This week in Dallas, Tx, the annual Rapid convention is taking place and Ultimaker is using this industrial 3D printing event to announce a new printer along with new partnerships with some of the worlds leading plastics manufacturers.
Their new printer, the Ultimaker S5, is a larger and updated take on their popular line of 3D printers. Ultimaker is targeting professional with the S5 promising better repeatability due to it’s integration of hardware, software, and materials all designed to work together. The S5 features a full color touchscreen controller, something new for Ultimaker. A filament run-out sensor has been added to the S5 to help with greater reliability and a built in camera will help you monitor your prints as they go. The front of the printer features double glass doors to reduce drafts across the part as it prints. Of course the most noticeable feature will be the size of this machine, it has a 330x240x300mm build volume, a nice increase from the 215x215x300mm of the Ultimaker 3. While you can still clearly identify the S5 as an Ultimaker printer, I think this new model shows significant improvements and work from Ultimaker.
To go along with this new printer, Ultimaker has also announced new partnerships with industry leading materials manufacturers DSM, BASF, DuPont Transportation & Advanced Polymers, Owens Corning, Mitsubishi, Henkel, Kuraray, Solvay and Clarian to bring the highest quality 3D printing materials to their machines. While we have a tendency to concentrate on machines, the relationship between 3D printers and their materials is very symbiotic. To achieve the best prints, both the material and machine have to work well together. This partnership will help ensure that Ultimaker continues to not only have great materials for their machines but also can work with these industry leaders to create new materials to fit their users needs.
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