Ultimaker

[Mike Shkolnik]

The Ultimaker is now available for pre-order. It has better specs in many
ways than the TOM, but it's more expensive ($1600) and shipping from Denmark
for the machine and one spool will run you $200.

www.Ultimaker.com

[Rick Osgood]

Wow.  That thing looks really cool.  I like how the build platform doesn't move.  That means they can print tall objects very quickly and they won't wobble causing alignment issues.  It also looks like it has a much bigger build platform than the Makerbots.  I will have to keep an eye on this.

[Mike Shkolnik]

Indeed it does. I’ve been following the blog for a few months now and have seen all the videos. It looks better than the TOM (though also a third more expensive). The build envelope is 21cm cubed, a bit larger than the TOM, though I would still prefer even larger. Were it $500 cheaper I’d buy one now. I am going to MakerFaire, so I will see all the DIY competitors there and make a decision.

[Rick Osgood]

We built a Mendel at HeatSync Labs last year.  It was a good learning experience but I would never try to build one again.  It took us months to even get it properly extruding.  Once it was finally printing it seemed like it was just one problem after the next.  Some members there had tried multiple different extruder types and nothing seemed to "just work".  However at Makerfaire last year I did see some Mendels that worked really well.  Every single one used the Wade extruder.  I also got to see the FAB @ Home guys and their machine.  That one was really cool because it can print tons of different materials.  They were even able to print in "metal", which I think was really some kind of epoxy with metal filings mixed in.  The final result looked and felt like they had printed something out of metal though.  It even sounded like it if you dropped it on the table.  They were also able to print out of some kind of paste that turns into a bone type of material.  I highly recommend checking them out this year if you go.  I'm definitely planning on going this year too.

[Paul Wasson]

Thanks for the link.  The Ultimaker looks cool.  I wonder how good the support will be from Europe?

- Paul

[Cid Vilas]

Ultimaker will run off of ReplicatorG same as makerbot. The only difference will be in firmware and electronics. Erik Debrujin has been in the reprap community for a long time. If past is any indicator of the future, Ultimaker will be the UK equivalent of Makerbot. 

-Cid

[Rick Osgood]

I just noticed they also sell plastic.  Right now they have 6 colors of PLA, which is cool because Makerbot only sells the clear PLA.  The size of the PLA looks like it should work with a Makerbot, although it is more expensive coming from the Ultimaker guys.  Plus, shipping will be more expensive too.

[Cid Vilas]

Other good sources:

Http://www.ultimachine.com/

Http://www.makergear.com/

Ultimachine sells PLA which works in Makerbots and are various colors. 

-Cid