LePaul

The fan shroud is the stock one from Ultimaker. (September 2013 kit)

Upon reading the link....a few thoughts... I have fill at 20%. Maybe I should try 25%? The top thickness is the default value (0.6). Would 0.8 be advisable? I'm 90% sure the fan is working properly....and since the entire print isn't pillowing, I suspect options 1 and 2 would fix it. (Yes?)

Well the fan was running when I left it overnight to print, so I think the fan isn't the problem. (Although the bearing has been noisy at start...a tap quiets the noisy bearing down. )

Ok...I was using the default setting for the thickness. What would you advise to change it to? How much is too much? Thanks!

Is this a case of my shell not being thick enough? Printed at 214C 0.1 mm 40 mm/s (ColorFabb PLA/PHA)

I've put my purchasing on hold until October too

Too low? It looks like the print head is too high above the bed and not squishing/flattening the filament I run into this a lot, I try to level the bed so that the paper slides beneath but with some friction. I've learned to let the paper pass thru a little smoother, which on my UMO, gives that flattened filament we all desire!

Actually I've been reaching out to other 3D printer makers about starting a conversation with them. I know there are many out there that suggest Cura for slicing. I've reached out to get some feedback from them on how we can make Cura work better for them, make them aware of the changes in the Beta and get an idea of features they would like to see.

Printing BB8 as well

PrintedSolid has 3-day US Postal Service shipping. I'm in Maine and it gets here quick

I know on my UMO, I went to the advanced tab and experimented by increasing it by 0.2. Small steps and tried some small prints, like @SandervG advised.

I wonder what would happen if he upped his retraction distance a little bit?

As others said, if you slow it down (35-40 mm/sec) you will see good results Depending on your filament requirements, as well. I find 208-210 to be the sweet spot for my Ultimaker Original using ColorFabb PLA/PHA I do start the print at 220 to get a good flow going, then tick it down after the first few layers are down.

I've read various stories of jewelry being made on the Form 1, which is a more expensive printer and a lot more clean up. I would be really interested to see if anyone uses the elaborate filaments from ColorFabb to print jewelry (Copper fill, Brass Fill, etc.) using the Ultimaker printers

I wondered about that (what resources make Cura work better) My Toshiba laptop has a solid state hard disk, 32gb of RAM and an Intel i7 processor. Its quick. BUT...the weakest link...the video. Its using the Intel HD 4000 onboard processor. Which while fine for most things, my CAD stuff can bog down (the laptop fan cranks to full power a lot) and Cura has a slow draw time on most things. It sounds like if I ran it on my desktop, which has a big nVidia graphics card for my flight sim games would go eliminate those long pauses?

I wish they would give some teasers as to what is up next.

0.1 is what i have been using. I know I can go lower (0.06) but that result doesn't seem significantly better...it just makes the print take longer.

I don't have a heated bed (UMO) but I find that Blue Painters Tape (real stuff, not the knock-offs) and wiped down with rubbing alcohol works. To the point i have to remove the bed and struggle to get the print off the plate at times!

I have a spool of white ColorFabb PLA/PHA I will be opening soon However I have had some great prints on my UMO with ColorFabb PLA/PHA Black

I don't think you'll be disappointed. Be sure to read the ColorFabb site and check the Tips and Tricks tab on the bottom. I'm finding that I start the print at 220 and then back it down to 210. I know some people go way down to 190s...but for the speed (40 mm/s) I find 208-210, on my machine, works very well.

@Labern I wish I could afford it, every time I have some spare money something comes up! I keep hoping @SandervG will pull some strings and gift me one!

Here's something that may be useful... Prints that Lean

First, that's great service on your part Second...that's a bugger of a problem to have solved then re-appear. Looking forward to seeing what the ultimate resolution is

The basics...make sure the pulleys are firmly in place, make sure those set screws are in tight. Something seems slightly out of alignment to generate prints like that. Has this just started to happen? Or had the printer worked fine for a while and now this is occurring?

Oh many more parts to print. I wish I had an Ultimaker 2 Extended for the barrel, since it is too tall for my UMO. Here's what the SW 7 blaster looks like