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It might be the atomic method doesn't work through the bowden. I don't know if I've tried it on the UM1 through the bowden yet.

You did it either too cool or too hot. You should get a tip the shape of your nozzle tip. It helps to remove anything below the tip also. I think you did it slightly too hot. Try 3C cooler or let it cool for 5 more seconds at 90C. Or maybe it was the right temp you just need to let the upper parts cool for a few more seconds.

Hi Peter. Something wrong with translation. For example "pretsiznos" didn't translate. Can you write this again please with complete sentences. Check spelling carefully before you translate with google. Google translate doesn't work well on partial phrases like this.

Usually this happens when a part gets loose on the print bed and is dragged around and filament just squirts out everywhere including gradually up into the print head. I'm not sure what you mean by wires are burnt. The Heater cable going into the nozzle has a black area but I think that is burnt PLA and it should be fine. I'm not sure where there is any plastic left. You didn't show any photos of PLA where it shouldn't be as far as I can tell. Do you know if the nozzle is clogged at this point? You might want to use the atomic method to clean out the end of the nozzle: http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/4118-blocked-nozzle/?p=33691 Or you can continue dissassembly (remove the long skinny screw before removing the heater and temp sensor cables as that holds them in) and burn the rest out over a gas flame but don't heat it so much that you melt the metal used for the head (bronze?).

Very strange! Probably 4X taller? Check the jumpers for the Z driver. You can see them in the assembly instructions picture. If the jumper is touching only one pin then it is equivalent to being removed as it isn't conducting: Click the above photo to zoom. Then you can zoom in more by right clicking and do "show image". Then you can zoom in more by clicking it a third time. The circled jumper in the above photo should be the only Z jumper not installed (or installed only touching one pin). Also I think to the right it might tell you the setting based on which jumpers are installed.

You can set steps/mm using gcodes and save it permanently also. Post again if you ever need to but the quick answer is to install repetier host, command say 100mm of travel and see what actual distance is (with filament only half way down the tube or command it to unextrude. Then find the ratio of error and correct steps/mm by that amount. RH will tell you the current steps/mm when it connects to the printer through usb and you can adjust this and save it (I think M500 might be the save command). As far as loctite - I hope someone else answers. I know there are several types (colors) - some are meant for permanent and some will be "breakable".

On the pulley? really? That's really good to know for future as someone asks every week almost.

Very reasonable theory. For 2.85mm standard hard PLA it's usually fine. Some people have taken apart their feeder and either cut a loop off their spring or filed down the white swing arm a little to reduce the tension. I've been fine so far - I haven't even taken my feeder apart yet. Although I'd like to print IRobertI's design some day. It allows for easier filament change.

Unless you have a cat.

Putting the filament on the floor will eliminate or stave off many problems. That is by far the most important thing you can do: Also keeping the nozzle cooler will help the white teflon piece not deform. At 240 and 250C it is more likely to compress and deform and cause problems. That is the second most important thing you can do. I know this doesn't sound like "maintenance" - more like "babying the printer", but it will help you longer. Also don't print where dust can get on the filament (and end up in the nozzle) - store unused filament in sealed ziploc bags to keep dust off and also to keep humidity out. Possibly cover the whole thing in plastic whenever someone vacuums.

Everyone thinks their feature is important but sometimes adding one feature pisses someone else off. Think about if everyone wants this feature or if it might possibly just add another thing that new people won't understand or appreciate. Anyway here is the best place to post a request as it will kind of sit there where UM employees see it on a regular basis: https://github.com/daid/Cura/issues

The "ghosting" is usually called Ringing. You can fix it by lowering acceleration (but leave the speed the same). It shouldn't slow down your print much. Here are some experiments with photos where someone was able to get rid of it: Post #8 here: http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/2532-prevent-ringing-wobbly-surface-after-sharp-corners/?p=18006

@andrew - tilting indicates friction in general - usually near the motor or the short belt from the motor to the first pulley or near the pulley. Push the head around with power off and see if friction is worse on the X axis. You might not be able to see it. Look to see if black belt (short one) is rubbing while pushing head back and forth.

Or you can heat to 180c, then unscrew the nozzle (careful - many people break it - it's soft - brass maybe). Put it in a flame and burn everything out. Don't leave in flame too long or it will melt.

Clean the nozzle with the Atomic method which is much easier on the UM Original. Heat head to 180C (or higher) then cool to 90C. The moment it hits 90C pull the filament out hard from the feeder. You should get a nozzle tip shaped end of filament. Inspect for dirt. cut it off and throw away, repeat several times. Poke that needle in the hole a few times also when still around 180C.

Oops. :oops: I need to stop doing it in my head maybe.

If it hits 3.01mm it's probably getting stuck in the bowden. :( Throw it away. Sorry to say this but that's by far the best solution. Alternatively, take some sheet metal and drill a 3mm hole in it, then pass filament through it and chop up the filament and discard bits that are over 3.00mm. Then give up and throw the whole thing away anyway. :(

Was it X or Y axis that missed steps? There are two main causes of missed steps. Loose pulley causes sudden shifts. Rubbing/friction causes gradual shifts like this. If it's a UM1 it's almost certainly the rubber belt rubbing against the wood frame - you can tell because it twists back and forth each time it changes direction. Fix by adding washers under the 4 black plastic spacers and possibly also taking the motor off and moving the pulley even closer to the motor (should be very close - about 1/2mm). If UM2 it's also usually rubbing pulley or belt but usually right at the motor pulley. In that case the only solution I'm told is to move the pulley along the shaft closer to the motor.

Interesting! I didn't know this but it makes sense. I think you meant 72% (72*.6 = 43)

Plywood works very well but you could use a laser cutter to make it in acrylic: http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/275-acrylic-ultimaker/ I recommend you do the UM1 plans because that way you can make the head, ulticontroller, blocks, feeder all out of the same plywood (or acrylic or whatever). The print bed too. The UM1 is basically just as good as the UM2 except the electronics are probably more reliable on UM2 but you can't get that. Also the UM2 is quieter due to dibond. Also UM2 has LED lights (you can add those) and the UM2 has a heated bed (also easy upgrade to UM1).

You're all wrong! Just kidding. I like IRobertI's explanation the best. You are just a little too close - level farther away. Pressure is building up and when the head passes over a gap in the tape sometimes that releases a blob. I recommend first layer to be .3mm (default in Cura) that way you only have to level to within about .1mm or maybe .05mm. If your first layer is thinner (say .1mm) then you have to level all that much better (3X in this case or around .015 to .03mm accuracy). A sheet of paper is about .1mm so you have to do a really good job.

yes. You can increase the 4.5 to 6.5 or you can lock in the bowden. You don't need any clips. First a definition: "bowden holder" - That thing on the print head that you push down in order to pull up and remove the bowden. It has 4 metal blades inside that dig into the bowden. The little colored clip goes under it. It's off-white colored. Simply loosen the 4 long thumb screws such that the print head relaxes about 1mm. Then push down hard on the bowden (the bowden holder allows one way movement). I guess I would remove the clip first but it shouldn't matter. Then screw the 4 long thumb screws tight again - make sure no wires get stuck in the gaps when you are done (inspect all 4 sides of the black print head - black seams). Now the clip should be useless and the bowden should be tight. If not repeat but go 2mm relaxed instead of 1mm. I did this and was able to lower my retraction distance back to 4.5mm.

Fortunately Daid is really good about fixing stuff like this. Unfortunately he is very busy working on the GUI part right now. Fortunately this is open source so it might get fixed by someone else within a few months but I doubt that. More likely Daid will come up with something. Workarounds: print slower 20mm/sec should be plenty as that is the "jerk" speed which means I think it is willing to instantaneously change speed by 20mm/sec from line segment to the next so no deceleration on corners necessary. 30mm/sec might also be slow enough. Use 14.01 for now Decimate You can reduce polygons (I've done it for artistic things that have millions of polygons but never for basic shapes like this) here: http://www.shapeways.com/blog/archives/226-polygon-count-reduction-with-meshlab.html Other free CAD I only use free CAD. Daid, and Illuminarti, and myself like: DesignSparkMechanical. Very nice. My recommendation for most CAD needs (not for people making sculpture though). I also use google sketchup. Neither of these create excess polygons. openSCAD lets you set the resolution on arcs. Isn't tinkercad based on openscad? I don't know tinkercad - never tried it. Learning a new CAD sucks. It really sucks. I'm so damn fast at google sketchup and it's frustrating to use designSparkMechanical even though it is clearly superior. I have about 20 hours experience with DSM but 200 hours with sketchup. Also DSM always gives you manifold STL files (it isn't capable of not doing that - it's like solidWorks that way) whereas sketchup is always leaving my CAD with interior walls and such when I put two parts together. And holes. So I have to go back and clean up the model all the time if I want to print it.

For a fully custom Marlin... BUILDING MARLIN thermistor tables: https://github.com/ErikZalm/Marlin/blob/Marlin_v1/Marlin/thermistortables.h Ultimaker2 marlin source: https://github.com/Ultimaker/SecretMarlin First get the source code files here: https://github.com/ErikZalm/Marlin Then edit Configuration.h – this is by far the hardest step and it's not bad. I recommend you go here: http://marlinbuilder.robotfuzz.com/ and use that website only to get the Configuration.h file. Then run winmerge or some other diff program to compare the latest ErikZalm version of Configuration.h to the one from robotfuzz which is usually a few months behind. Edit the ErikZalm version to match the robotfuzz generated version. Make any other edits as necessary. It sound complicated but it is extremely clear and well commented. Sometimes with paragraphs of explanation. configuration.h file detailed explanation: http://airtripper.com/1145/marlin-firmware-v1-basic-configuration-set-up-guide/ Then you need to build Marlin. There are instructions that come with the erik zalm download in the "README.md" text file. Basically you download and install arduino ide: http://arduino.cc/en/main/software Then copy the sanguino software as explained in README file. Open Marlin.ino file in Arduino IDE by double clicking it (not pde file as stated in README - I think that's old). Select board as "Mega 2560" as explained in README file. Go to "file" "preferences" and select "verbose output" so you can find your hex file. Then build it by clicking the check box in the upper left corner. At the bottom you will see it compiling Marlin. At the end of this it says where the hex file is. If you are currently connected to your UM through USB you can just click "file" "upload" and you are done! But you should locate that hex file and save it somewhere along with the Configuration.h file used to create it so you can recreate the same version with maybe one change. Also you can upload the hex file using Cura in expert menu. Alternatively you can build Marlin with somewhat more detailed step by step instructions the command line way (which I don't prefer): http://www.extrudable.me/2013/05/03/building-marlin-from-scratch/

You are asking about marlin *and* cura. That's a lot to cover. If you build a custom printer you need to create your own Marlin. You can set Marlin to use software endstops or hardware endstops. If you are lucky you can build marlin using this convenient web page: http://marlinbuilder.robotfuzz.com/ If it doesn't have all the settings you need then at least use that page to build a starter configuraion.h. Either way I recommend you look at the configuration.h it generates and read all the comments to make sure it's "good enough" for your printer. Cura In Cura there are "machine settings". You can go in there and set the dimensions of your machine and cura will let you print bigger. Cura will by default place objects on the center - in other words if your build area is 300X300mm it will place it at 150mmX150mm but you can just drag the object around if you want. Or place multiple things. The settings about "minx", gantry height only affect if you want to print multiple objects "one at a time". You can skip those machine settings for your first print.