Lulzbot TAZ 6 makes decision hard again!

So, after some months of wrangling, I'd decided to go with the Ultimaker 2+ as a replacement for the Velleman K8200 I've had on extended loan from a friend. The only real competitor (in my view) was the TAZ 5, but for me the UM 2+ just pipped it to the post for the quality of its prints and some indication of greater print reliability, but it was darn close.

Now Lulzbot have thrown me a curve by releasing (May 17) the TAZ 6. Although a little more expensive than the UM 2+ (I've yet to see UK prices so I can't be certain how much), it appears to offer some great features that would probably push it past the UM, most notably the auto-levelling bed and what seems like possibly a more flexible extruder setup.

So, is the UM 2+ still a good choice or does the TAZ 6 pull off a late sprint to the line? The levelling bed really appeals to me, although I'm possibly scarred by the horrible torture of trying to level the K8200.

Jon

Heh..., feel free to throw this suggestion in the trash bin... ;)

The question you are asking is pervasive and eternal in the tech world: Should I wait for "Device N+1"?

Whenever I get in that mode, I get a beer ("Beer N") out of the fridge, open it, open the ordering page for "Device N" at the best price I can find, and order it.

It feels great.

FWIW..., I believe the Ultimaker line is very well thought of..., and you arrived at the point yourself after what was probably some careful consideration.

If I were making a decision based on features..., I would be asking myself whether I wanted a bowden or direct drive extruder, and how important an enclosed build area is to me. The lulz edges out the um2+ a bit on build size..., but not by very much.

0.02USD

Hi lakester, thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, the waters have been muddied even further since my initial post as I've been pointed at the BCN3D Sigma. This looks like a very interesting machine, particularly as I do have a number of projects that are likely to benefit from the dual extruder setup (which appears very neat). Since my post, I've also been considering the UM2+'s lack of USB support. Maybe it's just the way I work, but I do like to be able to follow - and control - the printing from desktop software.