mastory

Did you grease the mold before filling? Or some kind of powder for mold release?

Thats a pretty good idea to make the mold Owen. Is there a permatex silicone form-a-gasket product that could be used for this? Edit: Looks like this stuff could work. http://www.permatex.com/product-selector?view=productcategory&id=170 and I think I have some of it left over in the garage...

Nice looking prints!

You will have some trial and error while you establish a basepoint for the Z switch/platform height. Until then, and even after most people adjust the platform manually at the start of the print by turning the Z screw by hand. You can do this by twisting the shaft coupling at the bottom. The motor is enrrgized, and there will be some resistance. Thats normal and you wont hurt anything. It is perfectly OK to do this while the print is in process.

A flatter surface to print on will go alot further than revising the switch gear. This was the best benefit I have found from adding a heated bed. Now I am printing on the near perfect flatness of window glass (generally at room temp with blue tape by the way) A 3 point leveling system is also a big help A Z switch positioner like this one or similar is also a big help. There are several options on Thingiverse. I have one that I will soon upload to Youmagine. Since making these changes along with installing the HBP, I have been impressed with the stock switch's accuracy. I haven't measured, but I think it is in the range of +/-.002"(.05mm) or better repeatability. I can print a plate of separate parts and expect each one to start without having to babysitting the machine at the start of each model.

Really?! Why not just read the instructions? Its all there and very specific Thank you for the clarification GR5 Matt

One of the 3 receptacle plugs will be used at the head end. One will be dangling and waiting for the second extruder. Both of the plugs on other ends will both be plugged into the control board. The cables could be reversed on both ends with no ill effect with one being used and the other not.

What I said above is not exactly correct. Read the step 5 instructions when you get there. Its explained.

You can use either cable that fits. It only plug in one way. Try it the other way just to see. When you connect the other end, make sure you use the right one (not the one that dangling on the head end)

I read your question wrong. You're getting ahead of yourself and over thinking things. See step http://wiki.ultimaker.com/Ultimaker_rev.4_assembly:_Mounting_the_electronics 1.6 Mounting the electronics, Step 5 That cable includes 2 Thermocouple plugs and a fan connector

It is the same as the one plugged into your Thermocouple board, it is a spare for the second nozzle

Most of the time with a single extruder, the wires exit the hot end form the rear and have no clearance issues with the fan shroud

I hate it when you have a long response typed out and almost finished and the user or browser glitches and the whole thing is lost. Maybe I can say it with less words the second time around. Let me start by saying I have designed and built alot of timing belt drives before ever hearing of UM. I noticed in the short video that the last corner mentioned is the front right corner, not the front left as mentioned.... Before locking your pulleys down in their final position, check that the belts are tracking on the pulleys with minimal rubbing on the flanges. The less overall friction in your gantry the better. This is best done with the cross bars installed and the belts tensioned. (Maybe even with the set screws loose so the pulleys can find their own equilibrium.) Move the head back and forth several times watching how the belts track thru the pulleys. Shift the pulleys axially as necessary to minimize the rubbing. This will essentially have the pulleys centered to the belts as they are mounted to the slide blocks. Move the head around some more, observe and reposition until the rubbing is minimized. Resist the temptation to tighten the hell out of your belts. The belts have working load limits like anything else. To exceed them will only diminish the belts performance and/or life span. If you're unsure how tight they should be, start with them a little loose and gradually snug them up. They should have a low 'twang' when plucked. Keep in mind: The relative timing of the two belt pairs will affect the squareness (and smoothness) of your gantry. That is to say, that the relative timing of the pulleys for the front long belt to the pulleys for the rear long belt affects the squareness of the 6mm Y slide rod. The converse is true for the left and right pulley sets and the X slide rod. I hope that's helpful and not too hard to follow... Matt

The smaller rods are not self lubricating. They are linear ball bushings. Or rather, ball bearings rolling on the shafts. Lubricating them does no harm. I would recommend it from time to time. I have used both the green grease provided by UM and sewing machine oil on them. The sintered bronze bushings used for the X-Y belt blocks are oil impregnated from the manufacturer. This does not mean they are what engineers would call "Lubed for Life". They need to be oiled. I would recommend every 5 hours of operation or so. The only harm to over oiling is you might drip into the print envelope or get oil on your belts. Matt

It has been over a year and a half since I build mine. I think the order is right. If you read the steps carefully and follow them literally, I think you will have success. Indeed, it is always a good time to take a break when things start to not flow smoothly. If not, this is when things get broken and when mistakes are made. Next time with a fresh approach it should work well. Remember, not everyone in the UM world has English as their first language. This may explain some grammar errors. Matt

Spaceclaim seems to have a real paradigm shift with their modeling method. I come from 20 years of using Autocad, 2 years of UG and 4 years on Solidworks. I can see both advantages and disadvantages to not having a feature tree/history/parameter based models. I don't think it is a substitute for parameter based modeling, but it is good to see yet another approach, and it will have its uses/strengths right along side the other options. It sounds like a very good option when the source data is not parameterized. I understand that one of the weaknesses of parameterized modeling is the steep learning curve that history trees impose on a model.

I think there's alot of over concern about the motors being hot. It is normal for stepper motors to be hot when running. If they are ran within the OE design parameters they should be OK. I trust that UM wouldn't design the system outside those duty limits. I haven't heard of any steppers burning up and lots of people are running their UM's without any special precaution. Does anyone have some anecdotal info about UM steppers burning up? Matt

I am curious to see the internal filament path, the transition from aluminum to SS and the junctions of the SS and the nozzle to the heater block.

Does anyone have a section view of the E3D to share?

Nick, I am watching closely what you guys are experiencing with the E3D. This retraction/clogging issue could be a show stopper and I want to see how it pans out. RE: your last post Nick, I am curious if you are using a standard issue extruder (knurled UM Bolt), or some other design. I long ago switched over to the Geo Hagan extruder. One of the big benefits of it are the vastly reduced filament deformation. For now, I am going to stay tuned on how the retraction/clog issues progress. To alleviate the problem, could the nozzle bore be opened up maybe .5mm starting somewhere just above the melt zone and all the way up to the bowden? This would basically add a clearance for the filament. I can't see where is would cause any harm.

For myself, when it comes to items of utility, what they look like mean nothing compared to what they are. No one is reporting bad UM performance and attributing it to the frame design. What we have is a frame design that works well, is rigid and economical to produce at a moderate production rate. Do you want something to look at or do you want to make stuff? I am not personally offended by the look of the wood or the burnt edges - those are traits that are inherent to the machine/process. The printing process and the resulting parts also have traits that are inconsistent with traditional production means. Much effort is spent trying to tune these "aberrations" out, but they are the nature of the process and can't be fully eliminated. You could spend alot of time and money producing a machine that has different aesthetics and would doubtfully work any better. It would be a one of a kind that standard parts are not interchangeable with and in some ways is harder to modify. You could buy two fully assembled UM's for the cost and time it would take to build one 'special'

There is alot to be learned from this machine. Whoever buys this machine, please document the upgrades and share the information. Thanks

Thanks for listening. I hope my comments weren't personally offensive to anyone. And yes, I get that putting the banner together must have been a fair technical hurdle - and deserves appreciation. As Ian said, I don't mean to complain, but to be constructive. Having an open public forum based around a business is certainly a double edge sword. I applaud your restraint against censorship. One thing I really appreciate about UM and this community, is that people on the inside care, and that I can be heard. Matt

Yes, it is visually distractive. Having worked in visual advertising, a simple, uncluttered message is much easier to comprehend. The concept functions largely on the sub-conscious mind and alot (most?) of people won't notice the distractions or be offended. They will be affected regardless. If nothing else, scale it down some or consult a graphic layout artist... or have it appear when you mouse over the user icon..

If it can be done, this thread should be chronologically reversed so the newest post is always at the top. Not complaining, trying to be constructive... Matt