Keeping Up! Up

After a series of incremental hardware upgrades, PP3DP recognizes their existing customers might be feeling left out. Therefore they've announced an upgrade kit for older PP3DP owners. Had they not done this, owners of older PP3DPs would eventually have had to re-purchase a new model to get the improved features. What's in the upgrade? Much: 

 

• New motherboard with integrated stepper drivers
• Upgraded CPU board
• New front panel
• SD card
• Upgraded connectors

 

There's also a few pieces they provide by download - and then you simply print them yourself for installation. 

 

How much for this comprehensive set of improvements? An astonishingly low USD$100! How can they provide all this for that low cost? This is how:

 

To buy the upgrade kit, UPers should firstly send back to us their old motherboard, CPU board, 4 stepper drivers & SD card, and cover the cost of shipping back. Please make sure contact us before sending back the old parts back to us. 

 

That's how. You must take apart your machine and return the key elements to PP3DP, during which, no doubt, your machine will be down. You can buy some of these parts individually, but according to PP3DP's online store the price is prohibitive. 

 

Neverthless, this is an interesting way to bring your customer base up to date. Other manufacturers, such as MakerBot, take a different route by offering repeated smaller upgrades continuously. Machine owners in all cases have to decide whether to update their machines by purchasing upgrades or keep them at running at the same level of capability.

 

Via PP3DP and PP3DP

Up! Is Up!Graded!

The busy technical folks at PP3DP have just released an upgraded Up! 3D printer. The popular personal 3D printer is one of the favorites for home users due to its ease of use and very high-quality output. But what's new on the upgraded machine? 

 

They've changed quite a few things, but these caught our eye:

 

• They've made changes to the CPU board that apparently speeds things up. No word on how much, however
• The LED light now shows printer status. We feel any feedback is a very important end-user feature since prints usually take so long people really want to know what's going on
• An initialize switch can reset the printer and a long-awaited power on/off switch appears at the back
• A new cover protects you from the hot extruder

 

Many of the new innovations are specifically designed to make life easier and safer for the printer operator. The Up! has a good reputation for easy-to-use software, and now the hardware is catching up. This is a trend we're seeing from most of the personal 3D printer manufacturers - make your device easy to use and you might sell a lot more of them.

 

Via PP3DP

Up!'s Platform Suit

PP3DP has introduced a possible solution to the scourge of all home 3D printer operators: ABS warping. 

 

As most 3D printer operators discover (usually catastrophically) certain shapes and sizes of ABS plastic prints tend to curl as the print proceeds. Usually thin edges are the worst. This problem actually severely limits the size of ABS prints on some types of 3D printers. Thus a solution is something everyone needs. 

 

What has PP3DP done? For their popular Up! personal 3D printer they've added a new perfboard build platform feature as part of their new "Platform Suit". Essentially it is a (presumably) disposable perforated board the fits on top of the normal build platform. The idea, as PP3DP says, is this: 

 

When printing starts, plastic will have more chance to be pushed into all perforations, and this provides a stronger mechanical bond with the bottom surface that prevents it from later lifting.

 

Exactly! But we have one question: How difficult will it be to remove prints from the perfboard? 

Note: This item is actually on sale at PP3DP until the end of October. Get it now! 

Via PP3DP

New Up! 3D Printer Software Released

PP3DP has released a new version of their very capable driver software for their flagship Up! personal 3D Printerm, version 1.14 for Windows and version 1.1. for Mac. We've always admired the terrific features and simplicity offered by PP3DP's software, but there are several new features in this release we'd like to see in other vendor's software:

 

• Added controls for "Extrude" and "Withdraw" during paused printing. This means it's easy to actually change filament (and therefore colors) during print operations. 
• Energy is saved with a feature that turns off extruder pre-heating if the machine has been idle for over 15 minutes.
• A diagnostic function is added that can attempt to figure out what's wrong with your Up! printer.
• 3D models of Up! spare parts have been added to the included 3D model library, making it easier to repair your machine. 
• Available on Windows and Mac.

 

Could PP3DP's software be in the lead after this latest release? 

 

Via PP3DP

Up! Gets A Stepper

PP3DP, makers of the popular Up! personal 3D printer announced they're upgrading their filament feeder in a significant way. Their original feeder involved a DC motor and mechanical switch, which limits the accuracy of prints as the DC motor takes a while to start up and spin down when electricity is applied. This means you're not extruding immediately when you start printing and you don't stop extruding when you should stop. The quality of the print suffers slightly because of this. 

 

However, the new version of the feeder will include not only a stepper motor to replace the DC motor, but also a micro switch. This should significantly improve the quality of prints. 

 

Most of the personal 3D printer makers have now switched from DC to stepper motors for extrusion, and all have had terrific improvements in quality. We'd say this is now pretty much a standard if you want to sell a 3D printer. 

 

Via PP3DP

PP3DP Updates 3D Printer Software

A new release of their 3D printing driver software (for Up! personal 3D printers) was released by PP3DP. Version 1.13 seems to have no major changes but does include some interesting tuneups that should make life a little easier for the Up! owners: 

 

• The initial print sequence includes a "two line" extrusion (shown in the image above) to ensure the plastic is properly flowing before the real printing gets going. 
• A "stop" button has been added. We're always a lot more comfortable when there's a stop button handy when mechanical stuff is happening. 
• PP3DP's advanced support system now shows the results of your configuration selection graphically. 

 

We don't have an Up! here at Fabbaloo labs, but if we did, we'd be upgrading. 

 

Via PP3DP

PP3DP Releases Mac Software Option for Up! 3D Printers

There were rumours of such a release earlier, but now it's official. You can actually drive your Up! printer directly from your Mac. 

 

The version 1.0 software they've provided for Mac is not quite the same as their Windows version 1.12, as some features are not present. On the other hand, it appears that they've done a rather good job on the user interface. And if you read Fabbaloo, you'll know we appreciate simplicity. 

 

Via PP3DP

Up! 3D Printer Assembly In Detail

Up! 3D printers seem to be growing in popularity, perhaps because of their highly functional software, but perhaps also because they have pretty solid hardware. In a new video from PP3DP, we can see what it takes to put together an Up! 3D printer - which turns out to be not particularly difficult. 

 

In the latter portion of the video PP3DP shows children using the the US$2690 3D printer, demonstrating the simplicity of their software. 

 

Via YouTube