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Hi @Clancey, thank you for your reply. FYI, I made a few grammar-changes to my original reply, after reading it again I felt some things could be explained better. How abrasive glow in the dark is, is hard to tell. I have no doubt this can be quantified however I've never seen any numbers about this, or other materials. Perhaps someone else from the community has any numbers on this? Woodfill is not considered to be abrasive, because the wood fibers are not stronger than brass. In the case of bronze and copper this is the case. I would indeed recommend .8 print core, because the wood fibers make it more likely to burn as well, so you want them to pass through the nozzle fast. Maybe it would also work in a BB print core, but I've never tested this. I can imagine you would have some more 'oozing', and less burning (clogs). I think the most 'problematic' would be abrasive materials, since they acitvely wear down your nozzle. Until a print core will be released (not sure if this is on the planning, but the point remains valid), and you don't want to consume your regular AA and BB print core's you could consider getting a third party 'Hardcore'. They look like print cores but have swappable nozzles. Abrasive materials are: 'metal'-fills, glow in the dark, carbon fiber filaments. Did I miss anything?

Hi @Neotko, thank you for sharing your feelings with us. I understand your reasonings and like everything in life grows and evolves it can happen that two grow in somewhat different directions. It's good that you came to realize that you don't feel like gaining anything from this anymore and you decide to make a change and commit more to the community side of Ultimaker instead of the company side. I think there are some nuances to your post, some experiences are a matter of interpretations and sometimes it is a matter of having different goals. Like you have clearly stated that you are a maker at heart who wants to open everything up and potentially modify it all, as a company we try to walk that thin line between reliability and openness. That means we sacrifice some openness in some cases (by having more advanced hardware/software/firmware) for the sake of reliability, but also the other way around. We'll always embrace and value the importance of being open and that will always be a cornerstone of Ultimaker. But perhaps not as big of a stone as your maker-heart desires. And that is fine. It goes without saying that you have been of an incredible value to Ultimaker and our community, and even though you prefer not to be a moderator anymore, I sincerely hope you will continue to be an active member of our community

To the shadow realms!!!! ..unfortunately I don't have admin rights so @Nicolinux, if you have time, will you give him the boot?

Can you guide us through the calibration process that you did, and can you explain what you did? It is good to verify what you consider as 'right', in a perhaps new frame of reference, is actually 'right'. It would also be interesting to print a cylinder of 20mm to see how it comes out. It could confirm or rule out some issues, and determine if perhaps the corners and accel/jerk have any influence on this offset.

I believe the pin should still be there yes, but I would have to double check which was used. Regarding the sensor, I would have to check this as well.

Hi @Clancey, Thank you for your message! I'm not sure if I understand your questions correctly regarding specialist materials. Could you explain? General rule of thumb is that abrasive materials are not recommended, as they will wear down your nozzle. These are materials like carbon fiber, bronze / brass-fill and glow in the dark. If you want to remove any doubt, you should be in the safe zone with Ultimaker filaments for sure. You can go for .8 print core if you want to save time and print fast. Because the nozzle is bigger, it can extrude more plastic, thus it can print thicker layers, and your print will be done faster. This also means that generally, what people consider as quality (super smooth spheres) the quality is 'lower'. I mean the layers are thicker so it is easier to feel these steps with your finger nail. Detail in x and y is also less for the same reason, the nozzle is bigger. Like trying to make a detailed drawing with an Edding 800 marker. Regarding the different print cores, you can choose different types of support constructions, and different support materials. One being support material which is the same material as your build, so a PP print has PP support and a Nylon print would have Nylon supports. You would remove them with pliers and potentially sand down your print to remove some final marks. For this, you only need 1 print core. Everything will be built with an AA core. With the Ultimaker 3 you can also print with 2 print cores (AA & BB). We have a special support material called PVA. PVA can be dissolved in water. This material is meant to be printed with the BB print core. This means your surfaces will be cleaner and you can print more complex parts since you no longer have to be able to reach everything with pliers. Why should PVA be printed in the BB print core? PVA behaves differently when molten, and has a higher tendency to burn than other filaments. Therefore, the internal geometry of print core BB is different. It avoids the burning risk. This internal geometry makes it less fitting to use it for the build materials like PP, Nylon, PLA etc. That is why there are 2 print cores, they are tailored to work best with different type of materials. Let me know if you have any further questions!

Hi @Oj00, during the development of the Ultimaker 3 we considered and tested to install a filament sensor in the Ultimaker 3. If you have ever taken the feeder apart you may have seen some space reserved for this. Unfortunately, during testing the filament sensor triggered too many error messages and even though it helped detecting when the filament ran out, it generated too many false error messages which stopped the print when it shouldn't have. For that reason we did not launch it. I think it would be very interesting to see if you could implement it, there are a lot of people here who would probably be interested as well, and may even help with choosing the best approach. In a few days now, we'll release the files of the Ultimaker 3. Perhaps that would give you some more useful information too.

Ultimaker 2+ is usually very reliable and users don't have to relevel in multiple months after calibrating it carefully once. Can you walk us through your leveling procedure and what happens that makes you think it needs to be calibrated? It uses the Z-endstop in the bottom plate to determine its home (zero) position. Can it be that there is something wrong with this end stop, which makes the homing position inconsistent? Perhaps the lever is loose or the whole end stop is loose.

There is some beauty and eerie in that particular clog, almost looks like it is bleeding.. happy to hear you got it back to work! Did you add additional belt tensioners to your Ultimaker 3? Did you feel it was necessary? There should be springs in the sliderblocks that always keep your belts at a good tension. I'm not sure what you mean by a bearing seizing up. Can you elaborate, and what makes you think so?

In reply of your initial email, are you planning on modifying your existing Ultimaker into a 3, or upgrading your range of printers with an Ultimaker 3? The first one could be quite a challenge (but doable. @UltiArjan has made a fancy modification to his 'calimero'). We currently don't have an amount of hours set as a standard yet. This would follow from the experiences from our users using then. Obviously its function has been thoroughly tested, but there are too many variables in an average user's workflow we did not feel comfortable setting a number out there yet. Perhaps some users can shed some light on their experiences. @Korneel, @Ultiarjan, @dim3nsioneer? I can tell that it has been tested to last longer than a teflon coupler on the previous generations. It uses teflon, but it is installed differently. Therefor it is way less subjective to wear. What other parts wear, in a print core? This depends for example on the materials you use. The most obvious part which would show signs of wear, would be a nozzle when using an abrasive filament. And something which is not part of the print core, but the silicon pads underneath the print core, which are officially part of the printhead. They can degrade due to long exposure to heat, but are pretty cheap and easy to replace.

the object indeed does not appear to be flat, inconsistent shadow so it could be adhesion too. I would not rule out any mechanical issues. The fact this behavior appears when you used a new version of Cura does not mean it is related. Or maybe something in Cura (accel/jerk) emphasizes a mechanical offset which was hidden before. Two events can manifest simultaneously without any relation. That it shows in any printing attempt may even vouch for this (mechanical) theory. Also not familiar with Prusa, but is it ever necessary to lubricate belts?

Hi, I'll move your thread to modifications and hacks, you may get more replies there. From what machine do you want to upgrade to an Ultimaker 3? The print cores have a pretty long lifespan. If you do not wear down the nozzle you should be able to use it for a very long time.

Seems spacious enough, so I think you are fine Glue could certainly help, but it kinda depends on what material you use. I would recommend to check out our resource pages for some tips for each of the Ultimaker filaments. (For other materials, you usually find some tips within the box it arrives in, or on the resellers website). It is usually either glue or an adhesive sheet, and the right temperature of the build plate. This also generates adhesion. Regarding the silicon padding, they can wear down after usage as well. You may want to inform with your reseller about getting a/some replacements. I don't think they are expensive. When a tear would grow bigger or is too big, an additional risk is that airflow from the fans can crawl up in the printhead and make it more difficult for your print cores to heat up, resulting in irregular temperatures.

oh, I've just been notified that it looks like that outside of the blob, it looks like the print core also broke. How did this happen? I guess cleaning wouldn't make much sense in this case. I would recommend to reach out to the reseller. Good luck!

I would recommend to store your filament in a resealable bag with some desiccant. That way it will be preserved the best and the longest. Depending on how humid your environment is, you can mount the full reel on your Ultimaker or you could cut off the amount of filament you need (Cura will tell you the length). If it is even too humid to use during the print, you should look into solutions like a drybox, like this one: https://www.youmagine.com/designs/pva-reel-casing When your filament is too humid, it is not lost. Heating the filament for 2 hours at 45 - 55 °C will help. The easiest way to do this is by putting the spools in their original packaging (in a cardboard box, without a plastic bag) on the heated bed at the required temperature (45 - 55 °C). Warning: do not use a household oven. Make sure that the PVA filament has cooled to room temperature before inserting it into the 3D printer. Good luck!

Could you share with us a screenshot of your buildvolume to see what you have done and which areas are preventing you from printing? I am guessing you have the prime blob still enabled (under build plate adhesion). If you deselect it you should be able to print a 195x195x195 cube. Good luck!

Hi @Taylorjed1991, thank you for your message. Sorry to hear about your print core. First of all, I would suggest to get in touch with your reseller. Perhaps they can help you out as well. Your print most likely got detached from your build plate, which meant the object got dragged along with your printhead over the bed. Instead of depositing a layer the extruded material accumulated and generated this blob. Do you know if the silicon padding was inserted, or inserted correctly? This should prevent material from crawling up. Possibly you could try to heat the filament with a blowdryer and peel it off with some pliers. It seems like it did not reach the electronics, so you should have a fair chance to recover your print core. (be gentle with the wires tho!) Good luck and let us know how it goes. By the way.. is it on or in a cupboard? I was not familiar with it, but google teaches me this is like a closet? It may work, but you may want to keep an eye out that the enclosed temperature does not get too high. It may result to a clog in your print core when the filament gets too warm. Although, this has nothing to do with your current problem, just a side note.

Ha @Jantje, wat je ziet is delaminatie, wat vaker gebeurt bij ABS. ABS krimpt wanneer het afkoelt, en wat je dan vaak ziet is dat een laag al is afgekoeld voor de volgende laag wordt neergelegd, en dan hechten ze niet goed op elkaar en dan krijg je scheuren. Wat ik aan zou raden is printen zonder fan en met een enclosure rondom je printer zodat de hele print warmer blijft gedurende je print. Succes!

For whoever is interested, we just shared an Ultimaker Cura 3 beta version You can read more about it here

In a little less than 2 weeks we will introduce Ultimaker Cura 3 to the world. Before we go live we would like to share this beta version with you to run it through its paces. Outside of new features you can expect, another important reason to move to the next generation of Cura is the (third party) plugin structure that will be emphasized. While most plugins will be added in the (near) future, you can already find the SOLIDWORKS plugin and Siemens NX macro plugin in the library. Ultimaker Cura 3 offers a new UX and improved default / recommended settings that should save you both time and money. I personally really like the print quality slider, with which you can intuitively slide between time and quality. We made quite some improvements that should result in better print quality. Some of the other highlights: - Skin removal width; removes thin strips of skin from a model to prevent head zig-zagging, and thus preventing vibrations. - PVA gradual support is now enabled by default. Sometimes a print with PVA can take quite some time. With this setting PVA infill is heavily reduced in the support, and only increased towards the interface. (Little side-tip: If you are eager to save more time, make sure to check out the options to use PVA only as an interface between support and the actual model.) - Z seam options, you can have complete control over where to place the seam. Which means you can be smart about where to hide it! Gotten curious? You can download Ultimaker Cura 3 here We are curious to hear what you think!

I think the label of food safe applies to prior 3D printing. After 3D printing I don't think anything can still be considered foodsafe for multiple use. If you use a foodsafe materioal only once fairly fast after it was printed I think it should be fine (however 'official' legislation may not agree). If you want to use it multiple times, you probably have to post process it, so the material is sealed. In that case, it probably doesn't matter which material you use, since it will be sealed.

Jep, PVA is very sensitive to moisture. Nylon is also pretty sensitive, but not all 3D print materials share this sensitivity.

Hi! I just announced our second Ultimaker 'Ask Me Anything' for October 18th. Topic: Cura! Nallath and MSuurmond will be available for your questions!

'Hi, we're Jaime (Nallath) and Mark (MSuurmond), crucial members of the Ultimaker Cura team!' @Nallath is a software engineer who has been with Ultimaker for a long time already, has worked on various projects and just knows a lot... about everything! He's also quite active on the forums when his workload allows him. @MSuurmond is the product owner of Cura and is involved with decisions that influence the future of Cura on a daily basis. On October 18th at 4:30pm CEST Jaime and Mark will try to answer any question you might have for them. Whether it is regarding their work and Ultimaker Cura 3.0, their favorite line of code or if it is possible to express the value and investment in Cura in cups of coffee. Nallath and MSuurmond will start replying on October 18th at 4.30pm CEST.

Do you have any questions for our Cura team? October 18th at 4:30 pm CEST we will host our second 'Ask Me Anything' (AMA) with no one less than @Nallath and @MSuurmond. If you are not familiar with the concept of an AMA, usually someone (or in this case 2 persons) step forward for a certain amount of time where they will try to answer any question you fire. Usually, this person has a specific level of expertise or story which is interesting to know more about. During our first AMA our Materials engineer @Tomhe stepped forward, initiated because we just launched our new material PP, but participants asked all kinds of questions. After our first AMA we asked who you would like to see next and Cura was (as always) quite popular. We found it fitting to ask @Nallath and @Msuurmond if they were willing to participate, also because we will just have launched Ultimaker Cura 3.0. As a participant, you are of course free to ask what you want! I do feel obliged to mention, despite the fact it is called an ‘Ask Me Anything’, we are bound by Ultimaker policy to keep a tight lip regarding future products. Hope you understand! October 18th. 4:30PM (CEST). Bookmark this link! Tip; open the link and click 'follow'. You'll receive notifications when there are new posts. Feel free to post your questions or comments below but any questions meant for @Nallath or @MSuurmond as part of the AMA will not yet be answered. Make sure to post them in the thread above during the AMA. This promises to be interesting!