Can't decide between Replicator 5th Gen, Ultimaker 2, and Robo3D R1

[redhatmatt]

Ok, I stumbled onto this thread and read the whole thing. Wow...

I've owned an Ultimaker original for two years, I added a heated bed and a dual extruder long ago. Now they are selling the heated bed on a new Ultimaker Original +. The shipping date is long but that will shorten. They are also starting to start operations in the states out of Tennessee by a long time community member. I love love love my Ultimaker. You can't go wrong with a printer that is so open source and meticulously supported (even if they went out of business you are fine for like forever you can source the parts), has such an active community (so many modifications already available to trick it out, so much advice, so much support), provides such high quality prints at such high speeds.... The Ultimaker 2 is great too if you can afford it - I have many friends with them and am a member of a few labs with them... they are a little slicker but if you don't have that kind of coin and want a seriously capable, future DIY printer go with the UM1.

I also have had (for a little over six months) a Airwolf 3DHD including the .35 nozzle for an extra 35.00 (oh my ), which then I upgraded to the 3DHDx (Polycarb single head) and finally to the 3DHD2x all on the same original 3DHD. Now I have two extra heads. Yeah they aren't 100% open source but I researched it enough to see that if they ever (hope not they are nice people) went out of business (that seems HIGHLY unlikely) I could source this one as well as far as getting parts. The acrylic is thick! -- and great, I've made similar acrylic cutouts to do mods at my local maker facility. The airwolf uses a RAMBO board (which also just uses Marlin and Arduino) and it's basically a Bowden design. The Viki controller is made by someone else in Irvine - Pancautt Designs - but you could use an Ulticontroller.

The argument I read on fear of 3mm filament is kind of silly. I actually think for these types of setups it's superior to 1.75mm and it's easy to get everywhere. Not being available in the US??? Wha??? The highest quality great stuff in the US: matterhackers & ultimachine.

To Tony above, for 3K --- for a dual extruder with a heated bed... seriously consider the Ultimaker Original and upgrade the head to a dual with the kit, you are looking at around 1500-1700 and you can spend the rest on filament.

PS. I would not go with a Makerbot considering everything out there... I should say the Replicator 2x. I've had a ton of experience with them... bad support, tendency to break and then exacerbate that with again... bad support... and their tendency towards proprietary everything means == less community sharing - and or the capability to do so... plus the way they've been grabbing ideas and patenting them off of thingiverse... the list goes on... --however if all you want to do is do PLA then the new ones do look like could be hassle free - but that isn't what most of you are after. The zortrax???? yeah that's like a super bad version of what makerbot is doing these days (as far as their proprietary, unproven, questionable ethical "inventions") but with no real community and barely alive for very long.... the fact that Dell bought 500 of them makes me stay away further, since when did corporations get smart on buying things (not much from what I've seen and I've worked for a good chunk of the fortune 500) -- they are the same "groups" buying Makerbot Replicator 2x's by the bundle so they can sit and be broken... I'm sure Dell did so before moving on to the newest line of the same thing but worst with the Zortrax line!