mark10970

Same problem with my new S5. Interestingly, I can still control the printer over the network via Cura. It seems that the lcd and touchscreen just turn off, but everything else is still functional.

Thank you - I'll take a look at it. Mark

Hi CodeMaven, After thinking about it and doing a few experiments, I agree that ABS in a UM is not a good way to make pcbs. Thanks for the input. Mark.

Thank you Daid. I agree that pcbs can be ordered reasonably inexpensively, but 2.5 weeks is a long time. The "goal" of the Homebrew_PCBs Yahoo group is to produce (relatively) high quality boards in a few hours or less. We have explored many different methods, ranging from printing resist via modified Epson printers, to pen plotters, photoresist techniques and on and on. One thought using a 3D printer would be to use ABS as a resist, printing it directly on heated copperclad board, thus my question concerning minimum width of a line of plastic. Another way to use the UM might be to print conductive ink directly on FR4 board to make pcbs additively. These are things that might be worth exploring, but I am just doing research for now. Mark

Thanks, Owen. I spend a lot of time on a Yahoo group that explores alternative ways to make pcbs. Pen plotters have been discussed numerous times over the years, but they do not seem to work reliably in the real world, though I'm not sure why. Perhaps I will revisit the topic and take a look. Mark

Hi, I would like to experiment making printed circuit boards with my UM. Has anyone used an UM to lay down ABS as "resist" on copperclad to make pcbs? Can someone tell me the thinnest "line" that can be drawn with the smallest nozzle available, perhaps a .1 or .2mm nozzle? Does it seem feasible to do this? Thanks for any information. Mark

Hello all, Since some filaments seem a little too large in diameter to pass through the standard bowden easily, has anyone tried using high pressure nylon tubing that comes in a .250 inch od by .150 inch id (6.3 x 3.8 mm)? See <http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-plastic-and-rubber-tubing/=nu0f3r> Mark

Thank you, Illuminarti. I've used settings similar to your first suggestion, but get consistant artifacts like this The outer covering is very thin and actually peels off easily. Is this due to infill overlap problems? These artifacts are consistant from print to print. Mark

Hello all, Can someone make Cura setting suggestions for the following "object". It is a rectangular box with walls 1.5mm thick on two sides and 2.0mm thick on the other two. The center of the rectangle is empty and there is no top or bottom. Just 4 thin vertical PLA walls. I want to use .2mm layers. I am using the stock .4mm nozzle. Can someone suggest settings for Wall Thickness, Bottom/Top thickness, Fill Density, and Infill Overlap. I am using version 13.04 because I need to control some things that are only available in this version. Thank you. Mark

I'll try slowing down - what you say makes a lot of sense! The spring is about 11.7mm, so maybe I'll tighten it up a bit as well as slowing down. Thanks for your help! Mark

100 mm/sec

Hello all, I am printing a thin walled mechanical item <http://www.pbase.com/mark10970/image/151291990>. I have less problems at higher temperatures (230C) than at lower ones, but the problem still persists. I also have less problems at .1 layers than at .2. The walls are about 1.6mm thick, though they vary in some areas. I am using .4mm wall thickness, .4mm fill, 100% fill density, but I have varied all of these parameters with little improvement. Any help, suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated. I am very new to all of this, so please be patient with my ignorance. Mark

No, there is no problem with the vertical limit. If there were, you could just extend the moving piece a little further down.

After spending a lot of time with the fussy z axis homing adjustment, I designed what I think is a simple and accurate way of doing this. <htttp://www.pbase.com/mark10970/ultimaker> The main component is an inexpensive miniature brass fitting that has two 10-32 threaded holes and one male 10-32 . Here is an example: <http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-brass-miniature-pipe-fittings/=ngr7lp> As shown in the photos I used a 10-32 thumbscrew, a 10-32 nut to lock the thumbscrew and a piece of .032 inch (.8mm) copper clad board. The bracket for the switch is made from a piece of angle aluminum. The mechanism is below the build platform in an easy to access location. I also added a hotbed with 3 point leveling. Leveling and homing are now simple. The single point is never adjusted. Simply use the other two leveling points to level the bed, then use the Z adjustment to home. Takes about 2 minutes for the whole thing. The yellow zip tie seen in the last two photos holds the bowden tube in place. I doubt that it is a permanent cure, but it works for now while I investigate other options. Without it the tube slips horribly.

Solved it -loose connector. Sorry for the unnecessary post.

My preassembled UM has been working well. Suddenly it won't heat, either under control of Cura or with the controller. Under Cura it seems to try for a minute or so, then the controller screen go blank then flickers on for a fraction of a second every 5 seconds or so. If I disconnect the power supply and run the controller from the USB, it continues to flicker the same way. If I then disconnect the USB and reconnect it, it goes back to normal. I have shut down and restaredt several times to no avail. Any ideas?? Thanks for any help.

Since I just finished the mod and haven't used it yet, I can't answer the question, but I must admit that I hadn't thought of that! The screws come from the bottom into blind pockets in the aluminum heatbed. The pockets are oversized to allow for thermal expansion. When I was printing with the stock plastic bed, blobs appeared from time to time and the nozzle "hopped over" them, so I guess that was the springs allowing it. If I have problems, I can always add some springs.

I can find several references via Google, but no one that has actually used an optical sensor, and no description of how to interface it. However, in doing the search I came across a thread in the UM forum that discusses commenting out the line referring to "moving Z to min endstops" in the Cura start/end gcode tab. This apparently sets the Z=0 to the current position, which is exactly what I want to do. The Z switch can then just be ignored. It would be nice to use it as a "safety", but if it is too low the machine won't go to 0 and if too high the nozzle would be mashed into the bed before reaching it. One problem with removing the springs in the leveling mechanism is that there is no "give" if it tries to raise the platform above the nozzle. Perhaps detecting excess current draw in the Z stepper could be used as an emergency cutoff? Something to think about.

Thanks, GR5. I don't think it will be more accurate, but I do think I can make it a lot easier and faster to adjust. I want to use my UM for low volume production of a complex part that cannot be easily made by using conventional molds, so I'd like to be able to both level and adjust Z rapidly. I just finished my HB and added 3 position thumbscrew leveling with no springs. I also want to be able to level without mashing the nozzle into the build platform. I've got some ideas on how to do that, using conductive pieces so I can hear a beep when it's level.

Can someone tell me how the Z axis limit switch works? Is it just attached to an i/o line or is there some sort of buffering or other circuitry. I want to replace it with an optical sensor which I think will be easier to adjust. Thank you for any information!

Has anyone used aluminum foil on top of an aluminum heat bed? I'm considering building a HB, but I want to use my UM for low volume production with ABS and I'm concerned that I will have to wait for the bed to cool down before being able to release the part. My thought is that a sheet of aluminum foil lightly taped to the hb could then just be slid off the hb where it should cool very rapidly. I'm also concerned re thermal expansion of the mic6 aluminum plate. Does anyone know how it will expand? Will it get higher and move toward the nozzle? Will it get wider and cause problems with ridgedly held leveling bolts? Thank you for any guidance!