chrili_rakete

Finally – "thanks" to igo3d my new Zortrax M200 arrived today ...

Hello Agis, I just noticed your post right now – so sorry for the delay. No, I have not solved it, as during searching for a reliable distributor I also began to think (again) about alternatives to the UM2. Especially I am (also) interested in the LulzBot TAZ 5, but have not found a decision by now. So while I am waiting, maybe the UM3 oder the TAZ 6 will be released ...

No, I tried http://support.3dverkstan.se/article/23-a-visual-ultimaker-troubleshooting-guide#shifted instead, as it was an UM2 and Ultimaker recommends these routines. But the point is: I want to print and not play with my printer – that's why I decided to buy the UM2, the assembled ready-to-print unit. I owned the UMO since 2012/06, assembled the kit, upgraded, tinkered, researched and posted in forums, and: sometimes printed models with it. I wanted to spin this ratio and was accepting to pay for it. But I can't see a reason, why I should disassemble a factory-new UM2 after unboxing it, before having been able to finish the first serious print. That's why I asked the support of the named distributor for help – they did not solve my problem. I really do hope that you will have more luck!

Hi @xxxprod! I ordered my UM2 at the begin of September and it was delivered just a few days later. Yes, this part of the deal was perfect. Unfortunately my brand new printer was not able to print larger (< 3 hours) models due to the "shifted-layers-problem", so I I had to contact their support. This was so remarkably unsatisfactory that I maybe will report my experiences to the community within the next days in detail. The short version: they were not able or willing to repair or exchange my new UM2 – after two weeks they told me "... wir davon ausgehen, dass auch ein neues Gerät nicht ihren Anforderungen entsprechen wird ..." and decided to cancel the contract. Hey, I just wanted to make prints with a new UM2 I payed for?!

Thanks neotko – so I can see a way now ...

Of course I knew this link – but thank you anyway. It results in one match – and there is absolutely no way for me to place an order (again) with this company. That's why I was asking for possible alternatives ...

Hello! Of course the question above has to be precised: is there – apart from the one distributor suggested on the UM-Website – a reliable company where I can 1 – buy a new Ultimaker 2 in Austria and, even more important, 2 – that will properly fulfill any warranty claims, should they arise? Thanks in advance! -- Christoph

Hi! I am interested in 3D-prints, but not in 3D-printing – that's why I bought and assembled an Ultimaker Original in 2012/06, and now I bought an Ultimaker 2. I had to invest much time and work (also money) into my first Ultimaker but have to admit, that I could not always achieve the hoped-for results. I think the reason is just, that the concept of the Ultimaker Original and my technical skills & will do not fit perfectly. So I want to offer my assembled, working Ultimaker Original (Ulticontroller, V2 hotend upgrade), which is in very good condition – altogether I printed less than a reel of filament. I am sure it will be very useful for someone who is a bit more "nerdy" than me. Included is a heated-bed/glas building plate with sigle PSU, which I bought via eBay. It worked perfectly, until it suddenly stopped heating up two weeks ago – that was the moment when I ordered my Ultimaker 2. The heated bed might also be damaged, but I am pretty shure that the problem can be fixed in a sudden by someone who knows just a little bit about electronics etc. I live in Vienna, 8th district – send me a message in german or english if you are interested! -- Christoph

So apart from the tube slipping out, a breaking of the PEEK insulator and completely messing the nozzle: what is your expected worst case scenario of problems? Thanks for the picture, but I see that this might be a slight different situation concerning heat and forces on your (broken) PTFE part, as it is directly contacting the heater with its full surface. These pictures illustrate the situation here, and maybe you can understand why I do expect significant cooldown-effects in the threaded contact area between copper and PFA, due to the functionality of the remaining part of the PEEK insulator, the longer distance to the heater and the intrusion of new "cold" filament at this point. There is no discussion about the proposed fix means a weakening of the structure, but if this still will remain stable enough. For me this tradeoff makes a perfect deal, as the solution is available easily and immediately and - until now - it just works very fine! Of course I don't know for how long it will last, but I think the answer to this question will rather be given by an empirical than by a theoretical approach ... Every fix or workaround I know has more or less a weak point, and the one of Taylor's part is obvious: I just don't have it here now ... P.S.: Half an hour ago I put the hot end with a piece of tapped PFA on it into my kitchen oven with a temperature of 250°C (I am not equipped to measure this, but it seemed to be quite hot), showing no relevant signs of weakening the thread. Using reasonable force, I am not able to tear the PFA apart from the copper with two pliers.

Dear Joergen, thanks for your reply, I can understand your concerns. Weakening the structure of the PFA tube by the heat inducted directly by a part of the copper tube is an issue that has to be considered. As you have already mentioned, the maximum working temperature of PFA is about 250-260° C (the melting point is about 305°) - that is below the maximum extruding temperatures I use. Apart from that I suspect the temperatures at the connected upper part of the copper tube to be always lower than in the nozzle area. Due to the direct connection of the copper and the PFA tube (what I see "per se" as a conceptual advantage of this design) I don't expect very heavy forces on the PFA tube from uplifting melted plastic, so even a structural weakened thread (by high temperature) should not fail. What could be done to improve the stability of the thread is to reduce the size of the drilled hole from 8 mm to the exact outer diameter of the PFA tube turned on the copper tube, ca. 7,5 mm, to give it a tight fit. Refering to your concerns of breaking the PEEK insulator by reducing the length of the M6 thread I just can tell that this still makes a very stable impression on me. Last but not least, let me explain my very pragmatic approach: I had a brandnew Ultimaker that did not work due to the known Bowden tube hot-end issues. I invested hours and hours and tried every workaround I found - without any sucess. I am sure that Taylors part would solve the problem, so I put my name on the list. But I don't know if or when I will receive it ... Now I can use my Ultimaker without any problems. I did not have to invest a lot of time or money to realize this fix, and the only thing I risk is that the PFA tube will slip out again or the PEEK insulator might break earlier. So for me these are very good reasons to continue working with and testing this fix. -- Christoph

Dear all, may I suggest another fix for the annoying hot-end-issues with the bowden tube. I think my proposal is a very simple solution that can be realized within 10 minutes - no printed parts are necessary. Although I have no long time experience I expect the tube to be connected reliable in that way. The idea of tapping a thread into the tube is based on a discussion here: https://groups.google.com/d/topic/ultimaker/zcFB28_FCa0/discussion - thanks to everyone who contributed! You will need no extra parts, but the following tools: - M5 and M6 taps - an 8mm drill or a M8 tap - a plier These are the necessary steps: 1. Disassemble the hot end. 2. Fix the print-head-sided end of the Bowden tube with a plier and tap a M5 thread of about 6 mm length into it (this is just to maker the next step easier). 3. Now do the same as in step 2, but with a M6 tap. You should now be able to turn the M6 brass pipe into the thread of the tube. Try it, but take it apart again. 4. Fix the PEEK insulator with a plier or a vice. Widen up the hole on the upper, non threaded side to a diameter of 8 mm by using a drill (I used a M8 tap instead). Do this to a depth of ca. 10 mm, but take care that you don't drill through the hole part! Check and retap the remaining M6 thread on the other side of the PEEK insulator afterwards. 5. Assemble the print-head, turn the Bowden tube into the thread of the brass pipe. Voilà: the Bowden tube should be connected tight to the brass pipe now - and you also have got presents for the next two birthdays of your mother-in-law: a white push-in fitting and a blue plastic horseshoe! Hope this helps, thanks for testing! -- Christoph

Hallo Bernhard, ich habe gerade gesehen, dass das nächste Treffen am nächsten Dienstag, 03.07.2012 um 18:30 Uhr stattfinden soll. Ich (Wien 8) habe meinen Ultimaker vor zwei Wochen angeschafft und zusammengebaut, meine Freude ist aber noch überschaubar, denn ich habe das klassische "Extruder-hot-end" Problem und schon sehr, sehr viele Stunden in die unterschiedlichsten Workarounds investiert - leider noch gar nicht erfolgreich. Meinst Du, ich kann bei diesem Treffen Hilfe bekommen oder ist das eher nicht der Rahmen dafür? Danke + beste Grüsse! -- Christoph

Thanks for your answers first of all. It soon was evident that my problems are due to the "ordinary" hot-end-extruder issues. So I spent hours and hours to check all of the tips and workarounds found on this place - without success, so I am a bit disappointed at the moment. After the second or third cycle of dissassembling/assembling the hot-end, you begin to understand what it all is about - to my opinion it is an obvious design issue of the ultimaker. Of course I will continue my attempts, but otherwise I don't want to accept that the only way to fix it is to put some toothpicks inside and tape them firmly ... Ultimaker Team - Please HELP! -- Christoph

Hello all, I am a Newbie having a similar issue here with my first - also second, third, :( ... - print on my Ultimaker: It seems that I am having a steady flow during the first layers, but at a certain stage my print becomes absolutely sparsed until I have to stop it. I use the Netfabb Standard profiles for the generation of my GCode together with the Standard PLA parameters. I have also tried to increase temperature and reduce speed, I have fixed extruder issues - same bad results. My prints look like the one on this photo: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B0DE0h ... mJaTkpsTGs I am not sure, but I think my extruder works. Is there a way to check out without unmounting the printhead? Can anyone experienced provide me an absolute failsafe GCode-file with an easy test object in PLA? Thanks in advance for any suggestions! -- Christoph