The UP BOX Review

[iDig3DPrinting]

So the UP BOX is coming out in February 2015, it is currently available for pre-order and we are selling it at the moment (see The UP BOX ). So w have started this thread to get peoples review of this printer. People will be buying it and we would like to know peoples experience of using it.

Has anybody seen one, we got to see one in action at the TCT show at the NEC in Birmingham, UK, last September. We were quite impressed buy it then.

So If you come across this thread then please leave a review of your experiences with the UP BOX.

[Dave Everett]

I have one. I bought it about 4 months ago from the first run of these printers.

In general it is a great printer with great software, however... I have had many major issues and currently my printer is in for major repair after only a few months of operation. Contrast that with my Up Mini which I have had for a year and is still going strong.

Up have decided to make the filament bay only suit their 500g rolls, however you can run a larger roll outside if you build a stand. The bay is sealed so you don't lose any heat by doing this. Given the size of the bed I have printed several items that needed more than 500g of plastic so the limitation is a major issue in my opinion.

My first issue was with a bushing that popped out of the head, the solution was to push it back in but I don't think that should have been necessary.

2nd was software. While the software works great, the new feature of being able to run all your printers from the one window does not yet work properly and I often get error messages that make no sense. This is being rectified.

3rd, I noticed the printer started to make a lot of noise. My mini and Taz are very quiet so Up's claim about low noise got up my nose as the thing was really making a racket. Also fast and turbo print modes make the whole machine shake, including the bed. I had not notice quality issues but this is not suitable for any printer.

4th, I began to get offsets in my prints in the front to back axis. This was in an unpredictable pattern and one of the reasons my machine had to be picked up for repair.

5th. The auto calibration (which works great), failed. What seems to have happened is the microswitch broke off, this meant calibrating caused the servo head to crash into the build platform, which caused the servo bracket to snap.

I removed the servo and switch and found the servo cables had almost chaffed through as had the microswitch wires.

[iDig3DPrinting]

Thanks for the review.

Can we ask from whom did you get you UP Box? and where are you based?

We are still waiting on the first deliveries which are expected next month, it's still only currently available for pre-order.

[Dave Everett]

Thanks for the review.

Can we ask from whom did you get you UP Box? and where are you based?

We are still waiting on the first deliveries which are expected next month, it's still only currently available for pre-order.

Yes I got it from 3d Printing Systems in Australia were I am based. I looked up my records and bought it on the 10th of April.

An update on my problems, they are shipping me a new unit tomorrow to replace mine. I realize the BOX is completely new and UP generally have their customers do the shakedown, rather than do so themselves. I assume my problems will be addressed in the next batch made. Hopefully your order will have mods to avoid the issues I faced.

Dave

[iDig3DPrinting]

Well, UP/PP3DP/Tiertime have quite a good reputation to keep up so one would hope that they will make every effort. Its good that they are sending you out a new printer. Please keep us informed of your progress.

[RADS]

Hi there

Any updates on your new set? Any other issues thereafter?
Am planning to get one and any advice is helpful...


Thanks.

[canuckmark]

Hello...

My apologies as this is my first post here, but I came across this on a google search and had to chime in.

I have the sister machine to this one made by Afinia, the H800. Got it last week and immediately had the problem mentioned above with layer shifting front to back. Since someone else on the planet had the same problem as me I thought it would be good to let people know what the problem and fix is.

Afinia could not explain it - not faulting them, but they want me to ship it back at my cost (nearly $150USD from Canada).

The problem is the center pulley at the back "axle" which belts to the stepper motor. It is only pressed/glued to the axle and it slips both in rotation and from side to side. You'll find simple prints will be fine, but any layers that command abrupt movements will jar and rotate the pulley slightly on the shaft, misaligning that layer slightly. It gets worse after some printing, likely because the soft metal of the pulley expands due to the heat in the cabinet and the shaft does not.

Also the motor is mounted slightly non-parallel to the shaft, so the belt rides to the left pushing on the pulley. This pushed the pulley itself to the left about 2-3mm which causes the belt to scuff against the metal cabinet.

The fix (so far) is to carefully align the pulley to the right, then a bead of JB Weld to the ends at the shaft. The correct fix would be set screws in the pulley but the JB fix doesn't require disassembly of the cabinet. I am sure Afinia's warranty would have fixed that, but I chose to repair it myself mostly due to the shipping and down time.

This issue aside, I would highly recommend this printer (the Afinia or the Up!).

- So far it has proven to far outperform the MB 2x (at nearly a grand more in cost) for quality and accuracy. Print sizes are very accurate, the test print was only out be .1mm or so.

- The extruder assembly is mounted magnetically, so if you need to do a cleaning it is very easy to remove and do at the bench.

- Print temp is pretty hot, so lower temp filaments like the Makerbot stuff get pretty shiny and soft with very stubborn raft removal. Hopefully there will be a temperature mod possible like I did on my H479 to reduce the extruder temp.

[Dave Everett]

I can say, I have had no issues with my replacement Up BOX printer. It works as it should and I rarely calibrate it now.

The software still needs upgrading as there are several serious issues to resolve. One being the need to initialize a printer before you can run a preview to work out how long a print will take.

Also there is now an error in the time calculation. On preview I might get 4hr, but on print it will say 5hr 40mins.

I just keep expecting more

At the end of the day, I can't see myself buying anything other than Up for a long time to come.

Dave

[iDig3DPrinting]

I can say, I have had no issues with my replacement Up BOX printer. It works as it should and I rarely calibrate it now.

The software still needs upgrading as there are several serious issues to resolve. One being the need to initialize a printer before you can run a preview to work out how long a print will take.

Also there is now an error in the time calculation. On preview I might get 4hr, but on print it will say 5hr 40mins.

I just keep expecting more

At the end of the day, I can't see myself buying anything other than Up for a long time to come.

Dave

SO would you say that the physical issues that you previously encountered with the UPBOX have now been resolved?

[canuckmark]

A few more points I've found on this printer:

The fans are fairly noisy. The HEPA filter is simply a blower fan mounted to the inside wall with a filter and cap installed. There is minimal if any odour with or without it running, so I will be trying it for a while disconnected.

The fan on the extruder is also noisy (as these things tend to be). Being a 40mm fan and high RPM are likely the reasons. I printed a 40 to 50mm adapter plate and installed a 50mm fan with roughly the same airflow that is barely audible. Between that and the disconnect of the HEPA fan, this thing is nearly silent when not printing and just the general motor noises when printing.

Dave, have you used any filaments other than the Afinia premium (aka the roll it comes with)? I tend to buy it anyway but there are some colours they don't sell, so I used other brands but they tend to command lower temperatures. I was just wondering if you had any success with other brand filaments.

[car3less]

I bought my Up Box in July 2015.
Since then the only thing I've done was to repair it. Constantly. Every time I had to print something it failed.

There were problems with the oiginal nozzle assembly which was poor quality and easily broke when replacing the nozzle, bad wire connections, stepper motors overheating, nozzle overheating and stopped extruding in the middle of the print and the list can go on and on. Now the x axis has a problem.

Tiertime were very responsive and offered support by e-mail, but the printer is a nightmare compared to previous Up Plus 2 which I really liked.
No one offered to replace it until now.

I don't regret the 2000 euros I paid as much as I regret all the time, materials and repairments I lost on it.

[Dave Everett]

That's bad news. I bought mine in April 2015 and had problems but this is likely because mine was one of the first made. In the end I told my supplier to pick it up and send me a replacement which they did. I haven't had a hint of a problem since and pump out perfect prints.

I would recommend you demand a replacement now while its still in warranty.

Dave Everett

[Dave Everett]

A few more points I've found on this printer:

The fans are fairly noisy. The HEPA filter is simply a blower fan mounted to the inside wall with a filter and cap installed. There is minimal if any odour with or without it running, so I will be trying it for a while disconnected.

The fan on the extruder is also noisy (as these things tend to be). Being a 40mm fan and high RPM are likely the reasons. I printed a 40 to 50mm adapter plate and installed a 50mm fan with roughly the same airflow that is barely audible. Between that and the disconnect of the HEPA fan, this thing is nearly silent when not printing and just the general motor noises when printing.

Dave, have you used any filaments other than the Afinia premium (aka the roll it comes with)? I tend to buy it anyway but there are some colours they don't sell, so I used other brands but they tend to command lower temperatures. I was just wondering if you had any success with other brand filaments.

I don't use the branded filament as it's way too expensive. It is superior quality to any filament I've tried but the price makes it unviable (about 4 times the cost of the filament I use now). It also only comes in a 500gm roll, and some of my prints have been up to 700gm. I currently use a filament from a local supplier Bilby3D or from another local supplier Blueprinted. I've tried filament off ebay and from other suppliers and been unhappy with it.

I would prefer a filament without dye. Coloured filament means you have less plastic, and for stronger colours a lot less plastic in ratio. Dye tends to become sticky and make it harder to remove raft and support. I was able for a time to get natural ABS filament which worked great, I also tried clear with some success but it's hard to gauge the quality of a finished part in clear. Currently I use white which has only a small amount of dye and when printed fine, the raft and support come away with my fingernail.

[yogev]

Use replacment filament

Hi all , i am trying to use replacment pla filament with my upbox , but every time there is problem with the replacment filament , its stucks not in the beginning but after 30 min to 2 or 3 hours of working ... this is 1.75 filament . with the original filament very thing is ok . dose anyone have the same problem ? thanks .

[yogev]

I don't use the branded filament as it's way too expensive. It is superior quality to any filament I've tried but the price makes it unviable (about 4 times the cost of the filament I use now). It also only comes in a 500gm roll, and some of my prints have been up to 700gm. I currently use a filament from a local supplier Bilby3D or from another local supplier Blueprinted. I've tried filament off ebay and from other suppliers and been unhappy with it.

I would prefer a filament without dye. Coloured filament means you have less plastic, and for stronger colours a lot less plastic in ratio. Dye tends to become sticky and make it harder to remove raft and support. I was able for a time to get natural ABS filament which worked great, I also tried clear with some success but it's hard to gauge the quality of a finished part in clear. Currently I use white which has only a small amount of dye and when printed fine, the raft and support come away with my fingernail.

Hi did you had any problems with PLA from Bilby3D ? (upbox printer)

[3dtech]

thanks for this information.

[car3less]

Update - In February, Tiertime sent me a new 3D printer to replace the one that was not working and it looked and acted like a totally different printer. Quality of prints in all these months has been very good.