UltiMaker Reflects on a Year of Innovation and Growth
Bennie Sham
1월 18, 2024
2023 was a year to behold for UltiMaker, completing the first full year of the new company following the merger of MakerBot and Ultimaker. With a focus on 3D printing innovation and a commitment to excellence, UltiMaker launched several new products, transformed both UltiMaker and MakerBot brands, made significant enhancements to Cura and Thingiverse, introduced a new CEO to lead us into battle, and much more. As we anticipate another exciting year, let’s take a moment to celebrate some of our notable achievements.
New Products for Professionals and Engineers
We entered 2023 with the release of the UltiMaker S7, the new flagship S series 3D printer. The UltiMaker S7 3D printer builds on the award-winning S series, with new features including an integrated Air Manager and a flexible build plate to provide customers with a new level of 3D printing success.
But we didn’t stop there. On the heels of the UltiMaker S7, we unveiled the UltiMaker Method XL, our largest printer yet. With a spacious 305 mm x 305 mm x 320 mm build volume and a dimensional accuracy of ± 0.2 mm, Method XL enables customers to tackle ambitious projects—from prototyping to end-use parts. Method XL includes a heated chamber and heated build plate designed to create a stable environment for printing ABS parts with accuracy and precision.
Taking Software Up a Notch
UltiMaker Cura, the world's most popular slicing software, saw four new versions in 2023, along with a few smaller releases. With those releases came a huge number of new features, including the highly anticipated support for Method X and Method XL 3D printers on Cura and speed improvements for the S series with UltiMaker materials.
Additional new Cura enhancements include settings for interlocking structure generation for dual extrusion, tree supports, MSI and PKG with support for M1 Macs, smart brim and skirt height settings for easier removal, improved ZSeams and support, improved Cura Enterprise with a native CAD plug-in, the ability to set up Cura sponsorships on GitHub, and more.
Download the latest version of Cura to try them out.
Composite Materials for High-Performing Parts
Contributing to an incredible year for new product releases, we also launched two new high-performance composite materials this year: The easy-to-use PET CF on the S series and the RapidRinse compatible ABS-CF on the Method series. Both materials offer incredible performance characteristics that helped to unlock powerful new applications for their respective printers
Reinvigorating Thingiverse
It took time but we’ve spent the past year+ making significant improvements to Thingiverse, enhancing its features, functions, and usability. Thingiverse saw a redesign for the Thing and Make Pages, as well as the Home and Search Pages, making them more intuitive and user-friendly. The past year also saw improvements to the login, download analytics, and search features. With the Customizer tool fixed and more Tip options available, users can experience a more personalized Thingiverse.
And finally, we brought MakerBot Education to the global stage with the MakerBot Sketch series and the full gamut of 3D printing resources, training, curriculum development programs, project guides, software, and more. The MakerBot Sketch ecosystem is the most comprehensive solution for 3D printing education on the market, providing thousands of educators with tools and resources to support 3D printing in their classroom.
