Oct 19, 2015 | By Kira
The rise of 3D printing technology owes a lot to the open-source movement, whereby the source code for software and hardware blueprints are made available to be used or modified at absolutely no cost. It’s a movement that recognizes the power of the people, of collective minds working towards diverse goals, yet all with the same intentions of technological advancement, innovation and improvement. Honouring their commitment to the open-source movement as well as their long-standing tradition of releasing the blueprints for their 3D printers six months after going to market, Ultimaker today released the open-source files for their Ultimaker 2 Go and Ultimaker 2 Extended 3D printers. Files for the Ultimaker 2, Ultimaker Original, Original + and Heated Bed Upgrade as well as their Cura software are already available on their GitHub repository completely free of cost.
“Many innovations that led to the Ultimaker 2 family were community powered, ensuring it’s not just about what we believe is important, but also what our users want to see and use,” wrote community manager Sander van Geleen in the blog post announcement. Their commitment is centred around gathering like-minded people to share ideas, effectively turning their audience into a development partner. This way, they can be absolutely certain that every single Ultimaker customer is getting exactly what they need to bring their creations to life. “Ultimaker is committed to sharing new designs, functions and updates with our customers to give them the freedom to 3D print to the best of their ability,” said Siert wijnia, founder of Ultimaker, in a press release. “Being open source enables quick iterations and innovation which pushes the boundaries of the impossible every time.”
Clearly, the philosophy has done the Dutch-founded company well—the Ultimaker 2 was rated the most wanted 3D printer in 3D Hubs’ January 2-15 report, and they’ve become a leading 3D printer manufacturer in Europe, and one of the most successful and reliable open source 3D printing companies in the world. “The DNA of each of these industry-leading 3D printers is a testament to the innovative energy that went into creating them. To everyone who has ever contributed to any of our printers, there is a little piece of you inside each of them,” added van Geleen. “With these files available to the world, who knows where it will take us—but that’s the excitement of open source, it’s an adventure we can take together.”
The Ultimaker 2 Go ‘mighty mini 3D printer’ costs €1,195 on the Ultimaker website, and its free blueprints are available via GitHub here. The Ultimaker 2 Extended large-format 3D printer costs €2,495 and its blueprints can be found here.
From encouraging independent makers to learn coding and programming at home, to ensuring accessibility regardless of economic limitations, to providing a high rate of return on investment within the scientific community, open source 3D printing is one of the most important aspects of the industry. With contributors from around the world, with diverse talents, unique perspectives and ideas just waiting to be brought to life, the 3D printing world has the potential to break technological boundaries one open-source file at a time.
Posted in 3D Printer
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