Both printers look comparable. The ultimaker will probably give better quality when properly tuned. They both use the same movement mechanism. The main difference is that the raise3d is direct drive while the UM3 is Bowden. I like direct drive more, Bowden gives you speed at the cost of possible backlash.
Ultimaker still uses 2.85mm filament, a carryover from the ancient days of plastic welding sticks and homemade hotends. It has less backlash than 1.75mm in a Bowden, but less precision with comparable gearing. It also has higher nozzle pressure and oozing.
But the ultimaker is better engineered. One look and you can see all of the thought put into it, the careful design and well chosen components. My only complaint is another archaic use of glass for a print surface. It’s a cheap fill-in for what should be cast aluminum. Glass is a great insulator, and thus terrible for a heated bed. It also heats unevenly and has an annoying amount of thermal expansion.
Even with these flaws, I’d probably get the ultimaker. It’s more hackable, and well engineered even though over-priced.
@Stephanie_A since I’m completely new to this do u think maybe I should take a step back and go with something like i3 mk3s to get some experience first. I’m not cheaping out I could go either way I’m just weighing my options. I was thinking of getting it the kit way to learn more but yet again I pretty much understand all the components already. I do have some experience with cad so learning the programs shouldn’t be to bad. But I’m liking the um3 more because of the support filament of the second extruder. I’m probably comparing apples to oranges lol. My head is just going decisions, decisions. But I’m am learning a lot since I’ve joined this community. I really appreciate all of the inputs by everyone.
The new genuine prusa looks like it solved a fair amount of issues, however it still looks under-engineered to me. I can spot a few flaws easily. However it is still a great beginner machine, made for tinkering, and worth it’s price.
For a beginner looking for a solid machine thats ready for addons, it’s hard to beat. 70% of 3d printing is learning how to design the models within the limitations of 3d printing, and how to modify slicer settings or firmware for optimal results. 30% is the printer itself.
You can get quality results out of any mediocre machine if you know how to calibrate it and what settings to use. You can even design upgrades to fix the flaws, if you know what they are. It may add some cost of parts, and time, but can give you knowledge on the limitations and capabilities.
When you spend a Lot of money on a UM3 what you’re buying is that experience and engineering, so you shouldn’t need to tinker.
When you buy a low cost printer, don’t expect stellar results until you’ve gained knowledge and experience that would rival the same used to create the UM3.
@Stephanie_A the main issue we see with the glass is that ABS (and PC I think) has a tendency to stick too good to it. Our plates are not normal window glass, it’s not as cheap as you would hope. But they don’t shatter under thermal expansion.
There are some ideas to supply a aluminium plate as well, no idea if that will go to market or not.
@Matthew_Stile note that PVA support printing could still be problematic if you are in a hot&humid environment. It remains a bit of a tricky material.
As for the extended. Really depends on your use-case. Can your models fit in 20x20x20cm or 20x20x30cm?
Personally, I generally don’t print larger then 12x12x12cm, so I cannot be the judge on that. (Other then, I don’t mind you paying us more money for a larger machine :))
Personally, I also like the offerings from http://printrbot.com for the lower-cost machines. Not a kit, no printed parts, so less to go wrong there compared to the Prusa i3. But I have no direct experience with their latest model.
@Stephanie_A is there any printers similar in price and to the um3 that uses the 1.75 filament. Other than that I think I’m leaning towards the um3 out of my choices I have looked at.
@Matthew_Stile yes you can. There is no default material profile for them, so you might need to customize a bit, but wood filament I have acts a lot like PLA but at a lower temperature.
I would also print it with the “BB printcore” (normally used for PVA) as the wood-fill material has soft of the same problem as PVA, that is becomes solid carbon if it stays heated for long times. The “BB printcore” is designed to there stays no residue in it.
Also, I got another note on the carbon filled materials from a hardware engineer here at the office. There is a 2nd problem next to nozzle wearing out. Carbon fiber filled materials also wear out the feeder gripper wheel. So even with a different nozzle, you still have a problem printing that.
I appreciate everyone’s input. I have thought really hard about this. I placed my order for a Prusa i3 mk3 kit. I choose this so I could get the printer and learn what all goes into it and if I’d make any mistakes, I prefer to do it on something less expensive. But once I get my knowledge down and experience then I will look into a more top dollar machine. I can’t wait, just sucks cause their on back order.