Ultimaker

Ultimaker
Industry 3D printing
Founded 2011
Founder Martijn Elserman, Erik de Bruijn and Siert Wijnia
Headquarters Geldermalsen, Netherlands
Products 3D printers and filaments
Website ultimaker.com

Ultimaker is a 3D printer manufacturing company based in the Netherlands, with offices and assembly line in the US.[1] They make FFF 3D printers, develop 3D printing software, and sell branded 3D printing materials.[2] Their product line includes the Ultimaker 3 series, Ultimaker 2+ series and Ultimaker Original+. These products are used by industries such as automotive, architecture, healthcare, education, and small scale manufacturing.

History

Ultimaker BV is a Dutch 3D printer company that was founded in 2011 by Martijn Elserman, Erik de Bruijn, and Siert Wijnia.[3] Ultimaker started selling their products in May 2011. The company's foundation was laid at ProtoSpace Utrecht where Wijnia organized two workshops to build the RepRap Darwin 3D printer. Two Beta-workshops were organized at ProtoSpace Utrecht starting in September and December 2010, each consisting of 10 Monday evenings. Erik de Bruijn and Martijn Elserman assisted at those workshops. Frustration from their inability to get the Darwin design to work led to the inspiration to create their own design. Instead of sticking to the RepRap principle that their printer should be able to print its own parts, they designed their printer to be built mostly of laser cut plywood parts, that could be produced orders of magnitude faster than printed parts at the time. Their first prototypes bore the name "Ultimaker protobox" but newer prototypes were just titled "Ultimaker". In March 2011, Ultimaker ltd. released their first complete product, the "Ultimaker" (renamed in 2013 to "Ultimaker Original") under a Creative Commons BY-NC license. The Ultimaker Original was distributed as a Do It Yourself kit that hobbyists and technicians assembled themselves. It could print files up to 21 x 21 x 20.5 cm at a maximum resolution of 20 microns. Users started sharing their experiences and joining a fast-growing community.[4]

Company Milestones

2013 - The Ultimaker 2 was released. The target market was home-users, schools, and libraries, small businesses, and industrial designers who used 3D printing for rapid prototyping and production.[5]

2015 - In 2015 Ultimaker’s revenue doubled, with 35% of new customers coming from the North American market.[6]

2017 - Ultimaker's U.S. presence grew to include a network of 37 re-sellers.[7] In the E.U., Bosch and Ultimaker announced that Bosch would equip their worldwide offices with Ultimaker printers.[8]

2018 - Partners with material manufacturers DSM, BASF, DuPont Transportation & Advanced Polymers, Owens Corning, Mitsubishi, Henkel, Kuraray, Solvay and Clariant to create profiles for printing high-level engineering plastics and composites.[9] Opens facility in Singapore to service Asia, Pacific and China markets and expands manufacturing presence to three continents.[10][11]

Software

Their first software ran under a modified version of Replicator-G. They changed this later to Cura because more and more users started using this software in favor of Replicator-G, which was originally produced with Makerbot in mind.[12] When the lead developer for Cura started working for Ultimaker, Cura became the lead software product for Ultimaker.[13] Cura rapidly became a favorite of 3D printing enthusiasts. A YouMagine Survey found that 58% of users surveyed used Cura, compared to 23% that used Slic3r.[14] On September 26, 2017 the company announced that Cura had achieved one million users. This announcement was made at the TCT show.[15][16]

Products

Unlike the RepRap project, Ultimaker is not focused on the end-goal of self-replication. Ultimaker printers are designed to make high quality prints. Ultimaker sells the Ultimaker Original family as a DIY kit and the Ultimaker 2 and 3 family as pre-assembled machines. One of the distinctive properties of Ultimaker printers is that vertical movement is accomplished by moving the print platform, not the nozzle.

Ultimaker Original

Ultimaker 3D printers
Ultimaker 3D Printers

Ultimaker Original is a predecessor of Ultimaker 2 and was released a few months after the company was founded. Ultimaker Original can be modified to the user preference. In 2012, the Ultimaker Original was awarded Fastest and Most Accurate 3D printer available by MAKE Magazine.[17]

Ultimaker 2

Ultimaker 3D printer printing an object
Ultimaker 3D printer printing an object

Ultimaker 2 is the successor to the Ultimaker Original and was released in September 2013. MAKE magazine classified the Ultimaker 2 as the "best open-architecture 3D printer of 2014" and named it runner-up in the category "Prosumer FFF".[18][19]

Ultimaker 2 Go

The Ultimaker 2 Go is a compact and portable design that comes with a travel case for easy transportation. Released date April 2015.[20] This printer along with the Ultimaker 2 Extended are the newest additions to the Ultimaker family of printers. Awarded 2nd place in the Most Portable category in MAKE Magazine's Digital Fabrication Shootout[21] 2015.

Ultimaker 2 Extended

Released date April 2015.[20] Awarded 1st place in the Best Large Format category in MAKE Magazine's Digital Fabrication Shootout[21] 2015. Rated as a top 5 3D printer by 3DForged.com.[22] Otherwise similar to normal Ultimaker 2 except for its 10cm higher build volume and somewhat larger frame.

Ultimaker 3 and Ultimaker 3 Extended

The Ultimaker 3 was released on 18 October 2016 and introduced professional dual extrusion 3D printing for the desktop.[23] It was named the best 3D printer for 2017 by All3DP.[24]

Ultimaker S5

The Ultimaker S5 was introduced in April of 2018. It increased the build area of the X axis while maintaining the build area of the Z axis and introduced a feeder system that pauses when material runs out and resumes when new material is loaded.[25]

Ultimaker Materials

Ultimaker 3D printers currently print using either company branded filaments made from polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl acetate (PVA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polylactic acid (PLA), Tough PLA,[25] Copolyester (CPE), Nylon, Polycarbonate, Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU 95A) and water soluble PVA or third-party compatible materials. This includes certain composite materials.[26] A breakaway material was developed and released in 2017 to support multi-extrusion printing and reduce post-processing time.[27]

Specifications

Variant Ultimaker Original Ultimaker 2 Ultimaker 2 Go Ultimaker 2 Extended Ultimaker 3 Ultimaker 3 Extended Ultimaker S5
Release date March 2011 September 2013 April 2015 April 2015 October 2016 October 2016 April 2018
Build volume 21 cm × 21 cm × 20.5 cm 22.3 cm × 22.3 cm × 20.5 cm 12 cm × 12 cm × 11.5 cm 22.3 cm × 22.3 cm × 30.5 cm 21.5 cm x 21.5 cm x 20.0 cm 21.5 cm x 21.5 cm x 30.0 cm 33 cm x 24 cm x 30 cm
Dual extrusion build volume not supported Not supported 19.7 cm x 21.5 cm x 20.0 cm 19.7 cm x 21.5 cm x 30.0 cm
Layer resolution up to 20 microns 0.25 mm nozzle 150 - 60 micron

0.4 mm nozzle 200 - 20 micron

0.8 mm nozzle 600 - 20 micron

Print speed 30 mm - 300 mm/s 24 cubic mm/s
Travel speed 30 mm - 350 mm/s
Filament diameter 2.85 mm recommended 2.85 mm
Nozzle diameter 0.4 mm swappable 0.25 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.8 mm
Operating nozzle temperature 180°C - 260°C 180°C - 280°C
Operating heated bed temperature - 50°C – 100°C - 50°C - 100°C 20°C - 100°C 20°C - 140°C
Frame Dimensions 35.7 cm × 34.2 cm × 38.8 cm 35.7 cm × 34.2 cm × 38.8 cm 25.8 cm × 25.0 cm × 28.75 cm 49.3 cm × 34.2 cm × 68.8 cm 34.2 cm x 38.0 cm x 38.9 cm 34.2 cm x 38.0 cm x 48.9 cm 49.5 cm x 45.7 cm x 52 cm
Printer technology Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF)
Software Cura (supplied)

References

  1. ↑ Ultimaker. "Ultimaker, Leading 3D Printer Manufacturer, Sees 3.5x Increase in North American Channel Partnerships". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  2. ↑ Mueller, Andreas; Karevska, Stefana (March 21, 2018). "EY's Global 3D Printing Report 2016" (PDF).
  3. ↑ "About Ultimaker - Ultimaker". Ultimaker.com. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  4. ↑ "Ultimaker Original Reviews & Ratings". 3D Hubs. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  5. ↑ "Ultimaker 2+ Review: The Best Ultimaker So Far | All3DP". All3DP. 2016-03-26. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  6. ↑ "Ultimaker Announces the Release of the Ultimaker 2+ and Ultimaker 2Extended+ 3D Printers | 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing". 3dprint.com. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  7. ↑ "3D Printer Distribution: Ultimaker's North American Resellers Up By 350%, Nano Dimension Hits Q1 Beta Customer Goal | 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing". 3dprint.com. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  8. ↑ "Ultimaker's New Strategy is Paying Off Far Faster Than Expected". Fabbaloo. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  9. ↑ Langnau, Leslie (2018-05-07). "Ultimaker partners with global material companies". Design World. WTWH Media. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  10. ↑ Davies, Sam (2018-07-23). "Ultimaker opens office in Singapore to meet 3D printing demand in Asia Pacific". TCT Magazine. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  11. ↑ "Ultimaker opens new APAC facility in Singapore to meet global demands". Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  12. ↑ "ReplicatorG is a simple, open source 3D printing program - ReplicatorG". Replicat.org. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  13. ↑ "Cura 3D Printing Slicing Software - Ultimaker". Ultimaker.com. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  14. ↑ Halterman. "YouMagine Survey Reveals 3D Printing Expert Wish List".
  15. ↑ https://www.tctmagazine.com/tct-events/tct-show-uk/ultimaker-software-strategy-3d-printing/
  16. ↑ Griffiths, Laura. "Ultimaker Unveils New 3D Printing Strategy". TCT Magazine.
  17. ↑ magazine, Make (2012). MAKE : ultimate guide to 3D printing (MAKE special issue ed.). Sebastopol, CALIF: O'Reilly Media. ISBN 978-1449357375.
  18. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-03-26. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  19. ↑ "Ultimaker komt met nieuwe 3d-printer". Tweakers (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  20. 1 2 "Ultimaker is proud to reveal the Ultimaker 2 Go and Ultimaker 2 Extended at CES Las Vegas | Ultimaker". Ultimaker.com. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
  21. 1 2 "The Winners from Make:'s Digital Fabrication Shootout | Make:". Make: DIY Projects, How-Tos, Electronics, Crafts and Ideas for Makers. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  22. ↑ "The Best 3D Printers for 2016 | 3D Forged". 3D Forged. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  23. ↑ "Ultimaker 3 3D Printer Review: High-Quality Prints, for a Price". Tom's Guide. 2017-01-13. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  24. ↑ Jennings, Alastair. "Ultimaker 3 Review: The Best 3D Printer 2017 | All3DP". All3DP. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  25. 1 2 Davies, Sam (2018-04-23). "Ultimaker launches largest professional desktop 3D printer to date". TCT Magazine. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  26. ↑ "The Ultimaker Ecosystem, Composites and Owens Corning | 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing". 3dprint.com. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  27. ↑ "Ultimaker Rolls Out New Support Material Breakaway | All3DP". All3DP. 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
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