Ultimaker 2 Go 3D Printer

Spending more money does not guarantee success. The Ultimaker 2 as well as the rest of the 3D printers from Ultimaker, are NOT any better than less expensive printers! Seems people have been fooled into thinking that spending more now equals more success later, WRONG....Companies like Ultimaker, 3D Sys, and Makerbot are all guilty of exploiting the true nature of 3D Printing.This printer is just as challenging to use as any other 3D printer and really by using I have learned that what really matters the most is quality of the 3D drawing, is the drawing has flaws it can not be printed correctly, Its NOT as easy as these companies make it seem, its not always press a button and go,, plus 3D printed objects on this take time, in some cases many hours or even several days.Save your money, ALL 3D printers use the same basic concept and technology, this printer is NO different, its just very expensive, 2-3 times what it should cost.

My dad is a professional mechanical engineer, who has been using 3D printers for over 5 years now. He has used all types of printers; FDM, SLA, additive and subtractive. He says that by far the FDM types, which have been around the longest, are the most user friendly. That being said, the Ultimaker is an FDM type printer, but as such it is not that much better for the money than the cheaper Chinese printers.The FDM type printers all use the same technology - they melt plastic rod called filament, and then squirt the molten plastic onto a build plate the same way that a baker squirts icing onto a cake.The shape of how the plastic gets squirted creates a layer. The machine squirts or "prints" a layer, and then the layer is lowered, and the printer prints another layer on top of the previous one. 3D Printers create parts by layering plastic, one layer at a time.No matter what brand you get, you WILL have to do maintenance and upkeep on them. Adjustments, alignments, cleaning, purging, etc... just like any complex machine. By spending more money, all you get is better software, and maybe some better parts. Yet my dad uses Chinese FDM printers that cost as low as $425 (CTC is one brand) that print very high quality parts down as low as 100 microns (that's very detailed), for the money.Sure, the 3D model has a lot of affect on the printer part, but the software just makes it easier, not necessarily better. Good software makes setting up the printer and running it easier to do.Dad has tried the Ultimaker printers, and says they are good quality and made with good materials, but that does NOT guarantee great parts.Remember, it's not the tool, but how you use it, that makes the difference.. CTC Bizer Series Dual Nozzle 3D Printer for Makerbot Replicator 2 .

The media could not be loaded.    I've owned mine for about six months and it was a great introduction to this hobby for our family. I've since upgraded to a full size Ultimaker 2.Pros:* This thing is very solid and reliable. It's really striking how well constructed this is. Pictures don't do it justice. You don't encounter machinery this precise in your life outside of industrial settings.* Everything in this printer is exactly the same as the larger version. Same diameter rods. Same motherboard. Same bearings. This printer is very solid and repeatable and I never had an issue that wasn't bowden related.* Ultimaker community and support is amazing. Don't buy a printer on specs which only matter if you can actually print something and if that thing is usable. Buy it on community and support. Any problem or question you could ever have has been experienced and solved by someone else and posted on the forums. And if not, their support is perfect.* High quality bearings and components made this quieter than some of my other cheaper printers have been. Theoretically it means it will last longer, but I haven't been printing for long enough for this to matter yet.* You can print very, very fast with this printer. The mechanical precision is nothing short of mesmerizing at 100mm/s.Cons:* Lack of a heated bed is a big mistake here. I purchased a heated bed upgrade kit and it was a bit tricky to install. Once I installed it, I was much happier with using this printer. When prints were done, I could take off the glass plate and pop it in the freezer. 30 seconds later the part would fall off. Parts have a glassy smooth, beautiful finish on hot glass. Printing on tape sucks and this is why I knocked a star off.* 3mm filament is not as readily available. Some of the suppliers can be more expensive. I've converted my full size Ultimaker 2 to 1.75 and I'm happier with it. I've noticed that the 3mm printer is smellier than a 1.75mm printer sitting right next to it.I now have a full size Ultimaker 2, but 90% of what I print fits in the build volume of the go. The only issue I ever had was bowden related. The cable really has to be all the way down into the nozzle and it can be tricky to insert it sometimes.

The ultimaker is a good product anyone that knows about 3d printing knows they use better quality parts then the cheaper printers have faster print speeds, they are the developers of one of the better pieces of 3d making software out there "Cura" are they a little too expensive the answer is Yes but they are a flagship printer so a price is to be expected for that. the ULTIMAKER CAN! print higher quality then many of the cheaper models producing prints as low ans 20 microns vs 100 microns from other cheaper competitors. WARNING! those high quality prints will take a long time to finish if you are a skilled or willing to learn and need a pro level printer this or the TAZ 5 by Lulzbot are the choice or you can be daring and build your own ultimaker for a little less then half the price but getting a good supplier for clone parts can be a pain