gr5

@3doftom - I love your artistry - looking forward to meeting you.

@lepaul for higher quality slow it down to 30mm/sec and that model doesn't need any support. Also if your bowden moves a bit (try pulling on it) then increase your retraction by the amount it moves - so maybe 5.5mm instead of 4.mm retraction? @viralata is that ABS processed with acetone vapor? Or PLA submerged in acetone? Or something else?

Increasing flow is an option I avoided when I last printed ninja flex but I've learned things since then and I think that's a smart way to go. I used only 100% at the time.

@msd3 - just to summarize - for UMO which is 19V it's complicated but for UM2 which is 24V simply by the 24V version of the heater. However if you plan to print PLA it will stick and get stuck against the metal. PLA is very good at sticking to the metal and if you do any retractions at all (if you don't you will get horrible stringing) then your print will likely fail. But ABS does not stick so much to metal and will work great. If you print only ABS then instead you could save money and just get the IPM from 3dsolex.com and print VERY hot if needed.

Yes. The feeder will not turn unless the head is > 170C. You can enable "cold extrusions" with this gcode or you can heat the nozzle: allow cold extrudes M302 Just put that gcode in something and print it or send that through pronterface. Then the extruder will start turning.

I usually call the metal part the "steel coupler" or the "steel nut". The brown stuff on the bottom edge is copper grease. It's a high temperature grease with copper in it. Unless the white part is discolored which seems very unlikely as the visible part stays quite cool - room temperature mostly. Hey I'm going to see you in Pasadena soon - I'm leaving tomorrow/Tuesday. How about you? Anyway I don't like the height of the white part - I'm worried about the pressure on the white part due to the spring above compressing so much. So try this: Heat nozzle to 180C (no hotter). Then stick a tool into that hole and rotate the coupler counter clockwise. The nozzle should move downwards and the white teflon part also. Don't go very far - 1mm at the most. Try to cut that gap in half maybe. If you go too far the nozzle/block will touch the fan shroud and you will have trouble heating up. Then try it again. Even though your printer is new I'm thinking maybe the isolator got deformed anyway. You could remove it and push filament through it to test it out. I also recommend printing an IRobertI feeder. It helps you feel the pressure on the filament and feel the resistance in different parts of the head and lets you know if the problem is the isolator or not. I don't have the IRobertI feeder still but I'm just saying - it gives you a good feel for this stuff. Another issue might be the curvature of the filament as you get near the end of the spool. Do you have another spool of filament? A fresh one? Also you say the filament broke - it's probably getting more brittle which is a bad sign. It means all those pieces can occasionally catch on something in the head and cause extrusion to fail. So that's another reason to try a new spool of filament. You could also bring stl files to Pasadena and we can print whatever you want as we will have 10 printers or so at your disposal.

Hit or miss? Really to get it exact you just twist the 3 screws as it's printing the skirt. And once you get it absolutely perfect it stays that way for months despite hammering prints off the glass hard enough to have the glass slide out or the printer slide across my table. I mean by eye I can get it within about .1mm of desired final height but when I print the skirt or brim I can get it much closer. These are tiny adjustments.

This builder is also easy to use. It has a somewhat older version of Marlin though but it has more choices for temp sensors and such I believe than Amedee's. If Amedee has the temp sensor you have then definitely go with his. http://marlinbuilder.robotfuzz.com/

There are no printers out there that are as simple to use as a 2D printer. They all require quite a bit of learning. But the UM2 is easier than most (all?) competitors for the price.

I believe Daid once said that when you level the bed with the official procedure it assumes you are leveling it such that the head is .08mm above the bed. So you could use that value if you have a feeler gauge at that value. Using a 0.1mm gauge should work well also. At various times I have had to unbox 5 brand new ultimakers and get them printing quickly. I have learned to use the leveling procedure and to it by eye. I try to get it so the head is just visibly touching the glass. It's extra easy to do in the front corners because you can tap the bed a bit and watch and feel and hear it move up to hit the nozzle if it isn't quite touching the nozzle. With the rear screw that doesn't help. This procedure seems to give fantastic results first time every time. However another great option might be to install tinkerGnome's version of Marlin. That actually tells you the offset that is stored for leveling and you can adjust it by any amount. So if you are changing nozzles often you could level them each perfectly once and write down the final value (but you would have to level without *ever* touching the screws). Or alternatively you could keep track of the *difference* between the 3 nozzles and adjust leveling by the correct amount. you can get that version of Marlin (which is really fantastic version of Marlin!) here: https://github.com/TinkerGnome/Ultimaker2Marlin/releases

I think she's the person who tightened the 4 thumb screws on my Ultimaker2ext! Those were hard to unscrew!

Raspberry pi route is MUCH cheaper than gopro. It's also a more versatile solution (programmable) and you get a fully functional computer. On the other hand the gopro comes with a water proof box and already knows how to snowboard.

I'm going. I'm looking forward to it. I'll be at the Ultimaker booth. Is anyone from the forum going? It's not as good as fun as a makerfaire but I figure *someone* from the forum will be going. If not but you live near Pasadena, let's meet up for dinner! Email me at thegr5store _at_ gmail dot com

Without a brim parts often warp up off the bed. If you get the right tools you can remove it pretty quickly with a nice razor. Usually I do my own custom brim in CAD and just put pads on the corners like the makerbot slicer does. But this is harder to remove as it's a diagonal infill - but worth it as you only have to remove a few spots instead of every little inside corner which is unnecessary - you only need the outside corners.

What do you mean? Connecting both heaters to the same connector? If you do that then both will get hot and that is not desired.

Oops - yes I got it backwards. You need reprap mode.

It took me only about 3 years to notice that so don't feel bad.

@h2befjon !! you are in Boston! I just noticed! You should come by with your printer and we can look at it together! I'm around sunday and labor day but busy this coming week - going to Pasadena for 3dprintshow. Email me your cell number at thegr5store _at_ gmail.com.

The Z axis jumping suddenly is a new issue and it seems to be related to overheating of the *driver* on the board under the printer. Most people fix it by lowering the current slightly. The issue possibly is *not* temperature related as some people claim cooling the board doesn't help yet lowering the current *does* help. Anyway try adding this gcode to see what happens: M907 Z1000 That sets the Z stepper current to 1000ma. Default is possibly 1300? I forget. Also consider removing bottom cover, printing with printer at 45 degrees (it will print at any angle and even upside-down just fine) and have a fan blow gently on the underside. Experiment and let us know what works so I can tell other people. It's really a small percentage of people with this problem (guessing 1% but don't really know) and it's a new issue (something different about the driver chip maybe or just the hot weather?).

When you see infill showing through you probably need to check one box to fix it. It's in the basic screen go to fill density and click the ... next to that and check the box "infill prints after perimeters". That should fix that issue.

It's possible to print through USB but unreliable - I don't recommend it for more than a 20 minute print. But you have to choose "ulti gcode mode" in cura.

If you read my post again you should be able to go up to 120mm at 210C but I recommend no faster than 60mm/sec with .1mm layers at 210C. So 40mm is well within the max of 60mm. Try testing the temperature next using my video as a guide. Here is a longer list of possible causes of underextrusion: 2) Isolator - this is most common if you've printed extra hot (>240C) for a few hours or regular temps (220C) for 100 hours. It warps. It's the white part touching the heater block. Test it by removing it and passing filament though it by hand. 3) Curved filament at end of spool - if you are past half way on spool, try a fresh spool as a test. 4) curved angle feeding into feeder - put the filament on the floor -makes a MASSIVE difference. 5) 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. 5b) Bowden pushing too hard - for the same reason you don't want the bowden pushing too hard on the isolator. 5c) 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. 6) 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. 8) feeder spring issues - too tight, too loose 9) 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. 10) 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 10b) 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.

lol. Glad you are all set now. Wow 100C. Interesting filament.

The biggest challenge by far is that PLA sticks to pretty much all metals. I don't know about titanium for sure but I strongly suspect PLA will stick to it. Therefore the teflon coupler (or the part made from PEEK in the UMO). So instead 3dsolex has 2 of the 3 solutions you need. They sell an Olsson block which makes it so you can make your own nozzles out of titanium without making the entire heater assembly out of that material. Plus you can change nozzles quickly. Plus 3dsolex sells stainless steel nozzles which last a bit longer than the brass ones. And besides they are pretty cheap. And finally they have the i2k which keeps the teflon part at 110C when the heater is at 260C. The i2k is small enough so the PLA doesn't have much area to stick to it. Now if you print ABS only, then you can use an all steel head such as the ones from e3donline. But those don't work so well with PLA. Also if you are going ABS only then even better just by the IPM part from 3dsolex.

You definitely should not use IPM and I2K at the same time. The IPM can handle the high temps just fine. I2K is meant to be used with teflon isolators. I agree it's a pain to take the head apart but each time I do it I get faster at it. It's like learning a new recipe - the first time it takes much longer than the 3rd time.