Nicolinux

Alright, I bought sewing machine oil and will apply it. Need to get rid of the dark spots on the rods first, but I'll wait until foehnsturm has shipped the new pulleys because I'd have to take the rods out anyway.

Exactly! I am all for wikis - I use one daily and love it (Confluence). From experience I know that wikis do take a lot of work to maintain. Take a look at the UM wiki. Apart from the mechanics build guide, the rest is rather neglated and sparse. Even if we wanted to keep a congruent well of wisdom for 3d printing in a wiki, it would fail because most of us would rather tinker with stuff than document it. Except Ultimaker is willing to pay somebody who spends a few howers a week mainaining a wiki. But I don't see that coming. Most corporations don't grasp the importance of storing and structuring knowledge. Although when I look at the mechanics build guide, that's already very good. @UM: do the same thing for the 3d printing topics I mentioned in the first post, make it big, put a Ultimaker logo on it and you are guaranteed to gain more attention (and I guess revenue) from potential buyers _and_ media. A cheat sheet on the other hand is a finished product with a clear goal. Of course it doesn't have to be done once and never again. There is always version 2 and so on. But a clear and concise document that is visually appealing and easy to read, would go a long way for pretty much every 3d printing enthusiast.

No I didn't - I swear. And I didn't check the fix horrible setting. I suspect it hast something to do with shell thickness. If it is to small, the text would be "sliced away". Maybe a calculation in Cura went wrong or it was borderline to a value that would slice away the text.

Ok, I thought I read something about the brass bearings beeing impregnated with oil. I'll check out sewing machine oil - thanks.

Hi, I've read a few posts about lubrication and the consensus seems to be to not lubricate the rods (except for the threaded rod with the green grease) at all. However some of my smooth rods (x/y axis) do squeack noticeably. Some of them are not entierly clean, they have dark areas along them. It is not dust or the like because I can't wipe it off. Anybody else had this problem? I bought some universal oil - just in case but haven't used it: http://www.ballistol.de/90-1-BALLISTOL-Universal-Oil.html Thanks, Stefan

Die Leute vom Ultimaker sind sehr nett. Gerade für den Fall dass du mit dem Zusammenbau nicht wieter kommst, werden sie garantiert das ersetzen. Ich hatte z.B. die Abdeckung für die Elektronik aus versehen kaputt gemacht weil ich dachte es wäre Ausschussware. Sie haben mir eine neue, kostenlos per Post geschickt. Ich denke wenn man nicht übertreibt, dann ist Kullanz immer möglich.

Hi, I am thinking about creating a 3D Printing Cheat Sheet. Cheat sheets are short (one or two pages) instructions with common wisdom for a specific topic. They are very popular in programming milieu. Here is a list of cheat sheets: http://www.cheat-sheets.org I think that 3D printing lacks a good cheat sheet and it would help many many people get started (or as a reference). Understanding something new is almost always hard, expecially when it is something complex or not completely explored. 3d printing is not a new technology, but 3d printing for the masses is. There are countless articles, blog posts and discussion about do's and don'ts but everything is scattered around the net. It is not an easy task to gather, sort and categorize this wisdom. You have earned your experience through practice, trial and error. I am sure it took a lot of time. This experience, condensed on one or two pages would be a huge help for others. I don't mean to create dumb shortcuts and spoon feed newbies with infos so they don't need to think for themselves. I want (and need it for myself btw.) common wisdom in a compact form printed (like oldsk00l on paper) and pinned on the wall near my Ultimaker. If others do have the same need or recognize the usefulness of a cheat sheet - I propose to start working on one. I am not sure if it should be focused on Ultimaker or on 3D printing in general. Both variants have their appeal. Maybe start with a general one and then add an Ultimaker addendum. I am sure the RepRap folks would love to see their MendelMax and Prusa addendum as well. From a marketing perspective - it would be a great promotion for Ultimaker if the first 3D printing cheat sheet features the UM logo... Off the top of my head I can name the follwing topics that would fit on such a cheat sheet: Importance of filament diameter and calibrated e steps + digital caliper Why? - Because it is one of the most important variables that directly influence print quality [*]Bed leveling Why? - Another important variable that influences print quality [*]Speed vs. Temperature Why? - Because printing slower/faster needs different temperatures (as far as I see it). And since time is a valuable asset, printing fast and in good quality is the holy grail of 3d printing [*]Characteristics of printing material Why? - Because printing with ABS instead of PLA makes a big difference (warping, heated bed, temperature). Material properties are very important when deciding on a 3d printer and on the purpose of the printed object(s) [*]Essential quality settings - layer height, infill, perimeters Why? - Because even small errors in these values are guaranteed to mess up a print [*]Support material, brim and raft Why? - Because it is no fun to have prints fail after several hours of printing just because the support material was missing or because stuff doesn't stick to the bed [*]Cooling Why? - Because cooling can make or break small and delicate objects and affects quality. [*]Nozzle size and speed implications Why? - Because the layer height is bound to the nozzle size. Also (like Illuminarti's mantra "...you need to think about the volume of plastic pushed through the nozzle") it influences print speed and quality [*]Prominent problems and their causes Why? - Because everybody had one of these problems. z-banding, ringing, blobbing, gaps in surfaces, shifted layers... These are the Ultimaker specific topics. To make this huge post shorther, here is just a quick list: Tighten your pulleys Belt tension Spring compression on the material feeder So what do you think?

Check! Patience is my maiden name :grin: - but I'll wait.

Another thing to check are loud grinding noises when the x/y or z axis move. If that's the case, check if you can move all axis (with the UltiController or with another tool).

I use needle-nose pliers to remove the object from the bed. I search for the thinnest part and carefuly start wiggling until I hear that the object tears free from the tape. I had to change the tape only two times up until now. Now I can remove most things without damaging the prints. @SandervG: I can understand now why the dual extrusion kit is easier to engineer. You already have the hotends and the space to mount another on the print head. But I think that the heated bed is really useful and needed, that's why I wondered about setting priorities. I'd say that most people would be fine with replacing the z-stage entierly if they get a heated bed. It is a small price to pay for the huge advantages. However I am glad you are working on it. Do you have a (even vaguely) timeframe? This year? Next summer? It would it make it easier to decide to wait or build my own. Thanks

No, I didn't touch those. I just sliced it again and the problem is gone. Weird.

Hi, I printed the OpenDive vr goggle by Stefan Welker (also an Ultimaker user). http://www.durovis.com/opendive-howto.html Strangely the .stl file containts the logo but the .gcode has left half of it out. In Cura's normal preview the logo is intact. The layers preview shows the broken logo. Otherwise the object is fine. Just wondering how it happened. Print settings: Layer height: 0.2 Shell thickness: 0.8 Bottom/Top thickness: 0.6 Fill Density: 30 Speed: 70 Temperature: 220 Minimal layer time: 5 Didn't touch other settings in Cura. Here is the .gode file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/lahqsnttg52scd7/opendive_vr.gcode Here is a preview of the .stl file in Netfabb and .gcode in Repetierhost.

Hey Markus, did you get all details from those who ordered? If not, people hurry up - please

@gr5: You ditched a heated bed? Really? We have one on our crappy Prusa Mendel and we have 0 problems with warping and objects sticking to the bed. When the print is finished we turn off the heated bed, wait for a minute and then we can pop the object off the bed. And the bottom surface is smooth and shiny. The very next upgrade for my Ultimaker will definitely be a heated bed. To be honest I don't understand why the Ultimaker folks decided to release a dual extrusion kit instead of a proper heated bed kit. I'd say that the nice to have things you gain from dual extrusion are not worth if you still have to fight with warping, layer adhesion and ugly surfaces... Stuff like soluble support material sounds so far removed from the real world problems of 3d printing that it feels wrong to tackle "top end issues" instead of everyday problems.

@gr5: Thanks But should I go slower than 50mm/s? I have also tried to print at the lowest temperature possible (190° for this filament). I have read so many posts about temperature vs. speed - I guess too many. And there is no "if this than that" kind of guide when chosing one over the other. Need experience - fast! I will try going slower and check the seam size. @illuminarti: Oh that makes sense. I definitelly power-cycled the printer. Regarding the cubes - I printed another without top/bottom and 0 infill. The seam is still there but only on one side. So it is related. But I will keep testing. The last print of the thin walled object with almost no seam gave me hope.

Retraction is always enabled so I guess it should have tried to retract. As you explained in another post, the bug means that the retraction speed isn't right so I thought that it would at least move a bit. But it doesn't. But then why do the the cubes have to seams? They are printed with infill.

Oh man, that's so weird. I started another print of the exact same object (in fact same .gcode file since I was printing from sdcard) and now the seam is nearly invisible. I printed it at 190° and about 10mm in I switched to 220°. No difference so it is not the temperature. I have no idea why it is different now... https://www.dropbox.com/s/6i29hrhyp6tdq5i/Thin_wall_test.gcode

Thanks, I did it.

I don't have the firmware that fixes the retraction bug. I thought that even at half speed/distance retraction should be visible. I was planing to update the firmware later. I'll watch the extruder to see if it tries to retract. If it doesn't then I'll update the firmware immediately. I am printing at 50mm/s - so pretty slow I guess. I am using the iPhone 5 to film it and Adobe After Effects to add the slowmo effect. I'll do this videos all day if it helps to get rid of this ugly seam I wonder though why some objects have seams while others don't. I have printed a bunch of these end caps and there is no seam on them: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:56769 Oh the other hand, the calibration cubes have two seams on the front left and right edges.

Thanks, that's exactly my led ring. I try and not blow the electronics up

I have read and understood your post (great post btw!). I have changed my z-acceleration and max speed accordingly (just took your values) but this doesn't help to avoid the z scar/seam. I have the impression that at the moment when the z stage moves there is too much filament extruded. The scar is very pronounced. I tried to print with crazy high retraction values but it didn't help. I made a video and slowed it down at the moment of the extrusion (watch in hd): And here is a picture of the seam (it is the same size on the outside too).

@Lewis: What do you mean with "double skin OFF"? I have the exact same issue and would like to get rid of the seam: http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/2786-please-analyze-my-prints

Good idea I'll try both suggestions. Greasing is a no-brainer and a new part is easy to design in OpenSCAD. I thought about using the original wooden pieces again and just file a bit left and right.

@owen: I thought a bit about it. I think this is not a problem at all. When the threaded rod turns, the brass nut turns until it hits an edge and stays there. Any subsequent turn pushes the nut against the same edge so it doesn't turn anymore. It would only be a problem if the z-stage would go down _and_ up while printing.

Yes, the brass nut is centered on the z-coupler at the bottom and the banding/z-wobble artifacts are gone.