gr5

To any potential buyers: These machines *can* produce successful prints. I have a UM3 that works just fine and I know dozens of people who also have them. If you buy this machine and have trouble getting it working, just post here in the forum for help and advice to get off to a good start. My guess is the original owner had trouble with parts not sticking to the bed which is easy to fix but that's just a guess.

Looks like it's underextruding 2 of the sides only. I don't understand why it's concentric squares - that's not a typicall bottom layer. Anyway my guess is printing speed - I bet it is slowing down more at the junction of good and sides of the square and the slowdown allows pressure to build back up in the nozzle. Try printing at half the current speed - at least for the bottom layer. That should make it print more consistently.

just above the settings you can search through all the settings. Search for "bottom" and make sure these two are zero: bottom layers bottom thickness

That sounds strange. It sounds like a problem with your model. Maybe the seam where the two cylinders connect has gaps or other errors in the model. Please: 1) Show some photos to explain both in normal view, xray view, and slice view (for xray view there is a drop down in top left area when in preview mode) 2) Tell us what CAD you are using or is this a model from someone else?

I think the smart resellers have not shipped it yet and are waiting for the next firmware version but a few resellers have shipped some material handlers. I have no idea which resellers are willing to ship it already. This is just my opinion. I don't work for Ultimaker.

That's normal. It won't load until after you start a print job. It might not even load until after autolevel is complete (not sure).

If you do not already have 5.4.6 then yes you need to update the S5. Although I suspect it may want to be downgraded to 5.2.11 but do not do that. If you do not have 5.4.6 then you have to ask your reseller where to get it. It's kind of a secret for now (the location of 5.4.6 and how to install it). The material station is not shipping in the US (I believe). Anyway check the version on the screen of the S5 and if you do not have 5.4.6 then contact your reseller for instructions. Or just wait a few weeks and it will ask you to auto update to whatever the newer version is (will probably be> 5.4.6).

@ Starflash Bully and @ HuguesW CLARIFICATION I'm pretty sure 5.4.6 has no known bugs with the material handler and the S5 combined. It could have a hardware problem (something came loose?) @ HuguesW . The only bug with 5.4.6 is for people with the material bug mentioned above. If you do not have the material handler your S5 should automatically request to downgrade to 5.2.11. And soon there should be a new firmware to resolve all of this.

If you translate the german above - and 2 of the posts above are from people "in the know" (dim3nsioneer and lrodriguez) - you will realize that you can use 5.4.6. It has a bug with not feeding enough at the very start but it has workarounds. One possible workaround is to lift the little lever and slide in more filament (I believe this should work). Another one is to unload and reload the filament before every print. In the meantime if you wait a few weeks this bug will be fixed.

What is your setting for "minimum layer time"? I'm guessing it's at 5 seconds? Anyway try cutting that value in half and it should speed up to your desired speed. But then consider putting the value back as you might not want to mess with this. 5 seconds should be an absolute minimum for this parameter for pla. To save time you could print 2 parts at the same time so one can cool while the other prints and you don't have to mess with "minimum layer time".

I'd talk to your reseller. Unfortunately they might prefer to have you send it to them but ask them if it's something you can fix yourself (these printers come apart pretty easily but there are deadly voltages under the S5).

@hackurs - did you look at your part in layer view to see what will happen when it prints?

good! I don't like auto-level much. So just move the bed and nozzle closer together a little bit. I usually adjust on the fly on the first layer if things are off. For example when I change nozzles and start a print it might print a little high or low and I just turn the 3 leveling screws that support my bed on the fly in the first few seconds. I don't know if your printer has leveling screws.

If you print slower it will have lower pressure in the head and will do less stringing. For example 35mm/sec. Usually I have zero stringing - you can look at my prints carefully and you can't tell where it travelled between parts. Also it helps to have *all* printing speeds the same (by default they vary by about 2X). Each speed change causes quality issues like this. Some filaments (white filaments of all brands and plastics - pla, abs, all brands) string more. If you retract too much you will get air in the nozzle you get more stringing and also that will make prints ugly in other areas. If you retract too little you get stringing. Set travel as fast as possible without losing steps. On any ultimaker printer you should be able to travel at 200mm/sec or faster. I think 150mm/sec is the default which is fast enough.

I think the feeder tension is probably fine. Here's a complete list. Most of the ones below could happen starting the 2nd or 3rd layer but if it usually is fine until the 10th layer or higher then that makes me think it's more likely one of these: 4, 11, 12, 18, 22, 23 #23 is so easy to check - just bend the pla and see if it snaps. Check the little bit of filament you saved, plus check some on the spool. compare to another brand. #18, #23 are the two most common problems that show up far through a print but since you mentioned it's an unusual filament then #11 would make a lot of sense as well. ========================================================================= One can quickly check the feeder (it takes seconds) so I would always do that first. The feeder on UM2+ and UM2 can push with 10 pounds (5kg) force easily so first thing is to lift that lever (if um2+, if um2 regular do move material) and insert filament so it is only part way into the bowden (e.g. half way). Then move the filament with "move material" command in menu so the feeder is energized and then pull down on the filament under the feeder. You should be able to pull with 5 to 10 pounds force without it slipping. Then have it move the material up while you pull down. 5 pounds force (2kg) is enough to make decent prints at moderate speeds listed below but you need 10 pounds (5kg) to print fast (e.g. 0.2mm layers and 60mm/sec) As far as underextrusion causes - there's just so damn many. none of the issues seem to cause more than 20% of problems so you need to know the top 5 issues to cover 75% of the possibilities and 1/4 people still won't have the right issue. Some of the top issues: 1) Print slower and hotter! Here are top recommended speeds for .2mm layers (twice as fast for .1mm layers) and .4mm nozzle: 20mm/sec at 200C 30mm/sec at 210C 40mm/sec at 225C 50mm/sec at 240C The printer can do double these speeds but with huge difficulty and usually with a loss in part quality due to underextrusion. Different colors print best at quite different temperatures and due to imperfect temp sensors, some printers print 10C cool so use these values as an initial starting guideline and if you are still underextruding try raising the temp. But don't go over 240C with PLA. 2) Shell width confusion. Shell width must be a multiple of nozzle size (in cura 15.X. In cura 2.X it doesn't matter as much but still makes a difference). For example if nozzle size is .4mm and shell width is 1mm cura will make the printer do 2 passes with .5mm line width which is possible but requires you to slow down much more to make a .5mm line out of a .4mm nozzle. If you really want this then set nozzle size to .5mm so it's clear what you are asking Cura to do for you. 3) Isolator - this is most common if you've printed extra hot (>240C) for a few hours or regular temps (220C) for 500 hours. It gets soft and compresses the filament under pressure. It's the white part touching the heater block. It's very hard to test when not under full pressure (spring and bowden) so sometimes it's best to just replace it. Also if you notice parts of it are very soft (the blacker end where it touches higher heat) then it's too old and needs replacing. 4) Curved filament at end of spool - if you are past half way on spool, try a fresh spool as a test. 5) curved angle feeding into feeder - put the filament on the floor -makes a MASSIVE difference. 6) UM2 only: Head too tight? Bizarrely MANY people loosen the 4 screws on the head by just a bit maybe 1/2 mm and suddenly they can print just fine! Has to do with pressure on the white teflon isolator. 6b) UM2 only: Bowden pushing too hard - for the same reason you don't want the bowden pushing too hard on the isolator. 6c) Um2 only: Spring pushing too hard. Although you want a gap you want as small as possible a gap between teflon isolator and steel isolator nut such that the spring is compressed as little as possible. 7) clogged nozzle - the number one problem of course - even if it seems clear. There can be build up on the inside of the nozzle that only burning with a flame can turn to ash and remove. Sometimes a grain of sand gets in there but that's more obvious (it just won't print). Atomic method (cold pull) helps but occasionally you need to remove the entire heater block/nozzle assembly and use flame. I found soaking with acetone does not help with caramelized pla. Even overnight. Maybe it works on ABS though. Simpler cold pull: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u07m3HTNyEg 😎 Temp Sensor bad - even the good ones vary by +/- 5C and bad ones can be any amount off - they usually read high and a working sensor can (rarely) fail high slowly over time. Meaning the sensor thinks you are at 220C but actually you are at 170C. At 170C the plastic is so viscous it can barely get out of the nozzle. You can verify your temp sensor using this simple video at youtube - on you tube search for this: mrZbX-SfftU 9) feeder spring issues - too tight, too loose. On the black UM2 feeder you want the tension such that you can clearly see the diamond pattern biting into the filament. You want to see at least 2 columns of diamonds. 4 columns is too much. On the white UM2 plus and UM3 feeders you usually want the tension set in the center. 10) Other feeder issues, one of the nuts holding UM2 and UM3 together often interferes with the feeder motor tilting it enough so that it still works but not very well. Other things that tilt the feeder motor, sleeve misaligned so it doesn't get a good grip. Gunk clogging the mechanism in there. 11) Filament diameter too big - 3mm is too much. 3mm filament is usually 2.85mm nominal or sometimes 2.9mm +/- .05. But some manufacturers (especially in china) make true 3.0mm filament with a tolerance of .1mm which is useless in an Ultimaker. It will print for a few meters and then clog so tight in the bowden you will have to remove the bowden from both ends to get the filament out. Throw that filament in the trash! It will save you weeks of pain 11b) Something wedged in with the filament. I was setting up 5 printers at once and ran filament change on all of them. One was slowly moving the filament through the tube and was almost to the head when I pushed the button and it sped up and ground the filament badly. I didn't think it was a problem and went ahead and printed something but there was a ground up spot followed by a flap of filament that got jammed in the bowden tube. Having the "plus" upgrade or using the IRobertI feeder helps you feel this with your hand by sliding the filament through the bowden a bit to see if it is stuck. 12) Hot weather. If air is above 30C or even possibly 25C, the air temperature combined with the extruder temperature can soften the filament inside the feeder such that it is getting squeezed flat as it passes through the feeder - this is obvious as you can see the problem in the bowden. The fix is to add a desk fan blowing on the back of the printer. Not an issue on the UM3 or UM2 "plus" series. 13) Crimped bowden. At least one person had an issue where the bowden was crimped a bit too much at the feeder end although the printer worked fine when new it eventually got worse and had underextrusion on random layers. it's easy to pull the bowden out of the feeder end and examine it. 14) Worn Bowden. After a lot of printing (or a little printing with abrasive filaments) the bowden resistance can be significant. It's easy to test by removing it completely from the machine and inserting some filament through it while one person holds it in the U shape. Preferably i nsert filament that has the pattern from the feeder. 15) Small nozzle. Rumor has it some of the .4mm nozzles are closer to .35mm. Not sure if this is actually true. I'm a bit skeptical but try a .6mm nozzle maybe. 16) CF filament. The knurled sleeve in the extruder can get ground down smooth - particularly from carbon fill. 4 spools of CF will destroy not just nozzles but the knurled sleeve also. Look at it visually where the filament touches the "pyramids". Make sure the pyramids are sharp. 17) Hot feeder driver. I've seen a more recent problem in the forums (>=2015) where people's stepper drivers get too hot - this is mostly a problem with the Z axis but also with the feeder. The high temps means the driver appears to shut down for a well under a second - maybe there is a temp sensor built into the driver chip? The solution from Ultimaker is that they lowered all the currents to their stepper drivers in the newer firmware. Another solution is to remove the cover and use desk fan to get a tiny bit of air movement under there. TinkerMarlin lets you set the currents from the menu system or you can send a gcode to lower the current. Ultimaker lowered the default currents in July of 2015 from 1300ma to 1200ma for X,Y,Z but left extruder at 1250. Other people (I think the support team of a major reseller but I forget) recommend X,Y,Z go down to 1000mA. M907 E1250 Above sets the extruder max current to the default - 1250mA. So try 900mA. This will only change until next power cycle so if you like your new value and want to save it use M500. You can just put these into an otherwise empty gcode file and "print" this and it will change. Or get tinkergnome marlin! You will wonder how you lived without it: https://github.com/TinkerGnome/Ultimaker2Marlin/releases M907 E900 M500 18) third fan broken. This tends to cause complete non-extrusion part way through a print. In the rear of the head for UM2 and the front of the head for UM3. Without this fan several things can go wrong. It can take a while as usually you also need several retractions to carry the heat upwards. There are a few failure mechanisms and I don't understand them all. One of them is probably that the molten PLA spreads out above the teflon and sticks to the metal in a core or fills the gap at the base of the bowden in UM2. Later it cools enough to keep the filament from moving up or down. 19) Spiralize/vase mode. This is a rarely used feature of Cura but you might have left it on by accident? In this mode the wall of your part is printed in a single pass. So if you have a .4mm nozzle and the wall is .8mm thick it will try to over extrude by 2X. This is difficult to do and may instead lead to underextrusion. 20) non-standard or bent fan shroud. Sometimes people print some fan shroud off of thingiverse or youmagine out of PLA or ABS. Some of these are great but most of them are crap. One needs to do good air flow modeling. Also if it's PLA it will slump and direct air differently. Air directed at the block or nozzle can cause severe underextrusion and also sometimes HEATER ERROR. Put the original shroud back on or just turn off the fan to prove that the fan is the problem. 21) Firmware settings - for example UM2+ firmware on UM2 or vice versa will cause 2X over extrusion or 2X underextrusion. Downgrading or changing firmware can mess up steps/mm and other settings - so if you updated firmware and then problems started then do a "reset to factory settigns" which corrects all the steps/mm values. 22) too many retractions (this causes complete failure) - if you have too many retractions on the same piece of filament you can grind it to dust. 10 is usually safe. 20 is in the danger zone. 50 should guarantee failure. You can tell cura to limit retractions to 10 per a given spot of filament. Do this by setting "maximum retration count" to 10 and "minimum extrusion distance" to your retraction distance (4.5mm for UM2 and 6.5 for UM3 and 8mm for S5). 23) Brittle filament. Espciallty with older PLA but even brand new pla can do this. If you unspool some (for example if it's in the bowden) for many hours (e.g. 10 hours) it can get extremely brittle and it can snap off into multiple pieces in the bowden. It's not obvious if you don't look for this. Then it starts printing just fine and at some point one of those pieces reaches the print head and gets hung up somewhere and the printer suddenly stops extruding for now apparent reason. This usually happens within the first meter of filament - once you get to printing the filament that was recently on the spool it should be fine from then on. 24) The "plus" feeder can have an issue where the filament doesn't sit properly for one print and it permanently damages the arm inside the feeder as shown by this photo - the hole is ground down asymetrically: http://gr5.org/plus_feeder_issue.jpg 25) Other feeder issues. You can test the feeder by putting the filament only part way down the bowden and with the feeder electrically turned on (or moving) pull very hard on the filament until it slips. You should be able to pull with about 5kg or 10 pounds of force before it slips. 4kg is acceptable. 2kg is a problem. If the stepper motor isn't engaged you can try going into the move menu. After a minute or so power is removed again from the feeder stepper.

You can certainly get a fancy timelapse with the UM3 in other ways. You could have the head move to the corner of the printer at the completion of each layer and hit some kind of switch that triggers your camera. Even though I'm a software engineer who has studied the UM3 firmware, I think that would be the easier route (a hardware solution).

Please show a photo of before you close it. There should be quite a bit of tension on the spring before you put the 2 halves together. The screw head should be *below* the wall. In other words when fully assembled, the hex driver needs to pass through a plastic hole in the feeder before it's possible to touch the screw head.

Try setting "minimum wall flow" to 50. I don't know much about this issue - you could mess a little bit with line width (set it to 0.35mm instead of 0.4). Also maybe play with "print thin walls". Maybe? @burtoogle is the expert on this issue and I forget what he said exactly but I think you just need the "minimum wall flow" thing. Maybe.

your first post was approved a week ago. Your second within 7 minutes.

I've seen this many times - it looks to me that your nozzle and your bed are too far apart. It looks like you have some kind of auto level. Well it's autoleveling too far from the bed by about 0.1mm. Can you tell the autolevel to cheat a bit by 0.1mm? Usually a good autolevel algorithm cheats. Nominally the nozzle should just touch the bed at Z=0 but a good autolevel will have the nozzle touching glass around Z=0.1 or Z=0.2. This makes the machine squish the filament a little better. If you don't believe me you could push up a bit on the glass when it's printing those circles to get more squish - the circles should then be complete. Also if you don't squish more your parts likely will come loose or at least lift up on the corners. I have a whole video about this issue.

Read this carefully - your issue is most likely related to the section that discusses "reverse faces". https://i.materialise.com/blog/3d-printing-with-sketchup/

Cura uses openGL. This kind of thing happens all the time if your version of opengl installed on your computer is an older version or if your graphics card doesn't support some important (for cura) features of openGL. Try these things: 1) Update your graphics card to the latest driverss 2) Updating openGL to a newer version (I'm not sure if one can even do this or if you have to update the whole operating system?) 3) Try a different computer (seriously - it's a good intermediate test even if not a final solution for you).

It's "line width". There is no nozzle size anymore. In practice, for a 0.4mm nozzle you can set line width from around .35 to around .5mm. I accidentally set it to 0.8 for a 0.4mm nozzle and the part actually came out pretty good. Anyway, I recommend you set line width equal to your nozzle width. UM/Cura often recommends a smaller line width than the nozzle (around 7/8ths I think). I disagree. Somewhat strongly. Unless you are trying to print thin walls like an architects model of a house.

What updates? I don't think there have been updates in a few years. I see two possibilities: 1) You updated the firmware on the UM2 whatever you updated to, it sounds like you need to do a "factory reset". It's in the menu system on the UM2 series printers. A lot of these values such as "purge height" are stored in eeprom and usually they are carried forwards properly but not always. A factory reset will reset the purge height properly but you will lose some other stuff. But that's what you get for doing a firmware update 😉 2) You updated cura If this happened after a cura update then your machine settings are probably wrong. In the top there are three things related: "PREPARE PREVIEW MONITOR". Go to prepare, look at the choices for printers in the top left corner. If there are 2 um2 printers in there be careful you always know which you are using. Then go into "manager printers" then "machine settings" and make sure it is not in Marlin mode - you want gcode flavor to be "ultimaker2" and then make sure the boxes below that are all empty (the start and end gcodes). After fixing this reslice.

If you click on a part you can see the bounding box in X,y, and Z. That's usually good enough for me to check that the dimensions are about right (or even exactly right).