gr5

Thomas please update what country you live in by going to your profile settings.

Nothing needs to be level. You can hang the printer by a rope to one corner upside down and it will print fine. When we talk about "leveling" what we really mean is that as the nozzle is pushed around to the 4 corners it should be EXACTLY the same distance from the build plate - that acrylic flat piece. Well not "exactly" but .01mm would be nice which is 1/10 the width of a piece of paper. Unfortunately wood warps over time (plus humidity affects it) so you have to level the UM Original quite often - maybe every few hours the first few weeks. Fortunately the heated bed upgrade has no wood parts (still in alpha test - hopefully it will be available within a few months).

Also the power itself can be 120V or 240V 50 Hz or 60 Hz. So it's only the cable you need.

This is a difficult problem in slicing. Most slicers probably implement this by drawing the exact same outer perimeter twice. But it would be better if it followed the contour of the part you are slicing. But following the part shape means the two skin layers are quite different - or can be. So where to you put the infill? Where the upper layer is? Or the lower? Or half way between?

I couldn't open the pictures. Please post picture again: How to post pictures: http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/4525-how-to-upload-an-image-to-the-forum/

It should be a cura or marlin option but it isn't. I've done it many times. I usually use pronterface to control my Z axis and find the exact spot where the printing ended - I move the head around using pronterface so i have the Z coordinate of where it stopped. I don't do the solid layer thing that you do. Instead I just remove the portion of gcode that is done and use G92 to set the extruder properly.

There are 2 ways to set the temperature. One is to go into the MATERIAL menu and set the default temperature for PLA and save this back to PLA. Then all future prints will always be at that temperature. While you are in there change the bed temp to 60C for PLA as 75C is too hot unless you are printing something with severe warping forces and all other methods fail. The second way is once you say PRINT and select a file, you can go into the TUNE menu and change lots of things including temperature.

Is your printer on a turntable!!?? If so that's very cool!

I've seen quite a few autoleveling features out there and I think this is the best and this is the one that makerbot applied for a patent on (I'm sure they won't get it). Skip to 44 seconds into the video! The first 44 seconds describe the old way.

In the expert menu you can do quite a bit of support configuration including having much less fill. Cura support keeps getting better but I still prefer meshmixer support (meshmixer is free): http://www.extrudable.me/2013/12/28/meshmixer-2-0-best-newcomer-in-a-supporting-role/

There's some discussion on taxes/duties somewhere in this forum. Buried in questions about lead time. Use google to search only this forum. Experiment with keywords "custom duties taxes import" and "ultimaker2". To have google only search the forum include this in your search term: site:umforum.ultimaker.com

How to post pictures: http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/4525-how-to-upload-an-image-to-the-forum/

1) Disconnect any wires currently connected to the green connector with screws labelled "heated bed" to eliminate that as the cause. 2) Measure the voltages at IC1 - that's the one that needs the most cooling. You should get 19V, 12V and 0V. The 19V comes from the black power supply that plugs into the printer. IC1 then regulates this down to 12V which the Arduino uses. If the 19V is fine but the 12V is bad then it's either IC1 or something is drawing a huge amount of current (and getting hot). If the 19V is low then it's either the black supply or something is drawing huge amounts of current there - I'd start by removing the pololus - the 19V only goes to a few places including servos, nozzle heater, maybe fans also.

Try a newer version of Cura - a bug that causes surface bumps was recently introduced that is fixed once again here: http://software.ultimaker.com/Cura_closed_beta/ Also 70mm/sec is fine for very large parts with long smooth moves, but with small tight curves like this you will improve quality quite a bit at 30mm/sec. Or even 20mm/sec. This is because the extruder isn't constantly speeding up and slowing down as it will never go below 10mm/sec (3 to 1 speed change ratio versus 7 to 1).

Also try slicing a small stl file just to see if it can slice *anything*. Try the smallest STL file you have. Preferably under 11k even though Cura can usually handle 1Mb STL files just fine. If it can't slice that then go to microsoft update and look for "optional" graphics driver updates. That solves *so many* problems.

win 7? Possibly graphics drivers. But then that would only crash in layer view I think? I don't know but there were some changes at 13.04 in the layer view display. Also there is a bug in 13.04 where it slices too many line segments even if they are only .00001mm long. So try reducing your polygons. How many millions of polygons do you have? Or try thicker layers - try 1mm layers just to see if it will slice. You can reduce polygon count with this technique (it worked well for me and meshlab is free): http://www.shapeways.com/blog/archives/226-polygon-count-reduction-with-meshlab.html

In general the screw should be mostly to spec but the nut hole will be a bit small. Probably around .5mm too small. Aside: .04mm might be too low -- I recommend .1mm layers as you will probably get better quality. There are 3 reasons why vertical holes are .5mm too small if you really want to know. And it varies by your own settings so it's best to just adjust the holes (or nuts in this case). So scale up that nut so that it is .5mm larger in the hole diameter. Even better get some calipers and measure the error exactly and scale up the nuts accordingly.

You can pay $100K for a printer and still won't necessarily work out of the box. No one makes a "3d printer" the way they make the "2d printers". The 2d printers are very complicated now. Even the ones they give away for free have all kinds of feedback sensors. They all have a camera to watch the paper loading and things like that. It should not be called "3d printing". It should be called "Additive Manufacturing". It's easier to use than a CNC milling lathe. But at least as hard as learning how to use a sewing machine. There's definitely a learning curve no matter who you buy from. For now. Wait until HP starts making millions of these every month. Then you will see some serious improvement. Having said all that the UM2 is a pretty awesome printer. I don't think you can get as good a printer for the money unless you get the UM1 kit and are willing to spend 20 hours assembling.

Hmm. Not with the gui drag/drop feature. I would combine all the STL's into one big STL file and slice that with cura - that way at least all the parts will be the exact correct seperation. Then I would probably do one of two things - in machine settings I believe cura centers your object on the center of the platform so you can adjust your X and Y max distance to cause Cura to place the objects properly. Or you can hand edit the gcode file with an offset. For example if you want to move X to the right 1mm and Y toward the back 2mm, after home do: G0 X1.0 Y2.0 G92 X0 Y0 That sets the x=1 y=2 position on your bed to the new 0,0 position.

Which allows other options like flame, heat gun, iron, steam, torch, soldering iron, angry bees...

By the way - when putting the head back together make sure the distance between isolator and isolator nut is as small as possible (about 1mm). This reduces the spring force on the isolator and reduces the friction and reduces some underextrusion issues.

Heating to 100C might be enough so you could use boiling water to loosen the "isolator nut" (that's what UM calls it). Although I recommend 180C. Once the white teflon part is out everything else (the metal parts) can handle 300C no problem. Regarding the thin screw with the allen hole on top - you can just use vice grips as damaging the upper threads shouldn't be a problem. Regarding paying UM for parts - I don't think they have a way of accepting payment other than for the stuff in their store. So they usually send you free parts even long after warranty is over and even if you admitted that it was your own fault that it broke. I think they are interviewing for more tech support positions but that takes time also. If you need a spare part and you are in the USA you can get special treatment - please update your location settings in your profile and if you are in the USA also send me a PM and I can hook you up with free replacement parts (nozzle and temp probe in this case).

Damn it. This changes everything. You didn't say it was only the first layer. That's a leveling issue. I can't tell if the head is too high off the bed or too low but I strongly suspect too high. It could be you have bent rods or something. In the gantry. Hopefully not. I know you said you leveled a few times. Here's what I recommend. 1) Assume nothing is wrong with the printer - level one more time but this is 3 point levelling and you don't level for the left rear directly - instead the rear screw and the front right screw control the back rear the most. If the front right screw is too high (too close, too tight on the paper) then the back left will be to loose. So make sure you have the *same amount* of friction on the paper as you slide it in and out. Try printing one more time. Also in Cura set your bottom layer to be .3mm thick (this is the default). There is a homing bug on some machines (will be fixed with software soon). To avoid the homing bug make sure the bed is not all the way down before levelling and again before printing. It needs to be at least 5mm off the bottom position. 2) If that doesn't work - assume (temporarily) that the rods are bent (or the glass?) and test for flatness. Look visually at the printer - does it sit flat on the table or rock on two corners? Look at rods and glass - does it seemed warped or bent? Probably not. To test for flatness more accurately install pronterface: http://koti.kapsi.fi/~kliment/printrun/ Connect computer with pronterface to the UM2. Tell the printer to go to Z=0 position. I think you can do it with the buttons or you can type command: G0 Z0 Even better go to .1mm up G0 Z0.1 Then push the head around with your hand to the 4 corners and check leveling with paper. See if there is a "low spot" in the back left corner but *not* a high spot in front right. If there is a low spot *and* a high spot you just didn't level it well enough so rotate those thumbscrews some more and get it perfect.

The white teflon piece is the "isolator" (that's what UM calls it). The "barrel adjuster" seems to be officially called the "isolator nut" (it has (6?) holes through it). The isolator nut is probably the most delicate thing in there as the walls are very very thin where it is threaded.

How do you change filament? Standard way or heating up and pulling the filament out? Standard way until about month ago. Now I heat up to 90C, pull damn hard with my hand and hand insert the new piece. I haven't used "change filament" in a while. Do you "sharpen" the filament tip so it doesn't get hung up inside the teflon piece? Now I have to as inserting by hand is a pain. I almost always cut the pla to a nice tip. Partly to discard the old tip. How often do you change filament? Every other print or so. I'm always changing colors. Do you let the nozzle heated up for a long time? Never. I'm afraid to let it stay hot very long at all. 240C is my max temp for the most part. Do you perform _very_ long prints? I've done 3 prints > 12 hours. One was about 30 hours. Room temperature where the printer is stored. UM says 20C. I have AC in summer, heat in winter. Never gets very humid. UM2 in the fall so haven't run AC yet. Wich filament do you use (spool, loose, brand)? Mostly UM but also printbl. I have had some underextrusion on spools down to the last 1/4. I now only run those spools on the UM original. Did you change motion settings? no. Did you increase stepper motor current? no. Do you use an alternative feeder? no. Haven't taken mine off yet or looked inside yet. Do you have a filament dust filter? Not really. Tried it - was a mess. Have you took the electronics cover off and checked where the extruder motor wires are guided? (maybe if they are guided wrong and are too close to other componentes, the extruder motor might be influenced during prints). My cover has been off for a very long time. The one thing I do that not many do - and I think it's important - I always print with filament on the floor. I think the feeder is too low and/or the filament spool too high and that creates a 45 degree angle as the filament enters the feeder. Other things: I've had many tangle problems. Now when I remove filament I hang on to the end and tuck it through a spool hole so it can't get tangled. I can't print 10mm^3/sec usually but I rarely need to go that fast - I mean I can print the cylinder to 10mm^3 but it isn't dependable - not safe. I feel comfortable printing 3mm^3/sec at 230C. I have 2 printers and I've never been able to keep them both going. So I'm really not in a rush, so I tend to print slow. When I push it to 5m^3/sec I'm bound to get a single ugly underextruded layer. I love the atomic bob method and so basically do it on all filament changes now. I have had at least 2 nozzle clogs that needed combination of atomic method and sometimes also some hypodermic needle.