[KwartzLab] Noisebridge & Techshop team up on a 3D printer

[doug moen]

Compared to the Ultimaker, it has a slightly larger build volume.
210x210x220 vs 230x230x230. Replicator is 245x145x150.

Both machines are designed for PLA, but can also print ABS. Replicator is
designed for ABS and has a heated build platform.

Ultimaker is much faster. Ultimaker speeds: head moves up to 400 mm/s,
prints at up to 150mm/s. Type A: 250 mm/s and 90 mm/s. The bowden cable
design makes the Ultimaker print head much lighter, which enables faster
head motion. Replicator claims a recommended print speed of 40 mm/s. You
can go faster, but MakerBot is very concerned about reliability, and
provides conservative specs that work for any print job. The other guys
tell you how fast the machine can print when it is on the edge of shaking
itself apart, so the specs aren't directly comparable, in my opinion.

Print resolution is probably comparable: you can achieve really high
model-specific resolutions if you invest enough time tuning for a specific
print job, but 100 micron layers are as far as most people go without doing
a lot of fiddling, on any printer of this type. Type A reports experimental
builds with special software at 50 micron layer height; 40 microns was
reported a year ago for Ultimaker and I don't know if that's been exceeded
yet.

Ultimaker needs periodic tuning to keep it working. The Type A is
preassembled, and has the potential to be less fiddly (comparable to a
Replicator), but there's not enough information about reliability.

Type A is cheaper in North America. Ultimaker is shipped from Europe, and
is about $2000 all in, with shipping and duty.

Doug.

On 14 September 2012 14:06, Jeff Schmidt <digitalfalcon at rogers.com> wrote:

> How does it compare to the Ultimaker?
>
> - Jeff
>
> On Sep 14, 2012, at 1:03 PM, doug moen <doug at moens.org> wrote:
>
> Hi Ben. Thanks for pointing this out, as it pushes all of my buttons
> (pre-assembled, and they claim good mechanical design and reliable, fast,
> high quality output). If it is capable of matching a $2000 MakerBot
> Replicator in terms of reliability and output quality, then I'm very
> interested. The specs are certainly good.  I just want to see reports from
> independent reviewers.
>
> Doug.
>
> On 14 September 2012 08:51, Ben Brown <ben at kwartzlab.ca> wrote:
>
>> 1.75mm, 230mm3 build area, $1200:
>>
>> http://typeamachines.com/details
>>
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