gr5

Doesn't cura already do this? Select one of the items on the build plate by clicking on it and then over in the left side of the screen there should be something called "per model settings". Initially there are only a few settings you can modify but you can enable many more. Layer height is one of the few settings you can't modify "per model".

>Would it make sense, in printer settings under maybe an "optional" or "advanced" section, to have the firmware printer acceleration and jerk? Yes!!

1) .02 layer height or .2 layer height? 2) What kind of printer is this? Assuming .2mm layer height. .2 X 30 X .4 gives 2.4 mm^3/sec which should be easy enough. Here is my list of underextrusion causes: CAUSES FOR UNDEREXTRUSION AND HOW TO TEST FOR THEM AND REMEDY THEM 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. 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) 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) Bowden pushing too hard - for the same reason you don't want the bowden pushing too hard on the isolator. 6c) 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. Or soak it in acetone overnight (after removing 90% of the material with cold pull). 8) 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 10) Other feeder issues, one of the nuts holding machine 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 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 and 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) 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. 15) 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. 16) 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

Don't make conjectures or worry about buying a new PCB when the problem is more likely the power brick. 12V is bad. It's supposed to be 24V. Did you measure 12V with printer connected? Or with printer not connected? If you measured 12V with printer connected - then it might still be either thing (power brick or PCB).

There is one relay. K1. It should click on within .1 second - difficult to hear but if you have a musical ear it's obvious. 1) leave printer on but unplug power supply. let it discharge fully. This took > 24 hours once but at least 5 minutes. Then turn printer off, plug supply back in and turn printer back on. This helped me several times. 2) Measure the 24V on the exposed circuit board when power is on. This pushes you into two different lines of inquiry depending if 24V is there or not. I'm guessing 24V is fine (because of the relay sound but still it might only be putting out 5V which might be enough for the relay but nothing else) and you need a new PCB. If it's less than a year you can probably get a new one under warranty. I don't think there are any fuses. That would be too easy.

Instead it might just be something is loose with the Z screw and/or Z nut. The Z screw might not be properly connected to the stepper and it may slip. I thought that was impossible but maybe? Or maybe the Z current is too weak? I guess if it's not the heat issue above I would connect the printer to a PC through USB and install pronterface on that machine. I would then direct the bed to move up and down by 1mm, 10mm, and 100mm movements. I would measure how far it moved (maybe a type a ruler to the side of the machine near the bed? and also feel it. See if I could feel something strange. Pronterface is free and easy to use: Pronterface is here: http://koti.kapsi.fi/~kliment/printrun/

Well it could be the driver overheating but that usually causes your part to be taller, not shorter but here is an old post below - I would remove the bottom cover, tilt the printer and have a fan blowing some air on the circuitry and then start a new print. Just to see if that helps. If not then ignore this "hot z driver issue" below: 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

I recommend deleting all the old profile information from cura 2.6 by closing cura, then deleting the %appdata%/cura and %localappdata%/cura folders and then restarting cura 2.7 to see if that helps.

Wow. So many issues. I feel for you. What version of windows do you have on your computer and your wife's laptop? (e.g. windows xp?) and are you running 32 bit or 64 bit operating systems? I know many cura issues are related to video drivers. Something about openGL? many people have had to turn openGL on or turn it off or update their video driver. Cura runs well on mac and linux as well. Cura 2.* creates a log file. Typically somewhere in %appdata%/cura and/or %localappdata%/cura. I'm wondering if cura at least creates the log file. Do those folders exist? I would completely delete those cura subfolders. Cura 2.3 puts stuff in there that is incompatible with newer versions of Cura 2.*. Each time you restart cura if those folders are empty it's like running cura the first time after installing it. It's like a fresh start. You'll lose your mark2 profiles/customizations if they are in one of those folders.

Nozzle size is mostly meaningless in cura 2.*. Use line width instead.

I repaired the picture. Yep. Same advice. Tighten the long belts to make holes round. I'm not 100% sure you have underextrusion. It's a bit blurry but in the inner print the outer walls seem to be connected to each other but not connected to the infill. So if you have underextrusion then it's not as serious as I expected. Instead that is probably just not enough top/bottom layers. You want at least 4 top/bottom layers. So if your layer height is for example .2mm then you want 0.8mm top/bottom layers.

You might get some answers here. I recommend you instead learn how to use DSM (design spark mechanical). After modeling your 10th part you will be an expert. And print them through 3dhubs.com using PLA. You can also find designers on freelancer.com and they are in countries where labor is cheaper. If you post a few photos of an object and ask for a model of it you will get quotes within 30 seconds. Very easy to use. Don't pick the first person. Wait a few minutes and read their reviews. They tend to just pick some random price out of their head and then when you pick them the actual negotiating starts. That is because most people pick a designer within 30 seconds. so they are pressured to reply within 30 seconds. But once you get used to it freelancer.com is great. Then print the parts through 3dhubs.com. But seriously - consider learning DSM. There are thousands of training videos on how to use it and you will be more proud of your work and you will learn a valuable new skill and will start using this skill to print other things for your house such as new knobs for your stove.

For example to get the tops of this part to look good I had to print two of these at the same time:

This is a very common problem and very easily fixed. Just print more than one at the same time (in all-at-once mode). So place at least 3 of these into cura and look at slice view and make sure it's printing the first layer of all 3 together, then the second layer of all three (not one-at-a-time mode where it prints one, then starts the second). This allows the top layers in that small area to cool while printing the next one. also make sure the fans are at 100%. Also it's slightly better to place them in a line along the X axes (left to right) as that way a fan is more likely to blow on one of the parts that isn't currently being printed. Even just placing two of these down will make a huge difference. Also they will probably print faster. Right now you are probably hitting the "minimum layer time" on every layer but with two it can increase the speed.

@bob-hepple - the forum was moved to AWS recently and that introduced a bunch of new bugs. That "security warning" - when you see it, replace the website with "ultimaker.com". Same with broken links - if there is a broken link, replace the website with "ultimaker.com" (instead of the aws website). For those unfamiliar with URLs - they are of the format: https://xxx.yy.zz.aa.bb.cc.dd.ee.com/other/stuff/andmorestuff?goes=here#innertag The portion with all the dots is the website/webserver address. That's the part you have to remove and replace with ultimaker.com. The address of the webserver is between two slashes so it will have no slashes in it but will have some dots.

If combing is disabled you don't get this (it retracts). I think you can disable combing on the first layer only in cura 2.* Anyway turn off combing whether you use cura 15.* or 2.*

About raft: it was used before PLA was popular on printers that tried to print ABS on a cold heated bed - on blue painters tape. The warping forces of ABS are tremendous and would pull the part up or rip up the tape. The fix was to use a raft which was flexible and could bend a bit - just enough to relieve the tension and keep the part down and not "warp" off the print bed. Now we have many newer technologies and no one needs raft anymore. These technologies include PVA glues, heated beds, PLA (half the warp), brim and other surfaces like build tak.

Photos please. Raft isn't needed on modern printers. What kind of printer is it? I assume you are using PLA as it's the best for most uses. I assume you mean the outer corners are "inward" from where they should be? PLA acts like a liquid rubber band before it hardens and it's under tension because it cools in milliseconds and so shrinks while still molten. It's kind of like snot or other mucus. So as it wraps around the edge it pulls inward. This effect is worse just above a heated bed. You can lower the temp of the bed to 60C and the part will still stick like hell. But even at room temp you will have some issues. Vertical holes in a part will also have this problem for the same reason - too small. Can you supply more details? Basically the fix is usually to just adjust the CAD model once you have very consistent printing results. It sounds crazy but it works very well - measure the error and adjust the size by that amount in cad and you end up with a perfect printed model.

Picture would help. #1: Well it's probably underextruding. You probably have your cura settings such that nozzle width is .4 (I hope) and shell thickness is .8. If not then that might be your problem as shell MUST be a multiple of wall thickness. It's only extruding at maybe 70% what it is supposed to be so you get gaps between the two passes. Try tightening the screw that sets the tension on the feeder. You want that pretty tight. Tighter than you would think. More likely you are just printing too fast. Try slowing it down to 25mm/sec. You can adjust the speed live as it prints and see how slow before you stop underextruding. #2 Well this is probably the 4 long belts are too loose. If you put the head in the corner and pluck them they should be around 100 to 200 Hz - you can try a guitar tuner app. Or play the note on a piano. To tighten the easiest trick is to search thingiverse for Ultimaker belt tighteners and print some. #3 - this is tricky - get #1 and #2 perfect first. I recommend doing only a constant width font (no serifs) so arial is good. Lie to cura about your nozzle width/line thickness (which version of cura?) and do perhaps .3mm nozzle width (even though I assume it's .4) and .9mm shell (3 passes max) and overextrude a bit - maybe 50%. You can also get smaller nozzles but if you do you will have to either print without the fan shroud or 3d print one designed for e3d nozzles (there are some on youmagine - ask me if you decide to go this route). But fix #1 and #2 first. #3 is more advanced.

It seems to be getting random read errors on your card. I've seen this before. Occasionally an X or Y value is set to zero or 1 meter or something and the head moves up to the edge of the build. It can be caused by: 10 dust/dirt where memory card touches the contacts. This has happened to me and I fixed with a vacuum cleaner and some q-tips with alcohol. 2) bad memory card - try a different one 3) cable cross talk. Try moving the ribbon cables farther from each other and farther from any other electric signals. Just a few mm farther is enough. #2 is the easiest to test for. #1 is the most likely.

Look at your model in xray view. If you see anything in red that is the problem. Also make sure all plugins are disabled for your print (it remembers plugins from previous prints).

I'm thinking TFT or bowden. Talk about feeder in a minute. 40mm/sec at 210 with .16 layers is definitely at the absolute limit I like to print at. It should be able to do about double this but still. This requires about 2kg of force. The feeder should be able to do 5kg. Either the feeder is the problem or something in between is adding a few kg of resistance. TFT/head resistance: Do a cold pull, then remove the nozzle and let it cool to below 40F. Pull the filament out and once cool insert some filament up from below. Feel how much resistance there is in the head. bowden resistance. These get scratched up and the resistance can get pretty high. I'm not sure how to test this though. feeder Really the best test for this is to do a weight test. Tell it to extrude slowly with varying weights. It should be able to do about 10 pounds or 5kg. Here's my setup. With a scale underneath and with bungee, I can have the extruder lift more and more weight until it grinds or slips.

More details please. Retractions work fine for me in 2.7. Maybe screen shot of the error? Maybe find as small an STL file as possible that still won't let you enable retraction? Maybe exit cura, delete everything (all your old stored profiles) in the %appdata%/cura and %localappdata%/cura folders.

hreedijk sent me the file. It's up on youmagine now: https://www.youmagine.com/designs/fisher-price-explorer-wheel

I have his email. I'll see if he responds to that. If he lets me I'll post the files on thingiverse and youmagine.