Review: Ultimaker 2

Introduction and design

The first Ultimaker was a sensation for tech geeks – a reasonably priced kit that enabled you to build your own 3D printer without having to follow open source plans. The kit would take a few hours to put together and calibrate, but once done you had a fully working and very competent machine, as well as the self-satisfaction that you had built it yourself. This DIY approach reflected the open source RepRap origins of 3D printing, so owners could feel part of the bigger 3D print community.

The Ultimaker 2 is based on open source hardware and software, but is very much a finished product, and is only available in its assembled form, although there are three versions: Ultimaker 2 Go, Ultimaker 2 and Ultimaker 2 Extended. Gone are the laser-cut wooden sides and control panel that gave the Ultimaker its distinctive built-in-a-shed look, and instead the new materials used for the casing are more refined and heavyweight.

The Ultimaker 2 – whch is priced at £1,749 (it costs $2,499 in the US, which is around AU$3,100) – is an evolution of the original design and although it reflects a similar look to its predecessor, every aspect is a level up in terms of quality.

Whereas the original was for those who wanted a challenge, the Ultimaker 2 is for those who want to print, and will suit home, business and education equally well. However, if you want a go at building your own the Ultimaker Original is still out there.

Build quality

Print area is an important factor, and the Ultimaker 2 offers an impressive 23 x 22.5 x 20.5cm from its heated build plate. Around the 20 x 20cm size is becoming pretty standard, but the design of the Ultimaker means that it's able to fit this bed into a comparatively small footprint of just 35.7 x 34.2 x 38.8cm. While this might still seem quite large, compare that to the XYZprinting Da Vinci that also features a 20 x 20cm build plate, but has a colossal 46.8 x 51 x 55.8cm footprint.

The top and front of the printer are open which does mean that you need to be a little careful with fingers during the print process, so if used in an educational environment this does need to be taken into consideration.

3D models can be loaded by means of a supplied SD card through a slot in the front, and the model to print is selected using the LCD and dial on the front of the machine. The models themselves are loaded onto the card along with quality settings via the Ultimaker Cura software. On the back is the filament holder, power switch and a USB port that's used for updating firmware rather than tethered printing.

Getting started

Lifting the Ultimaker out of the box reveals that aside from attaching the filament holder on the back and removing supporting card, the printer is pretty much set to go. The holder simply clicks into place, and then using the control panel on the front the material is selected and filament is fed into the feeder at the back – as this happens instructions on the LCD tell you exactly what to do and after a couple of minutes the filament is loaded and ready to go.

Then it's just a case of preparing the build plate with stick glue, slotting in the SD card, clicking print, selecting one of the pre-loaded models, and the print process starts. Our test sample didn't require any adjustment and initial prints turned out well and at an exceptionally high quality.

If adjustment is needed access to fine-tuning settings are found within the LCD interface and these walk you through the calibration process. This involves adjusting the head height with the control dial on the front and with screws under the build plate, then checking head-to-base distance with a piece of paper. We un-calibrated the build plate to check just how easy it was to adjust – it did take a couple of attempts to get the hang of the adjustment but this process worked well enough.

Once the print finishes the build plate lowers and the LCD shows the cooling process, and once ready the LCD lets you know that it is safe to remove the model.

Printing

When you're ready to print models on the Ultimaker 2, you first need to load your model into the Cura software. Ultimaker is at present the official maintainer of the application but it is also used by other manufacturers such as Lulzbot, and is exceptionally well-designed and intuitive. It enables the adjustment of size, rotation and scale which are all shown on the virtual build plate, plus quality and print settings can all be adjusted through this software.

If you're just starting out then Cura has a quick mode that enables you to select one of four quality settings from Fast Print to Ulti Print, and each of these also enables a tick box to add supports. Once adjustments have been made to your model the file is automatically saved down to the memory card in the correct gCode format ready for the Ultimaker 2.

If you want a few more options then the advanced mode enables you to adjust layer height, retraction settings, top, bottom and wall thickness, and internal structure. Cura is comprehensive, but if you want to use your own software or an open source option such as Slicer then the Ultimaker also fully accepts their exports.

Stealth printer

Once the printing commences one notable factor is the noise. If you've heard a 3D printer in action, you'll know that they tend to be on the noisy side, which you kind of expect due to the stepper motors, gears and fans.

However, the Ultimaker 2 is surprisingly quiet and although it's by no means silent you can leave it running without disturbing the rest of the office, house or neighbours. The volume of operation is a major consideration especially if you have to work in close proximity to the printer as the noise does become a distraction. Again, here the SD card loading of files means that you can happily leave the printer in another room, which is a huge advantage over printers that need to be tethered to a computer in order to print.

Our test prints ranged from one hour at the Fast Print setting up to 10 hours at the Ulti setting to print out gear box – these print times are good and compare well against other printers such as the Lulzbot Mini.

Print quality at the highest setting of 20 microns is excellent and although you can see the layering, a bit of a clean-up and the models quickly transform. The Normal setting also produces good quality prints, but the Low setting is best used only for very simple objects or roughly checking complex models.

Verdict

We liked

The Ultimaker 2 takes 3D printing to the next level. Design, features and software give you a complete package. If you're looking for a printer at home then the small footprint and large build plate are really appealing, and for work and education the quiet operation is very welcome. The SD standalone approach also works well, enabling the printer to be placed out of the way and to be used without the need to boot a computer.

The Cura software really stands out giving plenty of flexibility with the models before they're printed for beginners and experts alike, and it supports STL, OBJ, DAE and AMF file formats. If it doesn't do what you want then the Ultimaker 2 is open to other third-party software.

We disliked

It's easy to overlook the disadvantages of the Ultimaker 2 as it has so much going for it. However, the filament holder at the back does feel a little like an afterthought, and once in a while the filament can get caught causing slip in the feeder which will inevitably ruin prints.

The standalone approach is welcome but USB printing isn't really possible, and third-party software is needed if you want to adjust printhead temperatures for materials other than PLA and ABS.

Final verdict

Ultimaker 2 is an exceptionally well-rounded 3D printer that produces good quality prints at 20 microns, which is one of the highest resolutions in this price bracket at the present time.

Ease of setup and use will appeal to the masses and although it is only a single colour printer, model makers and engineers will find that the high quality output is perfect for creating prototypes and models at a decent quality.

In our tests the machine proved reliable with the only failures down to human error. If you need exceptional quality and total reliability the Ultimaker really is hard to beat.