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.

About Cura

• Cura can be found for free on Ultimaker's website: Cura Download
• 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.

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)