My thoughts on UP! Plus Personal 3D Printer

Recently I got a chance to see UP! Plus 3D Printer, find below my person review of this printer. Please note I have used it personally but just seen it working and had brief chat with the seller.

UP! Plus 3D Perinter Vs RepRap Huxley (my personal printer, using it since last 3 months)

+Ve
- Nice looking sturdy desktop 3D Printer
- Noise level is quite low compare to my Huxley
- Have fixed X axis at the top, Build platform is moving in Y and Z direction. In Huxley that I have build platform is moving only in Y direction (Back and forth), the extruder head is moving in X and Z direction - so what?
>> In UP! setting the extruder head height (or say a gap between head and platform) is quite easy, as platform is moving up and down and head is fixed. In Huxley we have to set the gap between head and platform, by adjusting the height of Z motor end-stop switch that requires use of screw driver. I do it every time I take my printer out of the box for printing (due young kids at home cannot keep it out all the time, also I find time to use it over the weekend only). I find this task quite annoying, though there are few enhancements available on thingiverse.com that make this job easy - but yet to try that. This setting is very important for print quality, so can’t be ignored.
- The software provided with UP! is easy to use compare to Skeinforge, though I found it wasn't great but definitely have small learning curve compare to Prontoface + Skeinforge

-Ve
- Big drawback is Price UP! will cost you £1500 Vs £411 for RepRapPro Huxley. Though the UP! will be ready to use in 30 minutes once you open the box, while Huxley kit could take anywhere from 2-5 days to build depending on your DIY skills. In Master class I attended at Bath, only 2 guys managed to build the printer in 2.5 days out of 15-18 people group.
- All other technical specs like Resolution, Build Size etc. looks same as Huxley - in that case is it worth to pay 4x cost for this printer, well decide for yourself.

In my opinion it is definitely easy to use, less maintenance, sturdy compare to Huxley but too costly.

For UP!
[pp3dp.com]
[www.coolcomponents.co.uk]

RepRapPro Huxley
[reprappro.com]

What changes the height when you put it in a box and take it out again? Stability seems to be the main issue.

I can't see why moving the table up and down instead of the head makes it easier to set the distance between the two? Either way you need a way of setting it accurately. I find using a top endstop and making the adjustment in firmware easier than adjusting the endstop itself. [hydraraptor.blogspot.co.uk]

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

nophed you might be right on box and stability thing.

In UP!, to adjust the distance between head and bed, we need to is fire a command to move bed by 139mm on Z from current position of Z=0. Assume we want a gap of 1mm between head and bed at the start of the print.

I am a teacher in Australia and I have just purchased a UP! I would not recommend this printer to anyone interested in using this technology.

Firstly the printer came with the incorrect power cable (European instead of Australian). Secondly it was faulty. The motor in the printer was creating a loud clicking noise and malfunctioning.

I called 3D Printing systems here in Australia and they informed me that I had to send it to a technician via courier at my own expense. They refused to replace it even though it was brand new. I spoke to the owner of the company (Bruce) he was unhelpful and did not resolve the issue in the slightest. He did not care that the product was faulty and was just happy to take the our money and offer no after sales service or even fulfil the warranty terms.

So now they have offered to refurbish the product, who knows how long it will take and what second hand crap parts they are using.

Bad service, poor product and useless warranty. I would strongly recommend everyone to stay away from 3D Printing Systems and the UP! Printer.

'been using an Up! Plus for the last few months, for professional use, several hours a day. I also own a Mendel, which is for personal use, and an occasional backup for professional jobs, and runs somewhat less time. I use both, both with PLA, and I like both.

The Up! is a workhorse. Yes, it is expensive, and the build volume is on the small side. However, I can decide that I print, and I print, no fuss, no guesswork on parameters. The software is fast, lean and simple. The print quality is more than decent, the support detaches well, which makes it very tolerant in terms of part alignment. Parts detaching from the bed are rare, virtually none. It has been running for months, for hours every day, without as much as the need for a replacement beyond the filament. Never cleaned the nozzle, never cleaned the filament drive. The occasional recalibration every few weeks. This is what I need from a professional worktool.

The Mendel is elegant. I can experiment with materials, and tweak the machine itself. I can set it up in configurations that would be unviable in a commercial printer. It can be optimised to extreme levels, achieving speeds the Up! can't even think about. The build volume is massive.

Which do I prefer? Both. At work, I am buying a second and, maybe, a third Up. At home, I a designing a new self-built unit.