The new E3D Ultimaker 2 Extrusion Upgrade Kit promises to bring superior 3D printing performance to the Ultimaker 2 family.

The Ultimaker 2 series is the gold standard in fused filament fabrication (FFF). For 3D printing performance and reliability it’s nigh unbeatable — but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be improved upon.

Ultimaker themselves made an iterative revision with the Ultimaker 2+ earlier this year; in our review we considered it a small but important step forward.

And of course, the newly minted Ultimaker 3 is another major innovation, this time in dual extrusion and the exciting potential for building models with complex geometry.

But some folks think there’s yet more that could be done. Hence the launch of the E3D Ultimaker 2 Extrusion Upgrade Kit.

From E3D Online, this is an upgrade kit for the Ultimaker 2, 2+, 2 Extended and 2 Extended+ range. It makes a pair of key enhancements to the core design, adding the award-winning E3D V6.1 HotEnd and the Titan Extruder.

Here’s the promo video from Thomas Sanladerer (who also made a step-by-step tutorial video), complete with cheesy voiceover:

E3D Ultimaker 2 Extrusion Upgrade Kit is a Must Have for UM2 Owners

According to E3D, this upgrade kit is recommended for intermediate to advanced users who are comfortable modding the hardware and firmware of their 3D printer.

Needless to say, it will also invalidate any outstanding warranties or guarantees you may have on your machine. But if you take the plunge, then you’ll have access to the full E3D ecosystem for 3D printing.

This includes an impressive range of modular nozzles for different temperatures, materials, and resolutions. To get you started, the kit comes with a 3mm Nozzle Fun Pack (0.25mm, 0.3mm, 0.35mm, 0.5mm, 0.6mm, 0.8mm).

Here at ALL3DP, we’ve been tinkering with an early version of the E3D Ultimaker 2 Extrusion Upgrade Kit. We’ll be publishing a full review very shortly, but early impressions are positive.

First and foremost, we absolutely love the powerful Titan Extruder. It grips and pushes filament through to the hotend without fail, and stripped filaments are a thing of past.

Secondly, the value of this kit is incredible at just £180 / €215. Compare and contrast with Ultimaker’s own extrusion upgrade kit for the 2 series, retailing at £335 / €395, and you’re paying nearly half the price.

But what about the poor, neglected Ultimaker 2 Go? We think there’s a great opportunity here to enhance the portable screamer with this kit and a heated bed. E3D tell us it’s not a simple process, and the UM2Go is built from a different set of components than its bigger siblings.

In any case, we’re thankful that our trusty old UM2 now has a second lease of life. Will you be taking advantage of the E3D Ultimaker 2 Extrusion Upgrade Kit? Let us know in the comments below.