UltiMaker’s line of school-focused, single-extruder 3D printers for students, called Sketch, expanded today with the addition of the Sketch Sprint ($2,400). As its name implies, it’s faster than the Sketch Large or the original Sketch topping out at a print speed of 300 mm/s.
Parts moving at that speed can be a hazard for little fingers, so the Sprint is fully enclosed. There’s also a PIN lock so only those with the code and start prints or alter settings. This is a feature teachers have asked for, says Andrea Tatiana Zermeno, UltiMaker’s manager of education product marketing.
Sizewise, the Sketch Sprint is a touch smaller than the Sketch Large and 100 mm larger than the original Sketch. This sweet spot in print volume can handle multiple student projects at once while still being small and lightweight enough (1 kg less) for teachers to move around to various classrooms. The Sketch Large, Zermeno says, was a bit bulky for teachers to comfortably transport.
Compatibility with Digital Factory
Other than size and speed, another new development is the cloud software. The old MakerBot CloudPrint software that enabled teachers to manage their 3D printers and print jobs is going away, UltiMaker told All3DP. In its place is access to the UltiMaker Digital Factory.
When UltiMaker acquired MakerBot in 2022, both companies had cloud software and, seemingly, there was no reason to keep both. Digital Factory is a more robust print management solution for UltiMaker’s professional machines that offers teachers the ability to connect and manage multiple Sketch printers not only across classrooms but across schools, facilitate and approve student submissions from any device, and then queue print jobs or arrange them together on the print bed.
The Digital Factory also features the new Cura Cloud slicing capabilities with optimized print settings for Sketch Sprint. UltiMaker says the Cura Cloud settings can help ensure higher levels of print success and quality from novice students.
All printers under the Sketch series, including Sketch Sprint, are now compatible with Cura slicer desktop version 5.9.
On the hardware side, the Sketch Sprint features a heated build plate and new mesh bed leveling and vibration compensation. Also new is an active air filtration that continuously sucks air through the filter which reduces the concentration of pollutants inside the chamber so there’s a noticeable difference when the door is opened.
Indoor air quality is top of mind for classroom environments, and when it comes to safety, there are more new features in the Sketch Sprint.
“Sketch Sprint has been independently verified to meet the safety levels of the UL 2904 standards for particle and chemical emissions from 3D printers,” UltiMaker says. To be clear, it doesn’t have its UL 2904 certification yet, UltiMaker told All3DP, but the machine has been tested to meet the standard. This is good news for many educators, particularly in the US, who are required to purchase classroom equipment that is UL (Underwriters Laboratories) safety certified.
Materials & Lesson Plans
Most primary school classrooms find little reason to print with anything other than PLA, so the Sketch Sprint’s compatibility with just PLA (and Tough PLA) isn’t necessarily a limitation. Nothing is stopping you from putting other materials in the Sprint, but the machine’s print profiles are dialed to just MakerBot Sketch brand PLA, which usually retails for around $40 per kg.
The Sketch Sprint comes with access to hundreds of lesson plans and projects for all grade levels and subjects. Included with the printer are teacher and student training certificates (one teacher and five students, down from 15 available on previous Sketch 3D printers).
Tech Specs & Price
- Technology: Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
- Build Volume: 220 x 220 x 220 mm (8.66 x 8.66 x 8.66 in)
- Layer Resolution: 200 micron
- Max. Bed Temp.: 110 °C
- Nozzle Diameter: 0.4 mm
- Compatible Materials: MakerBot PLA, MakerBot Tough PLA
- Filament diameter: 1.75 mm
- Net Weight: 22.26 kg packaged
- Supplied Software: Digital Factory with Cura Cloud*
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi (2.4GHz + 5GHz), LAN, USB port
- Camera: 2 megapixel
- Supported OS: MacOS, Windows, Chromebooks
- Price: $2,399.00 (includes 1 printer, 5 student certification seats, 1 educator certification seat, and 2 starter spools of materials); $3,998.00 (includes 2 printers, 10 student certification seats, 2 teacher certification seats, and 4 starter spools of materials)
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