drumrboy44

Thanks for all the suggestions! I should have two printers up and running soon again (cracked brass pipe trying to reduce leakage in UM1). I also need to find space for it in my apartment... Anyway it seems to be printing just fine. I have a somewhat dusty environment, so that new filament cleaner should work well. I haven't tried ABS yet, either. Any tips on ABS before I give that a try?

Good suggestions. But Octoprint sounds like a great way to put my Pi back to use. Thanks!

This a pretty strange issue, although I'd guess its easily solved. Despite being plugged in to my computer (exactly like my old UM1), Cura refuses to recognize that the UM2 is plugged in when I attempt to print. The only option it gives me is "Save to Toolpath." It will, however, let me install default firmware to the UM2, so it is communicating with it. I messed around with the "Communication Settings" in Cura, but no combination seemed to work (both on "Auto" now). Any ideas on this one?

Hi all. I had the UM1 original for over a year and a half before deciding to add a UM2. What do I need to know about the UM2 that may be different from the UM1 to keep it working? Are there any essential printable (or non-printable) upgrades? Do I need to print at different temperatures? Are there particular bugs that I will likely run into that I should keep an eye out for? Thanks in advance!

I think (unsurprisingly) Daid was right on. I am using a thread modeler plugin in Autodesk Inventor, and while many of the threads it generates have both rendered and printed perfectly, after I ran this one through "repair" in netfabb, it printed correctly the next attempt!

With zero boxes checked, it doesn't make a difference... I really don't get it.

I'm having a rather frustrating issue with Cura that I can't figure out. I designed a replacement bottle screw cap in Autodesk Inventor 2013. Simple enough, but when I try to print it, Cura fills in the screw-thread area. If you look at the picture, both the Cura rendered model, as well as the originally Inventor model clearly show the bottle cap center portion is clearly shown to be hollow. However, as you can tell from the "layer" view, Cura is filling in that space for some reason when it tries to print. Unchecking "solid infill top" or setting fill density to zero does not help. I have used this same technique in the past without issue, but I just don't understand why it wont work now. Ideas? Here is the STL file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fe7ozpstriql6mc/Bottle%20Cap.stl?dl=0

I'm interested in selling my Ultimaker Original and Ulticontroller. I also have several spare parts that can be added on, including a spare stepper motor, bowden tube, nozzles, PEEK isolator, and several extruded spare parts. I can also include all the parts for a heated bed upgrade, which I purchased but never got around to assembling. The only known issue is the electronics fan makes some noise on start-up, but it goes away after a few minutes. Asking $1200 / £750 or best offer. Located in the U.S. but will ship elsewhere. Email with any questions or offers: nschwen@gmail.com

SO annoying. BUT - thank you 3dify. Worked like a charm!!

I printed at 35 mm/s instead of 60 or so, and that made all the difference. Ukulele sounds great, too!

Do you mean to manually ensure fan is at 100%, or is there some way I can ensure that in Cura? Also, I don't want to turn an already-18-hour-print into a 36 hour print. On the black ukulele base, you can see the overhang is only for the first inch or two. Would it work to just turn down flow rate percentage for that portion of the print manually, and then adjust to full speed for the less steep portions?

I am getting really bad print quality issues on what I believe to be relatively modest overhangs. Typically I print at 0.1 mm layers, 50-70 mm/s print speed, 220 deg C, PLA on an UM1. I think I still have the default 5 seconds per layer overhang. The ukulele (which I have printed fully, successfully once and it is awesome ( http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:268090 ) is printed at 100% infill for strength. Even the frets, which barely overhang at all, print awfully. The wine stopper picture below is an extremely modest "overhang" on the outer edge, and it too has the same issues (which look like strings, but I understand "stringing" to normally be used to describe a different problem. What is likely causing this? I feel like my printer wasn't always so bad on such overhangs. Any suggestions on settings that can improve or eliminate this?

I just had an 18 hour print interrupted at 10 hours with a MAXTEMP error. My thermistor wiring is far (physically) from the fan wires, so I doubt it the two are related. The last time it happened, the yellow wire had obviously come loose from the thermistor. But this time, it appeared locked under the screw in the green housing. So I clipped the yellow wire shorter, and stripped a small portion and reinserted it. This is only the next day, but it has been printing OK for 13 hours now. You refer, above, to alternate wiring, but I am unclear what exactly you are referring to, or what my options are to avoid another MAXTEMP error (I have a UM1). I also don't really know exactly what you mean I should do to "improve strain release." All I know is that is it is quite frustrating when it is unclear what is causing such a fatal error.

As a follow up on this clogging problem, which I had for almost a year, I seem to have finally cracked it, or at least made it better. I printed this filament cleaner http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:133353,%20but%20instead%20of%20using%20a%20sponge,%20I%20use%20tissue%20paper%20that%20I%20switch%20out%20whenever%20I%20switch%20filaments.%20I%20have%20had%20one%20partial%20clog%20in%20month%20of%20printing%20since%20the%20change,%20where%20previously%20it%20would%20be%20multiple%20clogs%20per%20week.%20Phew!

So I've had my Ultimaker V1 for a month shy of a year. I have made some awesome things with it, but have also encountered and overcome MANY issues along the way. The one inexorable problem, however, has been nozzle clogging. It is of course extremely frustrating, you can see my previous topics on the subject if you want to know the details (I made filament filters, I am not printing too fast or at too high volume or temp, I use Ultimachie quality filament, etc., etc.) I ended up buying a bunch of 0.4 mm nozzles off Qu-BD (because 15 Euros for a brass nozzle is utterly ridiculous), and just replacing each nozzle after it gets inevitably clogged. It used to try to clear the nozzles with a hot wire, but it is just way too inexact and painstaking and endeavor. Does anyone know of any other source to purchase 0.4 mm nozzles that will be compatible with the UM v1? It seems like the V2 nozzle would not work, but correct me if I am wrong.

Hi all, Everything has gone pretty swimmingly with my printer for awhile now, however, just recently I have had a new problem creep up. The issue is that, I suppose, a few print edges tend to warp upwards beneath the hot end (very slightly), and depending on the 3d model, contact the hot end as it passes over those warped-upwards portions. The warping is not visible in the final print, but I have returned to prints a couple times to see that the acrylic bed has shifted all the way to the wrong side, permitting the screws to escape from the holes in the bed, thus allowing the entire bed to rise a centimeter while sitting on the springs. This is not good, obviously, as now your print bed has shifted in the middle of a print. Although, I will admit that it has resulted in some pretty cool (though undesired) effects in the resulting print. My question: Is there any way to prevent the bed from sliding out of position during a print? I'm not sure why this has become more of an issue recently, and it does only happen with certain prints (typically with moves in the X direction), but it is highly annoying.

Okkkk, finally got the last pieces for my heated bed build (I have the Mk3 Prusa RepRap aluminum PCB - http://reprap.me/epages/reprap_nu_4149051.sf/en_US/?ObjectPath=/Shops/reprap_nu_4149051/Products/%22RepRap%20Alu-Heatbed%22), and determined that a 360V PSU at 24V should work fine. I picked up an industrial PSU on ebay that should meet my requirements. More or less as expected, when I received the PSU, the back looks like this: I have seen these before, but have not messed with them in any capacity. I was planning on just stripping an extension cord or something and hooking up ground to ground, but not really sure what to do with the N and L, or which other connection points to use. And should I actually solder the wires in, or just use the provided screws and screw the wires down? Any input of how to approach, or things to keep in mind would be much appreciated. Thanks.

What I ended up doing was reseating the z coupler a few times (all the way up against the beginning of the screw threads), and it greatly reduced the effect, but did not eliminate the problem completely. Then I got distracted by another issue. I eventually had plans to reseat the Z motor itself, to see if that was what was causing the wobble in the z screw and the print artifacts.

Hah, well that is good to know that they are looking better! I agree, I think leaving a 0.6mm top is probably low for a 0.2mm layer height. I will change that in the future. And now I understand what I'll need to do tension-wise to loosen pulleys if I increase tension. Regarding possible under-extrusion: Feeder spring: I had previously had severe under-extrusion issues (that turned out to be a clogged nozzle), so I tightened the spring back then, however I have a question. Previously I was confused about what precisely to measure: the spring alone, or any other part of the screw/washer. When I checked, the spring alone (feeder to the base of the washer) distance was around 13.5 mm. I tightened it a few turns, and got it to about 12.6 or so, but if felt very tight, and I have always been able to observe consistent indentations in the filament going through the bowden. If you think it could not hurt anything, I will plan on getting it closer to 11. Flow: gr5, you indicated that I could increase flow by 5%. By that do you mean adjust steps-per-e, or adjust the flow rate on the ulticontroller? I assume the former, since I thought the ulticontroller flow rate percentage only really increased the speed of the print head and extrusion mechanism proportionally. As per usual, thanks for the help.

One other quick note: the top of the circle does look quite streaky. It seems as if it would do about 6 or 7 lines touching properly, and then a 5 or so that were much more sparse. Very strange.

In response to illuminarti's questions, here are my Cura settings, currently: As you can see, I'm not printing very fast (~50 mm/s), and am using a layer height of 0.2mm, with the shell thickness a multiple of my 0.4mm nozzle. My filament is 3 mm filament from Ultimachine, and it is generally around 2.8mm in thickness, give or take 0.1mm, I have the Cura setting set to the default 2.85 diameter setting. I first tightened the short belt by pushing firmly down on the stepper motor, and retightening the screws. Immediately the clicking noise that I first detailed here: http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/2560-can-anyone-explaindiagnose-this-loud-crackingclicking-sound/ , returned. It is fairly clear to me that the short belt is riding up on the frame of the UM, and snapping back down, but I don't understand how to prevent that. It just started one day after I had been printing for months, and even after I re-centered the belt on the rod, it drifted back over almost immediately and began clicking once again. Strange, but not the main problem here. I printed a large circle. Here are the pictures of the first three layers: I then had it print some infill, and here are the first three layers printed on top of the infill: You can see that the layers on top of the infill are much more sparse than the first three seem to be, although you can see some clear gaps (after the first layer) between lines in the first group of layers nonetheless. Additionally, the infill diagonal lines do seem to meet up with the perimeter lines. The top of the circle does seem quite sparse, however. In response to gr5, I did not tension the long belts with the screws, but only because I am not 100% familiar with the system, as I did not assemble the machine. It will be, in fact, the only part of the machine I have not had to take apart and reassemble. I was unsure about one comment: what is meant by "loosen one of the pulleys so the tension is spread evenly on the upper half of hte belt and the lower half of the belt." As you know, on each of the sliding blocks, it looks like there are 4 bolt/nut combos, and so I'm guessing I should just loosen each an equal amount until I get the desired pitch from my long belts? I also printed the long belt tensioners, and will put them on if I feel as if I still need more tension out of the belts.

Okkk, here we go: I have had an issue cropping up where my UM has had trouble printing certain layers with the lines touching, especially printing solid layers over infill. I suspect this might have something to do with backlash, as I recently slightly loosened one of my short belts to stop a loud snapping sound that was happening as the belt kept riding up on the edge of the stepper motor junction. Here is what some of my prints are looking like: I plan to attempt to re-tighten both of my short belts, and see what happens, as I don't get much of a note when plucking either of them. I also tested out plucking the long belts and they seem very loose to me (at least compared to the pitch from plucking in the belt-tensioning video I've seen around these forums). Now, my questions: 1. Do you think what you see in those pictures is likely caused backlash? The first layer always goes down fine, and it is only higher layers (and tops) which seem to show what gaps between printed diagonal lines, which to me also looks like it could be underextrusion. 2. Is there a belt tensioning device or technique people would particularly recommend? The belt tensioning video seems to indicate I should only adjust the tension of the long belts by spreading the nuts on the pulleys. Obviously, I think the best way to tension the short belts is to firmly push the motor down and then tighten the bolts holding it there. 3. I've seen people mention Steps-per-E when others have had similar-looking issues. I confess I do not understand that setting in Cura, or if I should be doing anything with those settings. Any input in this area would be great. Thanks again in advance.

I have been plagued with nozzle plugs on and off since I got my Ultimaker about 3 months ago or so. I believe I have traced the issue to some sort of foreign contaminant getting into the nozzle. I have my UM in a particularly dusty corner of my apartment, so I have a feeling this is part of the cause, though I have not observed much dust on the actual filament, which I try to keep clean. Here is a brief summary of the things I have found to help with a plugged nozzle: - While printing at a higher temperature can help in the short term, it is rarely is a "fix". Flushing can help a bit, as you experienced, but it is rarely treating the cause and is only treating the symptoms of your clogging. I have found that ultimately, removing the nozzle is usually necsesary (if you are sure plugs are happening in the nozzle, and not in the peek or the white ePTFE tube). - I remove the nozzle by first heating it to 240 C minimum, then using a needle nose pliers to grip the heater block and a wrench (not over-tightened) to twist the nozzle (just make sure you are twisting the correct way) - When the nozzle is looser, I use work gloves to twist it off the rest of the way, but be careful of burns. - Some people say to put it in the oven. I have not really found that to help. For me, gripping the nozzle with needle nose pliers (not on the tube portion, but on the hexagonal head), and holding the nozzle over a gas stove flame for about a minute. Usually excess PLA will bubble out as it expands, and that is fine. - Now you need to run something through the nozzle to clear any sediment or blockage. I first try to ensure as much of the PLA is removed from the nozzle before attempting to run the wire through. Some people say to use a Q-tip, but I think that this just adds potential coagulants like cotton fibers, and so I will usually let the nozzle cool a little so the PLA gets sticky, and then pull out the plug that forms. - As to what to run through the nozzle tip, II stripped a spare wire and twisted a few strands of copper wire. while the nozzle is heated, I hold the nozzle in one hand with the pliers, and push the wire in the back of the nozzle so I can see the tip of the wire peeking through. Then I grab the end of the wire peeking out of the tip from the other side, and pull it through. I do this a few times, and then carefully screw the nozzle back into the heater block (usually while hot). Then I do a bit of a flush at 250 C or so, and usually notice a difference pretty quickly. - On someone else's recommendation, I bought and tried using some 0.4 mm drill bits to (by hand) clear blockages. I found these not to be so great, since they can break off quite easily, and cause their own (very hard to remove) blockage. - Rather than having PLA that has gone "bad," I have found that certain types of PLA are more likely for me to run into a plugged nozzle. I don't know the science behind it, but certain colors just seem to have a particular color additive that is prone to forming sediment plugs. This is a little counter-intuitive, as it is more likely some foreign substance (wood dust from grinding in the extruder mechanism, or dust, or animal hair) is getting pulled into the hot end from your PLA reels. I heard at least one person recommending some sort of tissue paper rig that essentially wipes clean the PLA as it is fed into the extrusion mechanism. I never tried it, but will if my issues return. - Good luck!

Okkkk, the sound I was experiencing was, as suggested above by several people, a result of the shot belts riding up onto the pulley edge, before snapping back into the grooves. I could never confirm this visually, but the belt was clearly far closer to the edge of the stepper grooves than it should've been. I tried to "realign" the belts by working them over to the center of the rod surface, but they kept being "pulled" towards the pulley edge again, causing the sound to resume. The ultimate solution was to try loosening the short belts. I loosened the screws on the motor, moved it up maybe 1-2 mm, and re-tightened the screws, and voila, no sound, and no change to precision of printing (that I can tell). I think there was just too much tension in the short belts, and possibly slightly mis-aligned belts (though right now they still look as though they are moved a little off to one side, but there is no change in print quality or sound). Thanks for all the suggestions.

Ok, I would really appreciate it if anyone could explain this loud, sharp cracking/clicking/popping sound happening in my UM when the hot end moves over certain positions. It definitely seems to be coming from the left rear of the machine, at the top where the belts and horizontal rods meet. For the life of me, I cannot figure it out! Here is video of the problem: (for some reason I could not view it through the forums, so I have also posted a link here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/h2sikp22abveol7/Clicking%20Video.mp4 ) Originally, I was having the the rod banging sound described here (http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/330-lubrication/?hl=lube&do=findComment&comment=15910 ), where the the horizontal rods needed lubrication, and certain moves would bang the end of the rod against the frame of the Ultimaker. A little sewing machine oil fixed that right up. But I have no idea what could be causing this very sharp (louder) banging noise! It sounds like something is popping in and then out, like the sounds compliment one another. I am worried that something is wearing improperly, or otherwise abrading. I have really no clue here, and it has caused me to drastically limit the use of my machine. I've attempted to tighten any loose bolts, but nothing seems loose, and nothing changes the sound. Any tips would be much appreciated!