Ultimaker Announces the Ultimaker Original+ 3D Printer & Heated Bed Upgrade Kit

It was only last week that Ultimaker took the plunge, jumped in the pond, and swam across. That pond of course is known by many as the Atlantic Ocean, and when Ultimaker jumped in, they did so with the support of many people here in the US. On September 16, they officially announced that they would be bringing their company across the Atlantic Ocean, all the way from the Netherlands to begin shipping their popular 3D printers from locations here in the United States.

After being the most popular 3D printer in Europe for a few years, the jump to the United States should come as no surprise, and may make a few of the larger American 3D printer companies a bit nervous. They produce quality 3D printers, and that is the reason why they have become so popular. Today, Ultimaker informed 3DPrint.com of even more good news.

The company has officially announced that they have released a Heated Bed upgrade kit for current Ultimaker Original 3D printer. The Ultimaker Original has been priced at €995, and for this price, it is one heck of a printer.

The Heated Bed upgrade kit can be purchased for €245, and it comes with the heated print bed(obviously), a glass plate, a new Z-stage, a power supply and an additional electronics board to connect it all together. It will now allow owners of the Ultimaker Original to print in a larger variety of materials, as well as help prevent printed objects from curling up and warping. With this Heated Bed option the Ultimaker Original will now be able to print with PLA, XT, ABS, Nylon and other PLA-based materials. The new Z-stage will work in such a way that it will retain its calibration for virtually an indefinite amount of time.

This isn’t all the news though, from Ultimaker. Also at the 5th Annual Maker Faire in New York, they will be announcing the release of the Ultimaker Original+ 3D printer. The Original+ is basically the Ultimaker Original on steroids. It features new electronics for better temperature control, a heated print bed, and an additional fan shroud. It is pretty much the Ultimaker Original with the Heated Bed upgrade, but it already comes with this upgrade built into the printer. This new Ultimaker Original+ is priced at €1195.

“When we first started with the Ultimaker Original, we never imagined Ultimaker becoming this big,” explained Ultimaker’s CEO Siert Wijnia. “Together with our community we have been able to grow, and we owe it to ourselves and them to keep supporting them. These upgrades allow even our first users to evolve with us and keep their Ultimaker up to date.”

In addition to this great news, Ultimaker is also bundling Doodle3D and UltiController into their Ultimaker Original and Ultimaker Original+ 3D printer packages, free of charge, until October 26, 2014.

What do you think? Will you consider purchasing the new Ultimaker Original+ 3D printer package? Discuss in the Ultimaker Original+ forum thread on 3DPB.com.