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calinb

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    Ultimaker Original (+)

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  1. To save others some time searching, you'll find it here: https://support.makerbot.com/s/article/1667417403337 Which I found linked along with other info here: https://support.makerbot.com/s/topic/0TO5b000000Q61FGAS/um3-faq -Cal
  2. I'm thinking about finally retiring my highly modified UMO that I purchased in 2012, but I don't believe in using "the cloud" for controlling my 3D printing (or much of anything else, really). Is the only current Ultimaker product line alternative a tethered computer via USB or perhaps a memory stick (no better than my 9 year-old UMO)? It's a shame to waste Ethernet and wifi hardware on a cloud-only solution! This may be an Ultimaker deal breaker for me.
  3. I still can't do anything with UM Cura fan control but run a fan from layer 1, which isn't very useful with the nylons I usually print. Using Smartavionics Cura Master 20210420-3, I get layer time based fan speed control with the following settings. Only the fastest printing layers receive fan cooling (up to 100% for the very quickest ones). Essentially the same settings in UM Cura 4.9.0 barely powers up the fan (not enough to spin it) for much lower layers on the same model, which are not the fastest printing ones and don't need any fan. I tried other settings but I still can't get the UM version to behave in a useful way.
  4. I spent more time trying to make sense of fan control in the new Smartavionics Cura Master 20210420-3 release. As with the official UM Cura version documentation, I still don't think it works as advertised in the README.md file but I'd like to document a few useful settings and behaviors that I have discovered. One behavior that must be always be considered in my following examples is "Regular Fan Speed" is always enforced at Layer 1 (layer 0 in the gcode) so, in many of the examples that follow, it must be zero to delay fan activation to a higher layer. I will explain other "Regular Fan Speed" effects in my examples, when pertinent. In the following examples, I believe either "...at Height" or "...at Layer" may be used according to one's preference, but I used "at Layer" controls. A Simple Constant Speed Cooling Fan "On" at Height Example: 50% fan speed will activate at layer 50 and gradually decrease to a "Regular Fan Speed" of 0% at layer 9999. "Regular Fan Speed" must therefore be set to an arbitrarily large number so the decrease is negligible to the last layer of the print. If "Regular Fan Speed" is set to 50% to match the desired speed, the fan will activate on layer 1 at 50%, which violates the README.md claim: Even though the "Regular/Maximum Fan Speed Threshold" is set to 0, "Maximum Fan Speed" must also be set to zero, else fast printing layers can affect fan speed, usually negligibly. A Layer Time-Based Cooling Fan Example: The fan will run at the "Regular/Maximum Fan Speed Threshold" and scale inversely with layer time between 0% and 100%. "Regular Fan Speed" must remain zero to avoid fan activation at and after layer 1. "Initial Fan Speed at Layer" is a don't care, because "Initial Fan Speed is set to zero." A Layer Time-Based + On at Height Cooling Fan Example: Layer-time control has precedence over "at Height" control so Layer-time will override (reduce or increase) "at Height" control when the "Regular/Maximum Fan Speed Threshold" is satisfied. In this example, Layer-time control will vary fan speed inversely with layer time between 0% and 100%. If the "Regular/Maximum Fan Speed Threshold" is not met, the fan will run at 50% anytime after layer 50 in this example. A Simple Constant Speed Cooling Fan "Off" at Height Example: The result is 75% fan on at layer 1 and fan off at layer 10. "Regular Fan Speed at Height" must, again, be set arbitrarily large, because the fan increases to "Regular Fan Speed" after layer 10. Setting the value to be very large keeps the fan nearly off (insufficient enough voltage to even spin the fan, which should not be harmful to the fan). There are plenty of other examples, but the above set is a good start and covers nearly all that I need from fan control. I think two, usually helpful, rules to keep in mind are: 1. If "Regular Fan Speed" is non-zero, the fan will receive power at layer 1. 2. Unless a layer time component of fan speed control is desired, set "Regular/Maximum Fan Speed Threshold" to zero and set "Maximum Fan Speed" to the value of "Regular Fan Speed." (Cura does not permit "Maximum Fan Speed" to be less than "Regular Fan Speed.") Some the above should be useful with UM Cura too (though UM Cura lacks the "Intitial Fan Speed at Height / Layer" settings), but now I need to go check if I can get any good results from UM Cura. I think both versions have a long way to go before they become intuitive--at least for me! 😞 P.S. Please ignore the following screen capture. I delete it but it keeps coming back and I can't figure out how to remove it from my uploaded images but I figured out how to turn it into a linked image. ignore_this_image
  5. Smartavionics fan control is buggy. I can't get it to do what I want it to do either (what it claims it can do with the "initial fan speed" feature). I'll just keep patching M106 statements into the gcode by hand. I could patch dozens if not hundreds of files in the time I've wasted on this.
  6. I'm downloading the smartavionics Cura. It's great to see ARM support too! The README.md says: * Initial Fan Speed At Height/Layer lets you specify the layer at which the initial fan speed comes into effect. Below that layer, the fans are off. Woo-whoo! Thanks, gr5.
  7. I need a fan speed control behavior that's even simpler (and, as I recall, available in the original Cura as well as the netfabb engine). I don't desire any kind of fan speed scaling from "Regular Fan Speed" to "Maximum Fan Speed." I honestly don't see any reason for this behavior, except maybe for printing pyramids or cones! I simply want the fan at 0% speed or, upon reaching a minimum layer print time threshold, xx% speed--nothing in-between. An even more advanced behavior would be for the fan speed to inversely scale with layer time, but not UNTIL reaching a "min-layer-time-before-fan-enable" threshold. Until reaching this min threshold, the fan is OFF. I mostly print nylon. The only time I need a fan is when the layer area is very small that layers print very fast--even at minimum speed (usually set to 10mm/sec). Often times, this is when the print features suddenly "neck down" to a very small layer surface area. I usually just hand edit the gcode and add a M106 SXXX command at the appropriate layer, but I really think Cura should handle this behavior! It would also be nice if Cura's Preview layer numbers matched the layer numbers in the gcode. Cura Preview begins numbering with layer "1" but the gcode it creates starts with "LAYER:0." When I forget about this inconsistency, my M106 hand edits end up being off by 1 or 2 (if I compensate in the wrong direction) layers. Doh!!!
  8. The V6 nozzles are compatible: https://e3d-online.dozuki.com/c/V6_nozzles#Section_Documents I have the Fun Pack: https://e3d-online.com/collections/nozzles/products/nozzle-fun-pack The Cyclops nozzle is too small.
  9. I think the E3D nozzles are available individually too. They are a plug and play installation on the UMO/UMO+, or nearly so. Just make sure that when you tighten the nozzle it bottoms against the brass tube rather than the aluminium heater block such that the nozzle seals against the brass tube inside the heater block. You'll have a very small gap between the nozzle hex and the block that way--perhaps not even visible to the eye. You will probably need to adjust the position of the brass tube to get the nozzle to bottom against the brass tube correctly (without an excessive gap at the heater block), but that's the case for any new nozzle installation. When removing and replacing the nozzle, it helps to heat up the block first, because there's usually a little filament residue and stickiness gumming up the nozzle and brass tube in the heater block threads. I usually run the nozzle up to temp and then turn it off and let it cool down while I'm working on it. I've done it many times so I usually don't burn myself anymore. 🙂 Also, my bed is of my own design and I don't know if your bed will reach the Z-min limit switch, given the extra Z gained by the shorter E3D nozzle. If that's the case, you can devise some kind of spacer or extension for the Z-stage's limit switch contact point nub. I've used a small spent brass ammo casing (45 ACP, IIRC) in the past. Flattening and squaring-up the sides of the casing using small pliers makes it fit like an elevated hat on the Z-stage's switch contact nub. Of course the casing may not be available to you but other solutions can easily be devised, including repositioning the switch slightly but just pressing-on a cap is the most easily reversible solution. You might be able to print a cap ahead of time using your original nozzle too. It doesn't have to be pretty-looking. I posted countless howtos on the original UM forum many years ago. It was very time-consuming to take all the photos. They were all lost in a forum migration to support UM's never-ending quest to realize a very trendy-looking forum. Then I lost more posts in another migration and I finally gave up on making very time-consuming but sadly proven to be short-lived contributions here.
  10. It's not difficult to adapt the UMO / UMO+ to other nozzles. I've used Makergear nozzles of various orifice sizes along with Makergear brass "barrels" in the past (instead of my UMO brass "tube"). Now I have the cute little "tin" can nozzle kit of smaller (external dimensions) in a wide range of orifice sizes from E3D and they work well with the original UMO brass tube that's shown here: https://github.com/Ultimaker/UltimakerOriginal/blob/master/1053_Hot_End_Isolator_Tube/B1053-A2P-A.PDF Okay, the actual "tube" doesn't quite look like the .pdf but you should recognize it as the original Ultimaker supplied part. I think E3D offers harder "premium" nozzles in the same form factor as my brass kit of nozzles. I highly recommend E3D nozzles as drop-in replacements for the UMO nozzles. You'll gain a little max Z height by using the E3D nozzles too. Even my old UMO is easy to maintain. I'm on my second set of long belts (ditched the short belts long ago for "direct drive"). Actually I just changed out one of my replacement custom length long belts that I installed long ago. It has always been a bit funny and never fit quite right so it wore out faster than the other three belts. I also just changed all eight bearings and my X stepper. (Worn steppers cause the "scratching" sound, as I've heard it described in these forums, but I think it's more of a creaking sound.) My Y stepper is starting to make the scratching/creaking noise too. I'm planning to order a set of new Soyo exact replacement steppers (except the wire length and connectors are not a fit) but I did an emergency install of a cheap BIQU stepper that I've had on hand as a spare for now. It's working fine. I've upgraded all the stepper drivers too but I'm on my original Ulticontroller board (several repairs made over the years) and the Arduino and driver boards have never been problematic (though UM OEM and super cheap Chi-com replacement clones are available, if needed). Don't count out the viability and performance of the first Ultimaker products. Satisfaction all depends on how much of a tinkerer you might be. I assembled my UMO in 2012. I have an E3D Cyclops/Chimera hot end (to be water-cooled modified), BLTouch sensor and I'm designing and spinning an all new head and X/Y blocks to support the new goodies. I installed a custom 1kW 120 VAC heated bed in Mic6 precision aluminium long ago (1kW is way overkill--even for Polycarbonate or "PC", but it heats up super fast) along with many other mods. I see no reason to upgrade to a new printer. I've run many configurations in the past, including a Garcad watercooled hot end to print PC. It was never commercially available and sadly I think Garcad has passed away. He was a virtually unknown early innovator, because he'd never sell anything that he thought could be improved. I think I first installed a water cooled Garcad hotend in late 2013. I think Garcad sold a very few of these in 2016: https://www.youmagine.com/designs/garcad-hotend-ultimaker-original-umo-adapter This hotend is either here nor there now as it's no longer available, but it's an example of how the UMO launched a bunch of development and much of it is still viable, if you like to tinker.
  11. You're welcome! Thanks for the info about your UM setup too. I hear ya'! I have all sorts of upgrade parts ready to install on my UMO, which is still a really sweet machine, but find little time to work on the projects I've planned. The Marlin website has really become a great resource. The config files are also well-documented. Let us know if you need help when you get around to building a new Marlin. BTW, the Arduino toolkit version makes a big difference. I have several versions installing on my MX-Linux system. Sometimes you just have to try a different Arduino dev kit version to get code to build! Good luck and please post again, if you need help or my build files. I'm nowhere near as active here as I was in the early UM days, but I'll stay subscribed to this thread and see your post. -Cal
  12. After studying Marlin support for the BLTouch, I'll probably start with a polled interface and use the UMO upper switch (homing zero stop) for both an endstop and the BLTouch. Maybe I'll see if interrupts can be used later. I still have to find time to print a bunch of parts before I do this mod too. I just can't seem to find the spare time. 😞
  13. Yes, Curven. I'm on Marlin 1.1.9 now and it's my favorite version ever! I'm very pleased with the single click per Ulticontroller menu item settings that I've found along with excellent knob spin "acceleration" and fast Z-homing speeds. I also like many of the newer Marlin features. Finally, it's the first Marlin where I've never had occasional problems with z-stage stuttering, which previously required me to power down the machine after every print. Stuttering seems to be a rare problem but others have also experienced the same stuttering behavior that's plagued my machine since new. I don't know if the interrupts will work with my BLTouch because I still need to find time to print the parts for a new dual extrusion head that I'm planning to install using a modified original E3D Chimera head. The new head will support the BLTouch too. I'm hacking my original Chimera to accept 3mm E3D V6 heat breaks and a water block. I really need to get my mini milling machine out of storage to do it though. Another mod has a higher priority though. I've spun some cad for a dual drive filament extruder. It should permit reliable use of flexible filaments and I'll eventually build two of them, if the design proves itself, for my dual extrusion Chimera head. The standard polled BLTouch interface is well covered in the Marlin config files though and I've been going through them and editing them. I'll uncomment the BLTouch stuff when I'm ready. My UMO is just about stock, ATM (I've run other hot ends in the past). I have direct drive x/y steppers and an externally controlled and powered heated bed but I swapped the wires for the "wrong-handed" external motor mount orientation so my 1.1.9 Marlin code would probably run on other stock machines too. All of that kind of stuff is now well documented in Marlin anyway. Let me know if you'd like to have a copy of my current version of Marlin and I'll put it on a share somewhere or maybe I'll post it to github. At a minimum, you'd need to change your x/y/z mm/step settings, but the way Marlin manages such settings from the Ulticontroller menu is improved over the earlier versions too!
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