Ultimaker S5

Overview

The Ultimaker S5 is a high-end FDM (fused deposition modeling) 3D printer with dual extruders.

Fusion Deposition Modeling works by placing layers of melted material in a certain path over and over. Soon after the material is placed down, it hardens, allowing the next layer to be placed and stick on top. The path is determined by slicing an object and splitting it up into predetermined sized layers based on a setting in the editing software.

The Ultimaker's base software for creating images to be printed is Cura.

As we only have one printer, the Ultimaker is run in a first-come-first-serve basis. This means that there is no queue to get in line for having your print started. The only way to ensure that you get your print done is to be at the printer when another print finishes and start your print then. The best we can do to help you if you talk to one of the managers is if they know how to work the printer they can start your print at the end of the current one if they would still be present. This is not a guarantee. Managers reserve the right to restart or cancel prints if they look misconfigured (like forgetting support) or is failing. If a print is failing because it needs support and wasn't set properly, we will cancel it and not be able to restart it because the ultimaker needs an updated Gcode file which we cannot create without knowing the specifics of your print.

Training

You can complete the training for the ultimaker on the canvas course under modules and Ultimaker or here

Trained Managers

The managers that have adopted this tool and can help you with using. Keep in mind these are not the only managers that know how to use this tool, feel free to ask any. Full list of adopted tools can be found here here.

Manager

Running a print

These are the very simple steps to be able to print on the Ultimaker after completing the training on elms.

1. Having an idea for a print
2. Create a 3D design of your idea using CAD software such as Fusion 360, SolidWorks, or even TinkerCAD.
3. Using Cura to create a gcode file out of an STL or other applicable file (See Cura flow for more information)
4. Make sure if you need support you used it!
5. After saving the gcode to a USB, plug in USB into the Ultimaker
6. Change out the material as needed
7. Using the touchscreen menu on the Ultimaker go to Print and find your print
8. Make sure you have enough material left in the current spool to finish your print
9. Click on your print to start it
10. Hang around the sandbox at least until the first layer is done to make sure your print doesn't fail (Most of prints fail within the first layer)
    • If your print fails then take it off and reprint it. If this continues to happen then ask a manager for help or try another print (Please don't waste materials failing the same print over and over)
11. Come back whenever your print is done and find it in the Prototype Room and enjoy!

About Cura

• Cura can be found for free on Ultimaker's website: Cura Download
• More Cura Help
• Cura allows 3D file formats: 3MF, OBJ, STL or 2D file formats: bmp, gif, jpg, png.
• You can download Cura and prepare a print on you own computer and load it onto a flash drive for the Ultimaker
• Possible ways of getting objects to print:
  • Finding and downloaded STL files from Thingiverse
  • Create your own CAD files using a program like Solidworks, Siemens NX, Autodesk, or anything that will create the accepted file formats.

Choosing a Material

Each material that can be printed with have certain characteristics that allow them to be more desired than others in certain situations. Examples of qualities would be strength against breaking, temperature resistance, quality, ease, flexibility, and many more.

The Ultimaker S5 nozzle can reach temperatures up to 280 degrees Celsius and the heated bed can reach temperatures up to 140 degrees Celsius. Materials must have a melting point under 280 degrees Celsius.

For a list of Ultimaker approved materials you can visit their website

Source: 3DHubs.com & simplify3D.com

Material Type	Advantages	Disadvantages
PLA (Polyactic Acid)	Doesn't contract much when cooling Low Cost Stiff/Good strength Good Shelf life Pleasant smell when printing Biodegradable and from a sustainable process (Environmentally friendly)	Degrades from humidity in ambient air Low Heat resistance Filament can be brittle and break Not suitable for outdoors (sun exposure) Not suitable for food storage (especially hot)
ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene)	Low cost Good impact and wear resistence Less oozing during printing, smoother finish Good heat resistance Durability and heat resistance makes good use for engineering parts	Very easily warped Needs heated bed or heated chamber Pungent odor while printing (Use in a ventilated area) Prints tend to shrink leading to dimensional inaccuracy
Nylon (Polyamide)	Tough and partially flexible Impact/Abrasion Resistant No unpleasant odor while printing Low friction coefficient and high melting temperature	Prone to warping Needs to be kept airtight or water absorption problems will occur Not suitable for humid environments
PETG (Polyethylene Terephthalate, Glycol Modified)	Glossy and smooth finish Adheres well to bed with negligible warping Mostly odorless printing Water resistant Good impact resistance	Can print out string-like and thin hairs Prone to wear
TPU (Flexible)	Flexible Long Shelf life Impact and Vibration Resistant	Difficult to print Poor bridging without support High chance of blobbing and stringing Doesn't work as well on Bowden extruders (Like Ultimaker)

Different Nozzles

BE CAREFUL! If the printer was recently used, the nozzle will be VERY hot.

The nozzles for an ultimaker come if a few different sizes: 0.25mm, 0.40mm, 0.60mm, and 0.80mm. The different sizes will effect the properties of your print. A higher nozzle will allow you to print with a higher layer thickness and in turn could make your print go faster. a general guideline is you can print with a layer thickness up to around 50%-75% of the nozzle size. But this also means the higher nozzle size will mean less quality prints, so it is a trade-off. Also, the more filament being printed will also make your print more durable.

There are also a few different types of nozzles for the ultimaker. The difference between the nozzles is the internal geometry of how the filament is extruded. The AA core is the basic core used for most materials, however the BB core is the only one capable of printing PVA. You should NOT try and print PVA on an AA core or it will clog and possibly ruin the nozzle! You can technically print anything on a BB nozzle, but you would need to override Cura saying you shouldn't. With this said, you still might find some problems with things like printing PLA on a BB; you might find quite a bit of oozing. In general, if you are printing anything but PVA, you can use the AA nozzle.

Changing the Nozzle

Sometimes the nozzle might get clogged. This might present itself by the nozzle no longer extruding anything. If you feel this might be what is wrong with the printer and don't feel comfortable checking yourself, you can let a manager know. If you want to take a quick look inside, you can remove the front side of the nozzle (where the fan is) by tugging slightly on the top of the fan and drag down.

Be sure that the nozzles are not very warm before proceeding. If you are completely comfortable, you can take the nozzle out by pressing down on the acrylic tab, this will let you pull out the nozzle. You can then inspect the nozzle further. You can try and see if there is any inside blockage by taking something small like a paper clip and slowly see if it is clear. You can then reinsert a new nozzle (or different size) the same way it came out.

Manuals

For more general information you can visit their learn page

For help getting started with an Ultimaker you can visit here