tomnagel

There is an indicator on the feeder that shows the tension setting. For all standard materials it should be in the middle position. The picture shows I think regular Ultimaker silver PLA. If you had to set the feeder tension to something else than the middle position, something else is wrong. Your reseller will be able to help you.

Two times with the same gcode file, or two times with different gcodes? Do you still have the gcode of which you are sure it happened with?

Did you contact your reseller? The print Core is not a user serviceable part, since the heat break is very easy to destroy. PLA getting stuck in the cold zone is impossible if your printer is working fine. Please check if your front fan is running when print cores heat up.

Does this reproduce?

What is the thickness of the first layer? Normally, first layer thickness is set at 0.27mm in Cura, also for prints with 0.06mm layerheight. This relatively thick first layer is to get a robust bed adhesion, and allows for some inevitable tolerances in the glass plate and the print head suspension.

what slicer do you use? The change in structure happens at exactly the height where the hole is. Did you look in the layerview to see what the slicer is doing?

What do you mean with 100% solid layers, not 100% infill? Do you want to share a picture of your design? The experience from within UM is that esthetics and optimal mechanical properties don't go well together. you want to be nearly overextruding, to really fill the part, and leave as little air in the part as possible. But this often does not give very nice outer surfaces. For your snowboard binding, I guess you must balance towards overextrusion. Do you know which material is used for "real" bindings?

The newest firmware (which is now available as 'testing' version, not the stable version yet) of the UM3 enables you to change filament during pause. Look in the extruder 1/2 menu.

wow @peggyb those are awesome ideas!

Maybe it helps to lower the temperature of the layer on top of the support object, that will decrease the bonding. Maybe you can try other material like aluminum, but depends on how often you will print the same object. It kind of defeats the benefits of 3D printing When you work with rekease agent, arent you worried that the layer on top of your support won't stick at all? Or is the support object always 'enclosed' on all sides?

The orientation of the part in the printer matters. You can probably predict where forces will be in your part. Take care that these are not in Z-direction, as cross-layer direction is the weakest. Weight matters. The heavier you can print an onbject, the better. The relation between weight and strength is non-linear:10% less material makes your part 30% less strong. But most of all: choose the right material. PLA is stiff, but brittle. Abs is tougher, and maybe Nylon is a good choice. Ultimaker Nylon prints very well, and is really tough, but it might be too flexible for your application.

By the way: the default profiles in Cura are really good, when combined with UM materials. For other brand materials, profiles might need some tuning, but are at least a good starting point. My advice: start experimenting and optimizing only after you have had good results with the default profiles.

Did you follow the setup procedure? When loading the PVA into nozzle 2, was material actually coming from the nozzle when you pressed 'confirm'?

The default first layer thickness in all Cura profiles is 0.27mm

I've seen more requests for a feature to tweak the first layer. It is probably a very simple addition to Cura. In the mean time, would it be possible to make a very simple Cura plugin that inserts a single command somewhere in the beginning of the gcode, instructing the printer to do a relative movement of for example 0.05mm upwards? I've never made plugins, but it's probably not difficult. Please note that Active leveling is also used to measure the z-offset between the nozzles. It does so very accurately, probably better than manual!

I agree that the z-offset of the BB core seems off. Are you working with the latest (stable) firmware?

good point @flowalistik! So you need to specify the support and the brim! Another screenshot to make this clear:

Your parts look great, and thank you for the compliments. Please realise the brassfill and copperfill will wear down your (brass) nozzle. Since the nozzles are not user replaceable, this will become expensive in an UM3. I expect UM to release a abrasive resistant nozzle somewhere in time, but you should not expect that in a couple of months. If this is important to you, you may want to look for "hardcore six" on this forum (3rd party product, not from Ultimaker)

Well, I don't think it was stupid. Dual printing is more difficult than you might think at first sight. We did our best to offer it as user friendly as possible, but I think even experienced single extrusion users need some tips and tricks when starting with dual printing.

I'm not sure I totally understand what you mean, but maybe this helps. 1. Load the object 2. Select the object 3. Press the button "per model settings" on the left 4. Select the extruder you wish the model to print with Please note that if you print with a brim, you can select with which extruder the brim is printed separately. this option is found in the settings list on the right side.

100% fan speed in the first layer? In Cura? That is not supposed to be the default. Which machine, which material, which quality profile?

Newest firmware (testing version) has diagnosis in the system-maintenance menu. It tells you whether or not embedded control has a connection with the reader, and there's an option to check whether or not it sees any tags. if that is all working, and still your roll is not recognized during the loading procedure, you can reset the internal administration by using 'set type' in the MATERIAL menu, for both material 1 and 2. Remove spools from the spoolholder, and use "change material" for both sides. Your spools will then be recognized (that's what the embedded guys told me anyway)

try again with Cura 2.4 final, to be released today

Hi @peggyb, Why do you use moldlay? Did you try other stuff mentioned here? Could you share you experience?

Do you still know which AA core was in the left slot? That's important because factory XY calibrations are done with that core in that position. (Every core has a unique number, and XY calibration of a set of cores is remembered by the printer) I'm not sure I understand your problem entirely. Your BB core is recognized by the printer, but is identified as an AA? That would be a factory mistake. Or is it not recognized at all? You can look up printer info on the printer (by heart: system->maintenance->printer info?). There you will find info about the currently loaded print-cores. Contact your reseller if your BB core identifies itself as AA. The PVA nozzle is tested with black PLA in our factory, that is the black stuff that you see coming from the nozzle. The small silver-black printed part in your box is printed with your printer with your nozzles!