This will be an overview, initial setup and first print guide for the Ultimaker 2 and Ultimaker 2 Extended . Quick links for the contents of this guide is seen below.
Ultimaker at its core produces reliable and user-friendly 3D printing experiences using fused filament fabrication (FFF). Coming out of the Netherlands they have been in business producing 3D printers since 2011 and are here to stay. When the three founders started when this technology was in its infancy and through merit they successfully rode the turbulent wave to the mainstream. The Ultimaker today is recognised as a core element of the maker community. Ultimaker upholds the maker ideals; staying open-source (CAD files for every part of these 3D printers available), not over patenting, using G-Code (the classic programming language for computer numerical control) and running an open filament system (allowing 3rd party materials to be used on their machines) amongst many other factors. By supporting the community values, it has assured Ultimaker to be and remain at the forefront of 3D printing technology.
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Printer Overview
The Ultimaker 2 3D Printer and Ultimaker 2 Extended 3D Printer are both stylish workhorses that simply get the job done, perfect for rapid prototyping and producing concept models. Like all Ultimaker 3D printing systems they use an open filament system, therefore any 2.85mm or even 3mm diameter filament will be able to print with these machines. They come standard with 4 easily swappable nozzles (the hot point in which material is extruded out to form your design) with smaller diameters for high precision detail and a wider diameter for quicker print time. Both the single extruder head and the glass build plate are heated and reach operating temperature in under 2 minutes. If reliability, consistency, quiet operation (less than 50 dBa) and effective printing are required these printers will give you that in spades. 
The Ultimaker 2 and Ultimaker 2 Extended can be worked hard with little downtime for long stretches, making these perfect for a workshop or educator environment. The only practical difference between these two printers is the Ultimaker 2 Extended has a 100mm higher Z-Axis build area.
Ultimaker 2 and Ultimaker 2 Extended 3D printers use a Bowden extruder. This allows easier cooling, smoother movements, quieter operation, larger build volume and a more compact extruder head. Bowden style extruders have the feeding mechanism (used to pull the filament through the hot nozzle) situated on the frame instead of mounted on the extruder head. For Ultimaker 3D printer it is a geared feeder mounted on the back of the case next to the filament spool holder. Often 3D printers with Bowden extruders find it difficult to print flexible filament materials (such as Ultimaker TPU 95a) but Ultimaker 2 and Ultimaker 2 Extended 3D printers operate perfectly using materials such as these.
Printer Characteristics
- Build area of Ultimaker 2 is 223 x 223 x 205 mm [Build area of Ultimaker 2 Extended is 223 x 223 x 304mm]
- Layer resolution of 20 microns, roughly the size of a human hair
- Print head speed of 300mm/s
- Nozzles of hole diameter of 0.25, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 mm, all easily swappable
- Nozzle temperature of 180-260°C
- Build platform temperature of 20-100°C
- Ambient operating temperate peak of 32°C
- Heat up time less than 2 minutes
- Optimized airflow (fan caps ensures airflow is aimed perfectly and equally from both sides directly below the nozzle)
- Geared Bowden 3D printer feeder
- Dot-matrix display with a LED-backlit click wheel
- SD card used for uploading G-Code files from slicing program
- Max power output 221W
- Weight of 11.3kg [Ultimaker 2 Extended 12.3kg]
- 12 Month manufacturer warranty
Everything in the Box
- Fully assembled & tested Ultimaker 2 3D Printer or Ultimaker 2 Extended 3D Printer
- One roll of Ultimaker PLA filament (0.75kg)
- Swappable 0.25, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8mm nozzles in a swell box
- Glass build plate
- Filament spool holder
- SD Card
- Power supply and Australian plug
- USB cable
- Glue stick
- Grease
- Hex wrenches
- Calibration card for initial build plate levelling
- Two test pieces made at the factory printed by this printer
Controls and Display
Ultimaker 2 and Ultimaker 2 Extended 3D printers operate with an intuitive control system. They have a rotate and click LED-backlit control wheel (reminding me of an old iPod interface) and a dot-matrix display screen to exhibit the options available. These are located at the front base of these Ultimaker machines.
One rotates the control wheel to scroll through the menu and push to confirm selections. A beep will be made for each successful selection and when the printer is waiting for user input the LED-backlit control wheel will blink. It is a very natural system to get used to. The Ultimaker logo briefly appears when turned on and then it will display a simple main menu with all necessary features easily accessible (default top menu options are: Print, Material and Maintenance). If build plate levelling is required, which will be on initial start-up, it will guide you through the process using a software wizard.
All file transfer to these 3D printers is done using an SD card via an SD card slot. The information on the SD card is accessed by using the control wheel.
Materials it will Print
All the official Ultimaker filaments for Ultimaker 2 3D printers and Ultimaker 2 Extended 3D printers can print are seen below. As Ultimaker runs an open filament system this list is by no means exhaustive.
- PLA (Polylactic Acid)
- ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene)
- Nylon (Synthetic Polymer)
- CPE (Co-Polyester)
- CPE (Co-Polyester)
- PC (Poly-Carbonate)
- TPU 95A (Thermoplastic Polyurethane)
- PP (Poly-Propylene)
- PVA (Poly-Vinyl Alcohol) [Experimentally, it will likely take some setting tweaking to produce excellent parts]
- Tough PLA (Polylactic Acid) [Experimentally, it will likely take some setting tweaking to produce excellent parts]
The Ultimaker 3D Printer Material Guide goes further into depth about these materials, from properties to purposes and the Ultimaker 3D Printer Material Compatibility Guide is a great reference guide comparing the Material capability differences between Ultimaker printer models.
Unboxing and Set-up Process
This process is best described with as many pictures as possible in a step by step process and this guide will do just that. A picture is worth a thousand words and I'll take full advantage of that.
- Start by taking the Ultimaker 2 or Ultimaker 2 Extended out of the cardboard box by pulling it up by the black belt, keeping the top facing the sky. Once out of the box unclip the seatbelt looking strap giving access to the accessory box.
- This accessory box has access to a quick start guide in case this guide leaves you lost along with several smaller printer components.
- Attached to one side of the Styrofoam in a pocket is a roll of usable Ultimaker PLA Filament and in another little pocket is the first factory test piece, both can be removed.
- Now the Styrofoam packaging on either side of the printer which can be pulled off. Make sure you place your printer on a stable flat surface now that it is out of its protective packaging. Ultimaker produces robust 3D printers but will operate to the best potential by being treated nicely.
- Now gently lift-up the build platform by gripping either side of it allowing access to the packaging underneath the build plate. This packaging material under the build plate can now be removed (the bubble wrap excellent for stress relief). You will also find another factory test component inside the build, worth removing.
- And the final step of unpacking your new Ultimaker 3D printer is cutting the big red zip tie that is securing the print extruder head.
- Now in terms of installation, we should start with the spool holder in the back of the Ultimaker printer. Take the spool holder in hand and insert the top part into the hole in the back panel of the Ultimaker 2 or Ultimaker 2 Extended
- Take care to line up the lower holes and push the spool holder until it satisfyingly clips into place. Should form a sturdy solid connection to the 3D printer.
- Next step is opening the two build platform clamps at the front of the build platform pulling them towards yourself
- We will now place the glass build plate onto the build platform. This glass plate should be very flat and come unscratched. It is worth taking extra care with this component as doing so will enable the best prints possible. Gently slide the glass build plate onto the build plate and ensure that it snaps into the build platform clamps at the back. Then close the two build platform clamps at the front completely securing the glass build plate to the build platform.
- The final step of this process is installing the Power cable to the back. Start by connecting the power cable to the power adapter and plugging the power cable into the wall socket. Now connect the other side of the power supply to the Ultimaker 2 or Ultimaker 2 Extended . The flat side of the connector needs to face upwards and before you push the cable you must pull the sliding mechanism back. When installed correctly the cord will have locked into the 3D printer.
Initial Build Platform Calibration
For Ultimaker 3D printers it is crucial to have a flat and correctly calibrated build platform, making sure the build platform is parallel to the path of the printer head. By setting-up the build platform correctly it will ensure the best possible results for all 3D printed components. Ultimaker 2 and Ultimaker 2 Extended 3D printers use a manual platform calibration process that will occur on initial start-up. The first time these printers are turned on a software wizard will run which guides the user step by step through the process. This will involve correctly adjusting the build platform and the three Z-axis screws found underneath the build platform. This process will also make use of the calibration card supplied with the 3D printer. As a plane is uniquely determined by three non-collinear points this design makes for an excellent structure to get the best possible calibration for your build platform on your 3D printing machines.
As all Ultimaker 3D printers have a very similar method to calibrate the build platform so I have formed a separate guide which can be referred to at Ultimaker 3D Printer Build Platform Calibration.
Installing Filament into Ultimaker Printers
Installing filament into your Ultimaker printer will quickly become an intuitive process. Until that happens, I'll run down the process on exactly how to do it while keeping your machine safe. As all Ultimaker 3D printers have a very similar method to install filament so I have formed a separate guide which can be referred to at Loading and Unloading Filament for Ultimaker 3D Printers.
Ultimaker Cura
For fused filament fabrication to operate correctly it requires computer models that have been sliced layer by layer. There are many different types of software that will produce sliced CAD (Computer-Aided Design) files just perfect for Ultimaker 3D printers to print with and it often comes down to personal preference what software you end up using. For ease of understanding and utilisation, particularly for these printers, I recommend using the free open source 3D printing slicing application from Ultimaker called Cura. This software is great to use in conjunction with Ultimaker products as once you have decided on only a couple of parameters you will have files ready to put onto an SD card and print. Some crucial parameters to get right is nozzle size and material configuration, making sure that Cura matches the configuration on your Ultimaker 3D printer. I have created an introduction on using Cura referred to here, Ultimaker Cura Overview.
Compatibility knowledge for Ultimaker Cura Software with other file standards is seen below.
- Ultimaker Cura works with: STL, OBJ, X3D, 3MF, BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG,
- Printable Format produced by CURA: GCODE
- Plugin interactions with SolidWorks, Siemens NX, Autodesk Inventor, Fusion 360
First Print!
Everything is installed, everything is a go! Get excited as this is the last nugget of knowledge until you can release your prototypes and fully-fledged components into the world! So, let's get your 3D printer churning out parts. Information on prints is always given via SD cards to Ultimaker 2 and Ultimaker 2 Extended 3D printers. So to start a print follow through the steps below.
- Ensure that the nozzle size and material configuration in Cura match the configuration currently on your 3D printer
- Upload and slice your 3D CAD model in Cura.
- Save the print file to the SD card (this will be a G-Code file)
- Safely eject the SD card from your computer and place the SD card into the SD card reader of the Ultimaker 2 or Ultimaker 2 Extended 3D printer (located to the left of the display)
- Select the 'Print' option on the display using the LED back-lit control wheel, select your G-Code file and let the magic begin!
Once your machine has heated the build plate and the nozzle, taking less than 2 minutes, the 3D printer will jump into action. When the print is done the build platform will dropdown and start cooling. Once the platform and nozzle have cooled it will be much easier to remove your model off the build platform.
And low and behold you have done it! Definitely time for a big pat on the back and a celebration.
Documentation
See at below a ZIP file of all the Documentation (Safety, Environmental, Electrical and Warranty PDFs)
