Rather than beef up its S7, which is just one year old, UltiMaker created something new that still looks very UltiMaker. Factor 4 has a sturdy steel and aluminum chassis, an actively heat-controlled chamber up to 70ºC,  triple-insulated build volume, a direct-drive extruder with a bigger motor, and a nozzle temperature that can reach 340ºC to enable materials, such as PPS-CF, PEKK, and Ultrafuse metal filaments.

These are not uncommon features in bench-top FDM machines, like the Stratasys F190CR or the Markforged FX10, but what UltiMaker says sets the Factor 4 apart is consistency, repeatability, and a fully integrated process from the UltiMaker Cura software and UltiMaker materials, through to the printing and print validation. Plus the Factor 4, starting at around $20,000, is less than half the price of the Stratasys and a fifth the price of the Markforged.

“It’s a clock,” says Gasperini. “What is important in light industrial environments is … a predictable process. Our stress is really to make sure that the dimensional accuracy and the amount of material that we’re extruding per second is always the same.”

Factor 4 has a 50% increase in productivity compared to the S series, says Gasperini, without going into specifics on print speed other than to say: “We are faster that Bambu [Lab] and Raise3D when it comes to dual material printing.”

This is due to the UltiMakers dual extruder that effectively prints two materials at the same time without the filament retraction of the material changers found on Bambu Lab and now also on Creality and Anycubic. Gasperini did say that faster print speed is in development for the Factor 4.

Also contributing to the predictability of the Factor 4 is new software designed to track and trace the full printing process. There’s a new suite of sensors that monitor real-time print data and material performance delivering reports after every print job to provide a level of part validation and quality control.

“The print process reporting lets the customer understand the process and make the decision to use the part or to reassess and reevaluate, and have the confidence to deploy,” says Gasperini.

Confidence in Results

Having confidence that the part you just printed will perform under stress as predicted has been a hurdle to 3D printing adoption, UltiMaker found. Skepticism still exists as to whether FDM can deliver quality; in other words, reproducibility, accuracy, and structural integrity of industrial components.

“We addressed this in the hardware level with major advancements in the direct drive print head and a very different gantry from the S series,” says Gasperini.

A noticeable change from the S series is the Factor 4’s fully integrated multi-material system, yet the machine is very modular to enable easier service. Replacement parts and consumables are swappable, including the material station, the printhead, the gantry and ventilation system, and the UI panel.

These features enable UltiMaker to guarantee higher uptime, says Gasperini. If you have replacement parts on hand, you can guarantee a level of uptime that companies and manufacturers say they require.

Engineering-Grade Materials

From the customers who purchased the UltiMaker S7 when it came out in early 2023, there has been a sizable uptick in the use of engineering-grade materials, UltiMaker says.

Customers who wanted tools, jigs, and fixture, and manufacturing aids, didn’t want to print them every day. They wanted parts in materials that could withstand higher wear and higher temperatures, up to 150 in continuous operation, says Gasperini. The newest UltiMaker materials, a   PPS-CF (polyphenylene sulfide reinforced with carbon fibers) is designed for parts that need to withstand high loads and stresses and exhibit good wear and friction resistance, plus it has flame retardancy and chemical resistance.

“So that’s why it’s not just about having carbon fiber composite material,”  says Gasperini, “We wanted to also to bring additional properties that are key and necessary for operation in harsh environments.”

The Factor 4 can print with lower Shore-value materials – softer and more flexible materials – down to 70 Shore A.

All of these materials, coupled with reliability and ease-of-use, are what UltiMaker believes a new segment of customers want.  “We’re targeting the packaging industry, machinery, automotive, transportation, and military as well,” says Gasperini.

Yet, despite the machine’s easy operation, the end-user is likely not to be a machine operator on the line, rather the person or engineer orchestrating the manufacturing process from part design to material selection to fabrication.

UltiMaker expects it will be breaking ground with the Factor 4, appealing to companies that are interested in additive manufacturing, but don’t know how to implement it in their facility.

“I think some some people just look at UltiMaker as hardware, but you get a lot more than just hardware,” says Gasperini. “ We offer a complete support … in helping our clients to use additive manufacturing and that’s where we see that we get more requests; they want to know everywhere it can be used.”

Michiel Alting von Geusau, CEO at UltiMaker echos this point:  “With our comprehensive support, we help customers navigate through the complexities of 3D printing and identify the opportunities with this technology. There is untapped potential in the light industrial market, and we believe that Factor 4 will enable customers to further explore the application possibilities in this space.”

Tech Specs

• Technology: FDM
• Build Volume: 330 x 240 x 300
• Dimensional Accuracy: within ± 0.2 mm or ± 0.2%
• Air Filtration: HEPA filter
• Materials: Available at launch: UltiMaker PPS CF and other UltiMaker-branded materials, such as PLA, Tough PLA, nylon, PETG, PET CF, and PVA, plus validated materials from BASF Forward AM, Kimya, Polymaker, LEHVOSS, Jabil, and others. Factor 4 will be compatible with materials on the UltiMaker Marketplace, with 250 pre-tuned print profiles.
• Filament Size: 2.85 mm
• Price: around $20,000

Ultimaker Factor 4

Commissions Earned Check price at

 

and