Ultimaker has announced their most advanced compact 3D printer yet – the Ultimaker S3. This brilliant addition to the S-line range takes the simple but effective approach of downsizing what the Ultimaker S5 is so good at – creating beautiful, functional models with swappable print cores for a powerful, versatile printing experience.
Ultimaker has also announced two addons for the Ultimaker S5. The Ultimaker S5 Air Manager and S5 Material Station are bolt-on upgrades for the S5 which enhance their overall capability, reliability and safety.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Ultimaker S3
The Ultimaker S3 is everything that’s great about the Ultimaker S5, only in a smaller footprint. Its 230 x 190 x 200 mm (9.1 x 7.4 x 7.9 inches) build volume is 35% smaller on the X axis, 23% smaller on the Y axis and 40% smaller on the Z axis, with a suitably smaller external footprint to match. It’ll easily fit on a computer desk, with it occupying no more space than a regular inkjet printer.
Like the S5, the Ultimaker has a dual-extruder setup with swappable print cores which make for a modular 3D printing experience. The print cores enhance material compatibility, allowing you to print high-temp materials and composites.
In terms of resolution and accuracy, the S3 is identical to the S5, printing down to 20 micron with an X Y Z accuracy of 6.9, 6.9, 2.5 micron. That’s up there with the very best fused filament fabrication 3D printers on the market. The S3 also has an identical build speed of < 24 mm3/s depending on the material used. The build plate is heated glass and the chamber is enclosed for easy, stable 3D printing.
Print jobs can be controlled via the in-built touchscreen. When you turn on the S3 for the first time, the printer runs through a welcome setup on the touchscreen. After this, you get access to all printer controls and settings. Jobs are managed using Cura, which can be installed on Windows, Mac or Linux. It’s a robust software that’s also easy to use. We like it and we think you will to. You can find out more about it here.
Ultimaker S5 Air Manager
The Ultimaker S5 Air Manager sits atop of the Ultimaker S5 and encloses the top of the printer, helping to better control the environment inside the build chamber. It also filters 95% of ultrafine particles, creating a safer printing environment, which is particularly useful when printing plastics high in UFPs, such as ABS.
Although anyone can benefit from the Air Manager, we recommend it particularly if you print in environments with limited space and/ or limited ventilation. Schools, universities, offices and workshops are prime candidates for it.
Ultimaker S5 Material Station
The Ultimaker S5 Material Station sits beneath the Ultimaker S5. It has 6 material holders which connect to a feeder system. The Ultimaker S5 then cycles through these loaded spools of filament, until they run out. This will be a long time, so what the Material Station does is it enables true 24-7 3D printing with the S5.
The material holders are composite ready and feed directly to the S5. They have filament flow sensors so you can view the status of each spool in real-time. The holders can be used with Ultimaker or third-party filament of the same spool size.
Ultimaker S5 Pro Bundle
Ultimaker has also launched the Ultimaker S5 Pro Bundle, which includes the Ultimaker S5 3D printer, its standard bundle of products (including the Print core AA 0.4) and the aforementioned Ultimaker S5 Air Manager and S5 Material Station.
Basically, the S5 Pro Bundle comes with everything you need for a reliable, high-performance 3D printing experience right from the get-go. The Air Manager and Material Station are also available to purchase separately, should you only want one or the other. We say both are definitely worth having in your printer setup though. The choice is all yours!