graeme_robinson

problem was never solved I'm afraid. I just learned to live with it.

I should also add that I've tried removing the controller and printing via USB connection to my computer with CURA - the same problem during heating cycles occurs.

I have an upgraded Ultimaker original - it has the addon controller with SDcard reader. Though it can still print the UM 'crashes' when heating prior to printing - the controller screen blanks to a low flickering blue. This problem only occurs when heating up prior to beginning a print. I need to power it off and begin pre-heating PLA again until I get it up to temperature. Sometimes it will take 4-6 power on/power off/power on cycles to get the head up to print temp. Once the device is up to temp it can maintain it and print without stopping. Even long jobs seem to be no problem. I've tried most of the usual things I think to fix this. Reinstalled the firmware (some version of Marlin - not the latest, which IIRC had problems) plus a lot of physically jiggery-pokery such as disconnecting all the cables, removing the motherboard reconnecting everything, looking for signs of poor connections and such. I've also reconnected the power cables to the print head. Thinking that it might be power supply related I've measured the output of the power supply and tested continuity of the power supply connectors - all appear sound and supply is of required current etc. It seems the problem must be some physical sensor or failure such insufficient power to the mainboard when heating is in progress causing the system to crash - otherwise I would experience the crash when printing or at other times when the print head is not being heated - and that isn't happening. I suppose the next step is to replace the power supply. Any other suggestions most welcome. Attached is a pic of my UM original doing good work beside me as I type this.

Hi, My Ultimaker Original with Controller upgrade has been working well for several years. Recently however the controller crashes almost immediately on boot or in the middle of a print job (from SDCARD). I've established that its the controller that's at fault as I removed it (unplugged from mobo) and am printing without issue via USB with Cura. Note that the Controller has been working successfully for a few years but it's only begun to crash recently. I've tried re-seating the cable connections. I haven't yet dismantled it to see if there's anything obvious in the way of poor connections. The crash causes a kind of 'blue screen of death' in that the screen remains backlit but all the characters disappear and any print job immediately halts. Any feedback much appreciated.

Thanks - good to keep in mind if I forget to compile gcode with a brim. I'm very pleased to report my first print with Brim has nailed this problem and I'll be printing a brim on future prints to ensure there's a good even flow before the real job begins - problem solved.

cool, I was about to come back and answer my own question. Printing with Brim on the current job and its doing the trick - thanks Owen.

Hey, that subject rhymes - badly... At the moment my method for beginning a print having warmed the UM up from cold is as follows (I'm using an ulticontroller): 1. use Prepare/Preheat PLA 2. do something else till pre-heat is done 3. load print gcode from card selection menu 4. begin print and observe as PLA begins to flow normally. 5. stop print and select auto-home 6. wipe aware the small amount of badly printed PLA from the print bed. 7. select the print gcode again and restart print. From here on I can usually walk away while the printer completes its job. On the whole this method is good but I know I could bypass steps 4 to 7 if only I could increase the amount of pre-print - that bit where the printer runs a printed line or two around the print job. Is this just a matter of adding some more gcode to increase the amount of pre-printing before the job proper begins? I mean, I'm sure it is but can this 'pre-print' phase be extended when I generate gcode via Cura? Mmmm - maybe this is a Cura forum question, but I wondered if there were other alternatives to achieve this so thought posting a general question a better approach, at least initially. Many thanks for your replies and comments in advance. - Graeme

Thought I would share a problem I encountered and solved. Photos here: http://tinyurl.com/ks2zljk Last week I got too ambitious with the Tune/Flow control on my new Ulticontroller and forced the bowden tube retention end loose at the stepper motor. I was able to print a fix for this issue (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:40544) which seemed to work really well. However fitting the fix required me to remove the bowden tube from the print head end (perhaps not 'required' but I found it easiest to do so), and I clearly replaced it incompletely, with the tube not fully inserted in the insulator. That's not surprising as the tube doesn't run straight down when inserted - complete disassembly of the metal print head from the plywood frame part is needed for a snug fit and I recommend you do that if you ever need to remove the bowden tube from the print head end to avoid this pooling PLA/ABS problem - its a real showstopper!! The lesson here for me is I need to be extremely careful when modifying flow rate and temperature! Thanks and I hope someone finds this useful. Hopefully I have posted in the right location. Comments and further tips appreciated.

OK, for someone with the same problem, here's how I got working with RepG 035 on Marlin release candidate 2. 1. run RepG 026 or earlier. Upgrade firmware selecting board Ultimaker - Arduino Mega Sheild v1.5x (Mega 2560 only) and then selecting firmware Build 1 (OLD 5D release). 2. Now successively upgrade firmware to Marlin rel. cand. 1 first then to 2. 3. run RepG 034 and the firmware and RegG will co-operate. I did try Cura and it did update firmware to Marlin, but the version loaded would not allow Cura to communicate with the printer without I/O errors *and* it was also failing with the same I/O errors in RegG 034.

I have been unable to get Marlin firmware of any colour to upload successfully to my brand new Ultimaker. I have read in the software setup guide you need to upgrade Ultimaker firmware via something earlier than RepG 034 first and have followed this path but I can't get any firmware to be recognised on RepG later than version 025 and the only firmware 025 will handle is Build 1 (Old 5D release) and I have tried this on Linux, Mac and Windows 7. Can someone point me in the right direction? Maybe I have to compile rather than just select pre-compiled firmware from the upload firmware function in RepG? I am desperate to start using Marlin and get better quality prints as soon as I can. Many thanks in advance.

Thanks for that. I pulled the Z stage out of the cage and tightened it all up again - this time it went in no problem. I just moved the Z stage to the top when fitting the posts into their bottom holes and it was snug but perfect.

When I initially installed the Z stage the 12mm steel posts/axes would not both go through the the linear bearings in the tray and the holes at the bottom of the printer floor. There was a 5mm difference between the distance between the axes holes in the printer and the distance between the linear bearings in the tray. I loosened the bolts holding the tray together in order to be able to seat the axes into their holes however now the Z stage has separated at the rear and is in danger of coming apart completely. See attached photos. Have I just made an error on how tight these tolerances are? It seemed to me that if I tried to separate the axes by force into the bottom holes in the printer something would break. Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone, I've just ordered my Ultimaker over a week ago and eagerly await its arrival. So much to learn in the meantime however. Look forward to accessing peoples experience on this user forum in the months to come. Thanks in advance!