Ultimaker has announced its latest 3D printer, the S6, which has been described as an updated version of the existing S5 with higher productivity but mostly appears to be a cut down version of the S8, which itself was only announced a few months ago.
This confusion stems from the launch of the S7 at the beginning of 2023, which was created on the chassis of the basic desktop printer, the S5. In contrast the S7 gained a new airflow system on top of the printer to enable it to handle a broader range of materials, taking it into new application areas, alongside some other improvements.
Earlier this year, Ultimaker added a new electronics system to update the S7 design to the new S8. This electronics system allowed for a new Cheetah motion planner, which optimizes all the movements to enable up to 4x faster print times. This has resulted in print speeds of up to 500 mm/s and 50,000 mm/s² acceleration.
Now Ultimaker has introduced a new printer, the S6, which uses the S5 chassis, meaning without the airflow management, but does include the Cheetah motion planner. Consequently, Ultimaker is quoting the same print speeds and productivity improvement as for the S8. However, it’s not clear whether or not the S6 has the same electronics platform as the S8, which would be needed to make the most out of the Cheetah motion planner. The new S6 also gains many of the improvements introduced with the S7, though most of these are still optional extras.
All the S-series printers use the Fused Deposition Modelling approach, or FDM, meaning that it heats and then extrudes plastic filaments to create objects. This technique is also known as FFF or Fused Filament Fabrication. These printers all take 2.85 mm filaments. Ultimaker lists 301 different materials, including PLA, ABS and PETG, as well as Nylon and TPU 95A. However, not all the S-series printers can handle the full range, though the S8 can use them all, as can the S6, providing that it’s fully configured with all the different options.
The new S6 has the same sized build chamber as the S5, S7 and S8 models at 330 x 240 x 300 mm, and the build chamber is also partly enclosed and passively heated. Naturally it uses the Bowden dual extrusion head system common to most of the S-series, which allows two materials to be combined together for each part produced. The print nozzles can be changed to vary the thickness of the layers that it produces. The print cores can be swapped according to the flow rate of the filament being printed. There are new AA+ and CC+ print cores, first introduced with the S8, which allow for 2.5x more flow and also help regulate the pressure in the print head for cleaner prints. The S6 also includes the same dual-geared feeder as the S8, which is reinforced for composite materials.
The standard S6 has the same glass build plate as the S5, which is suitable for medical or food-packaging prints where enhanced hygiene is essential. There is an option to change this to the more flexible steel plate that was first introduced with the S7 for a broader range of applications. The build plate has an active leveling system. It takes around two minutes for the nozzles to heat up and about five minutes for the build plate to warm up.
There’s also an optional Air Manager system for enhanced filtration and airflow. This is the major advance of the S7/ S8 machines as it increases the range of materials that can be printed, and affects the properties of those materials. Another option is the Material Station, which was first introduced with the S7, which holds up to six spools of different filaments and manages automatic changeovers between spools.
The S6 has a 4.7ins touchscreen and comes with Ultimaker’s Cura software for preparing files for print and Digital Factory software for managing the printer itself. It will run under MacOS, Windows and Linux, and works with SolidWorks, Siemens NX and Autodesk Inventor.
Ultimaker says that the new S6 was designed specifically for engineers, manufacturing teams, and maintenance crews to support production, functional prototyping, and on-demand repairs.
Andy Middleton, UltiMaker SVP EMEA & Global Marketing, commented: “This launch is about delivering exceptional value to customers at a time when businesses are under pressure to do more with less. With the S6, UltiMaker reaffirms its mission to make professional 3D printing more accessible, adaptable, and future-ready than ever before.”
The S6 is manufactured at UltiMaker’s facilities in the Netherlands and comes with an extended 24-month warranty. It’s backwards compatible with the older S5 model, with material stations, air managers, print cores, and materials all interchangeable across the entire S series. The standard S6 with the glass build plate is currently listed at US$ 5999. It’s also worth noting that Ultimaker has dropped the price of the S5 from US$ 6950 to US$ 4999, while the S8 costs US$ 7999. More details on ultimaker.com.
First published on https://www.nessancleary.co.uk/
