jonnybischof

Or you could get a special 3D-printer build plate. Example: http://printinz.com/229mm-x-257mm-printer-plate-um2/ Yeah, these are expensive. But you shouldn't have to worry about PLA parts sticking to the plate anymore. At all. I have a http://mtplus.de/3.html which should have a very similar performance. I've never had a single issue with prints not sticking, or warping, since I installed my plate. I also bought one from PrintInZ, but still didn't get to testing it o.O In the long run, you might even save money because you don't need any kind of tape or solvent / glue anymore.

I love these FLIR pics Did you leave the color <-> temperature scale away intentionally? That would've been a nice information...

Carriages? I read that the UMO+ comes with the UM2 electronics (drivers on board).

They shipped your UMO with flexible (rubber-like) filament? Flexible material is much more difficult to print with than regular, stiff PLA. You need to make some modifications to the machine in order to be able to reliably print with flexible filament. If you really got flexible filament, you should first buy some regular PLA. I can recommend http://www.faberdashery.co.uk. One of the best brands (also, one of the most expensive...) there is. Here's some interesting links: http://support.3dverkstan.se/article/23-a-visual-ultimaker-troubleshooting-guide http://support.3dverkstan.se/article/30-getting-better-prints (kudos to Robert for making these guides ) /edit By the way. You should be able to print that robot with the quick print settings. It may not turn out perfect, but it should at least finish more or less nicely. From there, you can switch to the "full settings" mode in Cura and work with Robert's guides linked above. Maybe the first thing you should check is the extruder drive (aka material feeder) spring tension. Is there enough tension for the feeder drive gear to grip and push the filament through the bowden tube reliably, or does it slip back (and probably grind away the filament at one spot)?

The UM2 electronics have the stepper drivers directly on the mainboard. That means the drivers can dissipate heat directly into the large GND plane of the mainboard, instead of just having the tiny area of Pololu drivers. These drivers aren't meant to need forced air cooling, they just need a large enough GND plane to dissipate their heat

I just updated my UMO's firmware (custom with heated bed) and noticed that the option to store values in firmware is gone in the Ulticontroller menu. Why is that? I need to be able to make changes on the machine, because the printer is 3 rooms away from my computer... WHO STOLE THAT BUTTON???? :-P

The root for this "might" also be in the firmware. When I start a new print after having finished one before, my z-stage will stutter when rising. I always have to switch the machine (UMO) off and back on before I can make a new print...

Looks quite nice, especially the arm / socket part! How can the user "use" the hand? (flex, bend, grab...)

lol ok so I got you wrong then. And it is indeed showing all the wrong pictures to me, too.

I would suggest using Colorfabb XT (or another brand PET filament) in transparent or bright color. Don't take black - it heats up much more in direct sunlight than brighter colors. XT prints very well on the Ultimaker 2. You might have to experiment a little to get it to stick nicely on the build plate (I'm using a special PEI build plate which doesn't have these issues). There shouldn't be any problems with low temperatures. If you need maximum strength of your printed parts, then print them solid, a bit hotter than usual, and with as little cooling as possible (depends on the complexity of the model - a cube needs pretty much no cooling at all, while small and overhanging structures need more cooling). XT is not the cheapest filament out there, but I dare say it's probably one of the best. I made this test piece which, when printed with XT like I described, at 100% infill, oriented as it is in the picture is impossible to break by hand. It can be broken using a machine vise, but it takes a huge amount of force. I wouldn't recommend polycarbonate. It's just not that suitable for being 3D printed. And it needs very high printing temperature which decreases the lifespan of the Ultimaker's hotend. /edit: I once did a 0.03mm layer height print. It worked perfectly fine, but it takes much longer to print (3x the time of 0.1mm layers). It's also important to know that thicker layers improve part strength as well as the ability to print overhangs and bridges. I've recently started to print everything at 0.2mm layers, except if I really need the higher resolution. Print speed is great, accuracy is good enough for most things I print, and the parts get really strong and well-defined overall (great overhangs without "beards", almost flawless bridging).

Your design https://www.youmagine.com/designs/prototypes-test-objects-and-much-more looks normal to me Markus. Like your first picture. I see the fake accounts (with some adverts in the descriptions), too. Using Firefox 35.0.1 Forum signatures are broken - they've been for a long time... /edit: Correction: When viewing another of your designs, the button leading to the design linked above does actually show the wrong picture, just as in your second screenshot. But when I open the design, everything is normal again.

That doesn't count, because even with dual extrusion you'd still reach only the same spots per nozzle... Maybe the spec is just wrong

On a factory-assembled machine, yes, you should. On a self-built, or at least self-calibrated machine, there are several factors: 1. Build platform area. (Also, take into account that some space may get lost to the clamping mechanism for the build surface) * 2. Placing the build platform at the correct coordinates so that the printer gantry can actually move across the whole platform. 3. Tune your limit switches to cover the full platform area 4. Firmware limit (soft endstops) 5. Cura machine settings * IIRC the UM2 Cura profile has "cutouts" in the corners where the metal clips are, but extends to the full width for the rest of the platform. I don't have one myself, so that's no first-hand experience...

Don't worry too much about my project yet. It will take me 2-3 years to make that happen. I'm planning ARM (host) -> FPGA (motion control) -> TMC260 (driver). I'm around 60% done with the overall hardware, but making the firmware for this will take a LONG time. Also, I made my own display board (because I have no use for the 5V boards out there), PT1000 amplifiers and optical limit switches. The whole package is going to be ridiculously expensive, I fear.

When you move the hotend (extruder head), make sure to grab only the slider blocks, never the head itself! This way you put significantly less stress on the gantry, and it's also easier to move.

Make sure to take a look at http://www.enablingthefuture.org! There is a lot of interesting development going on there.

The firmware is the software that's on your 3D printer. Cura doesn't need to know any of the values that are stored in your printer's firmware, because the GCode it (Cura) generates is independent of your printer's firmware settings. So... No, you don't need to install the firmware from every PC you use. These settings aren't part of your Cura profile, nor does Cura know or care what the firmware settings are.

Lol, true Either that functionality is new, or I've never noticed it before. The clock-out feature isn't mentioned other than "there is a CLKOUT pin", though. Very easy to overlook... The PICs are great, relatively easy to work with and they have loads of features, even in the smallest packages. I want to switch to an ARM architecture simply because of the much bigger processing power, bigger memories, and better (faster) integration of features like USB and Ethernet. Making your 3D printer an USB2.0 host (for USB sticks) is no problem at all for an ARM. /btw: It seems the TMC2100 isn't on the market yet. It says "coming soon" on the trinamic page. Distributors don't seem to have any of them as well. The TMC260 is better anyways

Wahrscheinlich das Wissen, dass es Pronterface gibt http://www.pronterface.com/ /PS: Liegt bei mir schon ewig auf dem Desktop, habe es aber noch nie ausprobiert...

Maybe that could be a good use for E3D's stainless steel nozzles

I doubt the PIC is able to output his 16MHz clock. Larger MCUs, such as the EFM32 (Cortex M3) that I'm using have special modules for this purpose (in the EFM's case it's called clock management unit, which has an output module that can put the system clock on selected output pins). I've never heard about that feature in PICs. I don't know that particular model, but I've worked with a bunch of PIC12, 16 and 18's before. Btw, if you decide to make a PCB for the TMC260, make sure you read through the appnotes on the trinamic site. I've created a TMC260 board myself and noticed that you need should have a lot of PCB space for heat spreading surfaces. My version measures around 30x26 mm (it's mini-PCIe form factor because I will use miniPCIe connectors) and I used up pretty much all of the space (without any components other than the TMC260, current sense resistors, caps and connector). I also wondered why no one uses correctly sized current sense resistors (power rating & derating), but that's the usual problem

Troublefree prints? There is no such thing... You will have to learn the craftsmanship of 3D printing, which means going through the trouble of failed prints, clogged nozzles and so on. If you learn from these troubles, you'll be able to avoid them more and more. The Ultimaker 2 is certainly a very good printer which is based on an already good predecessor. It has a good electronics platform and is quite sturdy. Imho, the metal hardware isn't that good (shafts, bushings, bearings, leadscrew), but I have very high expectations in that matter, and I seriously doubt that any competitor offers better hardware in the same price range. Many people here in the forums have proven that the UM2 can produce excellent printing quality, even at relatively high speeds. The UM also accepts any kind of filament (standard spools. no proprietary, overpriced filament). What speaks against UM is their slow customer support and shipping lead times. But - once they do actually work your case - they are very nice and fair people.

The DRV8825 has a chopper frequency of 30 kHz (datasheet). The Trinamic drivers seem to be using a flexible chopper PWM frequency. It's been a while since I read the papers on the TMC260, but I don't recall the user having direct control over the PWM. There is no simple "The TMC2100 has a PWM frequency of .... kHz" datasheet value...

I've found it difficult to get the filament out, too. PET is much "stretchier" than PLA... I do just the same thing - just insert the new filament and extrude manually until there is no more XT left in the nozzle.

That is a very fair price! The TMC parts aren't the cheapest out there. My version of the TMC260 driver will cost around 30$ per piece...