Ultimaker Debuts Ultimaker 2 3D Printer With Open Source Cura Software

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Ultimaker Debuts Ultimaker 2 3D Printer With Open Source Cura Software

Posted by timothy on Saturday September 21, 2013 @05:25AM from the spit-out-the-knobs dept.

MojoKid writes "3D Printing start-up Ultimaker announced its second generation printer, the Ultimaker 2. The new printer features significant redesigns from the first iteration of the Ultimaker. The company says that the new machine is more accurate, more efficient, and it's even quieter at 49dB. Specifically, the Ultimaker 2 has a new CNC-milled case (that's all white with glowing sidewalls) with an OLED display, and its glass and aluminum build platform is designed to cool quickly so you can peel completed projects off more easily. The Ultimaker 2 can print with multiple materials, including PLA, ABS, and PVA, and is WiFi-compatible so you can print from a mobile device or computer. Ultimaker is also launching its Cura open source software, which the company claims can pre-process 3D files some 60 times faster than other open source applications and makes it easy to load and work with 3D files."

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Slashvertisement by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 05:39 · Score: 2, Funny

How I have missed thee
Amazing by Reliable+Windmill · 2013-09-21 05:39 · Score: 2

Since I first heard about 3D-printing I've dismissed it all as some fringe-tech in development, not practically usable, and just ignored every article on 3D-printing, but this machine here seems mature and amazingly useful. I'm curious about the toxicology of it all and how much the plastic materials cost, and how durable they are.

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1. Re:Amazing by quetwo · 2013-09-21 06:21 · Score: 2
  
  They still are a fringe technology. They are only used in industry to do simple prototypes. They are used by consumers to make.... toys? I've only seen them print giveaways and demos, not a whole lot useful.
  The real game is still with CNCs and milling CAD/CAM devices. Hell, even DYI laser cutters are slightly more useful than most 3D printers. With those you can make things out of metal, wood, plastic, acrylic, etc. They aren't nearly as hipster as 3D printers, but you know -- you can do something useful with them.
2. Re:Amazing by Thantik · 2013-09-21 06:29 · Score: 2
  
  The things that 3D printers excel at are really anything close to Robotics. There's the OpenRC project which is a fully open source RC car, there's the InMoov which is a full upper torso of a humanoid robot (http://inmoov.blogspot.com/). They have a fully articulated GLaDoS ceiling robot. Tons of stuff like this. Also, almost anything you can do with a hobby laser cutter, you can extrude out to act like a laser cut piece of acrylic at whatever thickness you want and have it snap together just like something laser cut.
3. Re:Amazing by drinkypoo · 2013-09-21 06:30 · Score: 1
  
  They still are a fringe technology. They are only used in industry to do simple prototypes. They are used by consumers to make.... toys? I've only seen them print giveaways and demos, not a whole lot useful.
  I know some people using 3d printers to print and sell quadcopter parts, not for kiddie quads but ones that would hurt you if they fell on you. That's still pretty toylike, but it illustrates the point that you can build actual parts with them.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
4. Re:Amazing by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 07:23 · Score: 0
  
  I don't call these simple prototypes:
  http://www.3dprinterworld.com/article/worlds-largest-3d-printed-titanium-aircraft-part-display-china
  http://www.psfk.com/2011/09/airbus-use-3d-printer-to-make-airplane-parts.html
  http://www.3ders.org/articles/20120916-3d-printing-coming-to-boeing.html
  Besides, you can do CNC or laser stuff with these consumer 3D printers, if you just change the nozzle. Sure they aren't yet at a level to print nice surfaces, but they are good enough to print spare parts to replace the broken ones the designers design to break, so you'd have to buy a whole new thing.
5. Re:Amazing by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 08:03 · Score: 0
  
  They have a fully articulated GLaDoS ceiling robot.
  Uh oh, does ceiling robot watch me masturbate?
6. Re:Amazing by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 08:03 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  While you might be able to do some laser cutting stuff on a 3d printer by changing the head, CNC is a different ball game as it involves a lot higher forces on the head, and needs rigidity to do things with any precision. I've seen a lot of home built CNC machines fail to make the transition from wood to metal just because of such issues, and they were built much stronger than a 3d printer (not that it is impossible to make a home built CNC machine for metal, just takes some combination of experience, forethought, or luck). A 3D printer that was built strong enough to do such things would be over-engineered and likely increase the price beyond what many would pay if they are just looking for a 3D printer. A combination device would be nice for a particularly narrow market, although it would likely make sacrifices to do both (on the slow side for 3D printing, and lack of power and mass for CNC work).
7. Re:Amazing by gl4ss · 2013-09-21 10:27 · Score: 1
  
  well, it seems technically pretty much just the same as the previous ultimaker.
  that's not all bad though, it's not a bad design.
  durability depends on what you're doing.. in many objects comparable to injection-abs but with heavier weight in that case for some object. or more strength in some other object(inside structure).
  toxicology is not that much researched.. well, except that many filaments are "food grade".
  
  --
  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
8. Re:Amazing by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 13:52 · Score: 0
  
  Hardly. Boeing, GE Aviation, Airbus and others are already using them on production lines. They are already being used to create things like custom hip joints (at least in Europe). It is now possible to 3d print large titanium structure for things like airliners. The army is deploying them as part of their mobile fab labs that they are shipping and they have already proven their worth there. The ability to print in metal, ceramics, plastics, rubber, etc is already here and being used by industry. They will revolutionize the supply chain of many many manufactured goods and they will also bring in new IP and regulatory issues around digital content. They can print many complex objects that would basically be impossible to mass produce in any other manner. Folks are even 3d prinint electrons nowadays. If you smartphone's cpu going to be 3d printed? Not in the next 10 years. But it's ancillary electronics might be, and locally at that. Are they ever going to print a million plastic cups better than injection molding? not in the near future. But to say that they are simply hipster (I assume you mean maker) toys shows that you really don't have much clue what you are talking about. Seriously dude, study the state of industry a bit before you spout off. You may be a master maker of some sort, but you clearly dont see why a lot of the hype about 3d printing is justified.
9. Re:Amazing by serviscope_minor · 2013-09-21 19:57 · Score: 1
  
  They still are a fringe technology.
  Define: fringe. No more fringe than any other industrial process. Most people don't own a lathe either.
  They are only used in industry to do simple prototypes.
  Huh? The "simple" prototypes which can be laser sintered out of titanium often cannot be made by any other process. The smooth varying of hard plastic to stretchy elsatopolymer can't be done by any other process. The new work on 3D printing medical support structures is gorund breaking.
  But yeah, only simple prototypes, I guess.
  They are used by consumers to make.... toys?
  So? Most powerful computers owned by consumers are used to play... games? That doesn't make powerful computers a fringe tech or otherwise useless.
  I've only seen them print giveaways and demos, not a whole lot useful.
  Well, then you haven't looked very hard, to the point where you haven't even physically looked at many 3D printers. Many have a substantial fraction of the parts 3D printed. All the annoying bracket and connective parts that are otherwise a massive pain in teh ass to make, for example.
  The real game is still with CNCs and milling CAD/CAM devices.
  Those are the devices favoured by True Scotsmen after all.
  Hell, even DYI laser cutters are slightly more useful than most 3D printers. With those you can make things out of metal, wood, plastic, acrylic, etc.
  You can't do metal with most DIY ones. Most of those are in the 20-50W range. Too weak for metal.
  
  They aren't nearly as hipster as 3D printers, but you know -- you can do something useful with them.
  Ah. You dismiss a whole class of additive manufacture as "hipster". I really hope you're not actually an engineer responsible for making stuff.
  
  --
  SJW n. One who posts facts.
Price? by BenJeremy · 2013-09-21 05:59 · Score: 3, Interesting

No price listed, so I guess it costs $45,000?
Wake me when I can buy a 3D printer off the shelf for less than $300, because as a consumer, price is far more important in adopting cutting-edge "new" technology than enhanced features.
Advancements in capabilities will come when these things are stocked and selling at WalMart and Target.
1. Re:Price? by Dexter+Herbivore · 2013-09-21 06:03 · Score: 2
  
  Economies of scale will drop the price, and then the major way to differentiate the product will be innovation.
2. Re:Price? by buzzsawddog · 2013-09-21 06:09 · Score: 1
  
  No price listed? I did not RTFA nor did you? Look at the bottom of the article it has a price listed...
3. Re:Price? by BenJeremy · 2013-09-21 06:13 · Score: 1
  
  TFS should have had the price that was listed in the article. As I said, all the features in the world don't really matter if it is priced out of range for most consumers.
  That said, $2,500 is maybe enthusiast levels, but still not low enough for a casual purchase.
4. Re:Price? by gmuslera · 2013-09-21 06:18 · Score: 2
  
  $2500, but add $42 for each "cartridge". Like with 2d printers, thats where the money is. You can print anything, as long as you buy supplies from me (or whoever paid the relevant patents too)
5. Re:Price? by moteyalpha · 2013-09-21 06:25 · Score: 2
  
  The price point is self replication and that is the thing which first interested me 2 years ago. I have a device that has taken me a year to design and nearly a year to perfect and I started working with a local group at a maker space because of this. I have not finished some critical tests. My interest was to make a device which was scalable, operable to near a nanometer, and most of all could print itself ( in metal -and- other materials ) with sufficient accuracy to make self replication reliable. The one part that has not been achieved is the electronics and as a person who worked in semiconductor fabrication as well as SCADA, that is a thing which can be achieved in any number of ways, and currently I am testing a method that would combine a bio-molecule to serve for control as well as a substrate that might be suitable for space.
  It should be obvious that no company interested in profit would ever deliver a self-replicating device. That is why it has to be done by a person who believes in open source hardware. A lathe can fabricate a lathe, a robot can manufacture a robot, and a -good- 3D printer can print itself. The bigger issue is the data base of construction information which might be automated by OpenCV like capture.
  I worked in control applications of robots like pick and place, as well as many other applications, and many of the techniques can be applied here. It is a composite effect where a product that is advantageous can only be manufactured with a 3D printer.
  The next thing I will focus on is collection of raw materials. Mining or recovery.
6. Re:Price? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 06:32 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  You are absolutely wrong.
  It uses a standard filament on a spool. You can buy it from anyone. Invest in a filabot (http://www.filabot.com/) and you extrude your own filament for $10/kg.
  There are printers where this is the case (IIRC the Cube), but this is not one of them.
7. Re:Price? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 06:36 · Score: 1
  
  Anyone:
  Ocatve
  JustPLA
  ToyBuilderLabs
  Matterhacker
  Ultimaker
  Pick a random manufacturer in China. Lots of options.
8. Re:Price? by ThatAblaze · 2013-09-21 06:53 · Score: 1
  
  The bottom of the article says $2,500.
  All these printers seem way overpriced to me. I would rather go for something like this one which seems just as good quality for 1/4 the price.
  So.. time to wake up.
9. Re:Price? by ThatAblaze · 2013-09-21 07:31 · Score: 1
  
  Ha! Well the "Zim" is a completely different 3d print from kickstarter than the peach above. Excellent quality, dual heads, ~$800. Sorry for any confusion.
10. Re:Price? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 09:10 · Score: 0
  
  "The Ultimaker 2 will retail for $2,500." right there in the article....
11. Re:Price? by AHuxley · 2013-09-21 14:33 · Score: 1
  
  Be fun to see the next gen prices after the 2014 patents expire.
  http://hackaday.com/2013/09/11/3d-printering-key-patents/
  
  --
  Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
12. Re:Price? by marcosdumay · 2013-09-21 14:49 · Score: 1
  
  The Reprap Mendel is about $600 nowadays, but unassembled.
  
  --
  Rethinking email
13. Re:Price? by phaedryx · 2013-09-21 16:04 · Score: 1
  
  here you go: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/117421627/the-peachy-printer-the-first-100-3d-printer-and-sc
14. Re:Price? by RyanFenton · 2013-09-21 17:28 · Score: 1
  
  http://makibox.com/
  $200 for PLA plasic-only, or $300 for one that handles ABS plastic too. Plastic is around $16/kg, and I just ordered the $200 one after reviewing the inventor's careful (and very honest engineer-style presentation) instructions on how to put it together.
  It's an elegant setup, and a really nice looking toy, that might get some interesting use, but I won't even try and justify it on that count.
  Here's it printing a Yoda figure:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9xcvqI1yoU
  It'll probably take a few months before it gets here, but it'll be a great home project.
  Ryan Fenton
15. Re:Price? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 18:28 · Score: 0
  
  Vote this guy up!
16. Re:Price? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 19:59 · Score: 1
  
  Wake me when I can buy a 3D printer off the shelf for less than $300,
  Make your own. You can buy just the key parts, like the extruder. The rest is frame, motor, controllers, etc. Plenty of plans online. If you're not capable of making your own, you probably don't need and can't use a home 3d printer.
17. Re:Price? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-22 01:26 · Score: 0
  
  RTFA $2500.
$2,500? by drainbramage · 2013-09-21 06:12 · Score: 3, Informative

From TFA:
The Ultimaker 2 will retail for $2,500.

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No brain, no pain.
1. Re:$2,500? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 07:50 · Score: 0
  
  Yikes! If only the Ultimaker 2 was designed so that the Ultimaker 1 could produce it...
2. Re:$2,500? by wjcofkc · 2013-09-21 09:12 · Score: 1
  
  $2,500 today = $500 in five years with more capabilities. That is of course speculation, but between economies of scale, competition, and the trends of the last couple decades it does not seem an unreasonable guess. 3D printing will have at least as big of an effect on society at large as the introduction of the personal computer and I would suspect manufactures want to get them into the hands of the masses sooner than later.
  
  --
  Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
3. Re:$2,500? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 09:33 · Score: 0
  
  > $2,500 today = $500 in five years with more capabilities.
  But they'll charge $5000/oz for the "ink".
Re:Price?... Here's one for $100 by mspohr · 2013-09-21 06:31 · Score: 2

I just came across this 3D printer on Kickstarter. It uses resin rather than melting solid plastic and also has a uniquely simple method of aiming the laser (which solidifies the resin), leading to a very inexpensive design.
It's a Kickstarter project so long lead time and no guarantee of success but I think I may back it since it definitely represents "thinking different" and has a reasonable chance of success. Also at $100 it's low risk.
It uses Blender for 3D modeling. It also has a scanner attachment so you can scan a print. All open source software. (Actually, the hardware is simple enough that I could probably build it myself.)
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/117421627/the-peachy-printer-the-first-100-3d-printer-and-sc

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Re:Price?... Here's one for $100 by citizenr · 2013-09-21 07:05 · Score: 1

there is a reason its so cheap - print quality is poor.
I love how ghetto it is, but I wouldnt want anything printed on it.

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Wait wait wait by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 07:07 · Score: 1

If 3D printing is the future why is the case CNC machined? Isn't that for Luddites? Or are we redefining every single manufacturing process as "3D printing" now??
1. Re:Wait wait wait by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 08:05 · Score: 0
  
  I just '3D printed' a shit.
2. Re:Wait wait wait by nurb432 · 2013-09-21 08:58 · Score: 1
  
  its the future of home manufacturing out of plastic.
  
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  ---- Booth was a patriot ----
3. Re:Wait wait wait by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 09:05 · Score: 0
  
  I find sticking CakeMate nozzles in there first really adds another dimension to the fun. Sometimes I do that in public and don't flush. Fun!
Re:Price?... Here's one for $100 by Intrepid+imaginaut · 2013-09-21 07:17 · Score: 1

W00t, GW space marine designs are teh new lewt!
please don't sue me
Re:Price?... Here's one for $100 by mspohr · 2013-09-21 07:20 · Score: 1

It's clearly a work in progress which is the nature of Kickstarter projects. Print quality doesn't look much worse now than other 3D printed stuff I have seen. It will be interesting to see how this evolves. Their method is very simple and has the potential to greatly improve and is not reliant on fiddly mechanical steppers, gears and stages.
Again, I think it's worth supporting for $100 just to see how it works out.

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Re:Price?... Here's one for $100 by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 07:27 · Score: 0

We have arrived and it is now that we perform our charge.
In fealty of the God Emperor, our Undying Lord, and by the Grace of the Golden Throne, I declare Exterminatus upon the Imperial Website of Slashdot.
I hereby sign the death warrant of an entire news aggregator, and consign a billion accounts to oblivion.
May Imperial Justice account in all balance.
The Emperor protects.
Re:Price?... Here's one for $100 by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 09:28 · Score: 0

i just pledged 620 to be a beta tester on that one
thanks for the info
Re:Price?... Here's one for $100 by thegarbz · 2013-09-21 10:25 · Score: 1

there is a reason its so cheap - print quality is poor.
You mean people want to pay next to nothing for a rather complex piece of engineering and yet expect top performance out of it?
Expensive and misdirected by thegarbz · 2013-09-21 10:28 · Score: 1

I want a 3D printer. I care about print quality and cost. When the design features OLED display, WiFi capability, build platform design for quick removal of the print, I don't think they were trying to design the best print at lowest cost printer.
1. Re:Expensive and misdirected by ThatAblaze · 2013-09-21 11:19 · Score: 1
  
  You mean like this one?
2. Re:Expensive and misdirected by serviscope_minor · 2013-09-21 20:03 · Score: 1
  
  designed for ... build platform design for quick removal of the print, I don't think they were trying to design the best print at lowest cost printer.
  Spoken like someone who has never had a part stuck so well to the base that removing it damages the part.
  
  --
  SJW n. One who posts facts.
3. Re:Expensive and misdirected by gl4ss · 2013-09-22 00:54 · Score: 1
  
  well I just use this http://www.lapinpuukko.fi/images/catalog/leuku6.jpg then.
  but anyhow, ultimaker never was the bargain bin printer. it just looks like that if you compare to makerbot pricing..
  
  --
  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
4. Re:Expensive and misdirected by serviscope_minor · 2013-09-22 06:30 · Score: 1
  
  well I just use this http://www.lapinpuukko.fi/images/catalog/leuku6.jpg then.
  That looks like quite a sturdy knife, which means the blade is almost certainly too thick. Also, that tends to mangle the corners of the parts.
  Suggested method which worked in the end was to clamp the part in a bench vice and rotate the glass plate. In my case wearing plenty of PPE.
  Only works for sturdy, rectilinear parts, though.
  
  --
  SJW n. One who posts facts.
Reporting from Ultimaker. So much mis-information! by daid303 · 2013-09-21 20:44 · Score: 4, Informative

Ok, there are a few major things WRONG in this article.
First of. Cura. Cura is my project, I started development 2 years ago. I started in my free time, and after a few months of development Ultimaker hired me to continue development. As every user was switching towards it. It has been open source, free, and released for 2 years now. (It is a perfect success story for Open Source and I think Slashdot totally missed the opportunity here to properly see this)
Thanks to Ultimaker Cura has seen a HUGE development boost and really became awesome for Ultimaker AND RepRap users.
Next, WiFi is not in the machine out of the box. It is an add-on.
The UM2 is a professional looking version of our already very successful Ultimaker-Original kit. It has great printing quality for a nice price tag. Yes, you can do cheaper, but not if you want the same print quality. If you want cheaper then the UM2, buy the UM-Original kit.
Re: Reporting from Ultimaker. So much mis-informat by olof_the_viking · 2013-09-23 00:49 · Score: 1

Thanks for the info. This is Slashdot, so no-one reads tfa, and most don't read the post they reply to :)
Nearly the perfect Slashdot post! by TheSkepticalOptimist · 2013-09-23 00:49 · Score: 1

The only way a story about 3D printing and open source software could be better is if it included a crowdfunding campaign, was DRM free, and made a negative comment about Microsoft!

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Re:Reporting from Ultimaker. So much mis-informati by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-23 03:53 · Score: 0

<Daid> davr: you cannot really beat wood in material, except for industrial looks
Are you disappointed they downgraded from wood to an inferior material, just for looks?