I think it will soon find its new home on ebay.

cheers.

Hi, i am looking if someone can tell whom and where to contact regarding the 3D product - some one from the company. on the website there is no such company email / address is mentioned.

 

[swoop 0]

Hi, i am looking if someone can tell whom and where to contact regarding the 3D product - some one from the company. on the website there is no such company email / address is mentioned.

 

Hi again, does it require a laptop to design, if yes, which windows does it works on? or does it require Linux?

 

[IRobertI 520]

I don't understand what you're trying to ask Swoop, and I'm not sure what relevance it has to this thread?