aaron

It is the smaller axis rods that you want to avoid lubricating because they have self-lubricating bearings sliding across them. It does more harm that good to add lubricant to those. As for the larger axis rods, they only have solid brass sliding across them as you know. Lubricant wise, what do you guys think about using ordinary gun oil? I know Europe and the other side of the US are pretty anti-gun so I don't expect many of you to have it. Are the properties similar to that of sewing machine oil?

I think you will have a difficult time getting someone to send their $1800 Ultimaker to someone they don't know. Not trying to stifle your efforts here but just thought I would throw that out there.

Did you by chance read my comment in reply to your last thread when you asked this question? it is really very simple. For ALL of them it is pulley, block, pulley, and occasionally an extra pulley on the end for the shorter stepper belt. So here is my advice, follow the directions just as they are pictured for all of the axes. Then go back and add the extra pulley to the proper axis and proper side of that axis in the same orientation to that of the pulley you put it next to. You will know which one to add the extra pulley to by determining where the motor mounts. If you still don't quite understand please let me know.

I believe that you should base the status of a city on its population. For example, my city, Billings, is small enough to an extent that it will probably never have 10 members online. However, it is also small enough that people will be willing to drive across the city to pick up a print.

I agree with gr5. A manual constructed through the knowledge of many people is far superior to one constructed by an individual.

To answer your question about the print bed platform: yes, that is how it is supposed to look. Regarding the confusion with the classification of the axes, no, they were not wrong. There is more than one axis (axis rod) included, therefor, they are axes. I agree that they could have clarified it by calling them axis rods. I believe that would have made much more sense. And about your confusion about the pulleys. They don't clarify the side of the the machine and which axis they are describing because they are almost identical. And if you make a mistake, it is as easy as sliding the rod out a bit and adding/removing pulleys to fix it. The pulley set-up should mirror itself on each side. I have found that you in a way have to reason with the directions. You cannot always follow it step by step. Hope that helps. Good luck.

When you are assembling, just make sure you glance at the pictures, then examine them, and then examine them again. This sounds redundant but some things happen in the pics that don't happen in the text. Speaking from experience, it will save you a load of time not to miss some little nuance depicted in the pictures.

I agree as well. I made a crude version of this that may have a little bit of information you could put in there. It is under the category "The Art of Printing" on this forum.

Does anyone have any tips for removing large flat objects from the build plate without damaging anything? My prints of that kind stick almost too well; if i try to pull it off with the tape, the tape just rips. Trying to pry it off with a knife or another flat and sharp object only slightly damages the object. To put it another way, it sticks so much that it takes 20 min or so to remove from the bed after destroying all of the tape. Any ideas?

has anyone tried to print pla on kapton tape?

This is probably not the solution but brushless motors tend to lose their power when they get hot enough. Are your motors staying cool enough?

Yes, I believe one of the reasons Ultimaking is becoming so successful is this forum. It instills confidence in its buyers and in a way ensures that they will not be left in the dark if issues arise. It is a plus compared to many companies out there such as Rapidbot.

I honestly think the gray is more of a marketing thing that a practicality thing. The upgraded gray color inspires the "Ultimaker feeling" in a way if that makes any sense at all.

I have found that it helps if you turn the object in such a way that the longest flat parts are 45 degrees offset from the seam lines of the masking tape.

I agree. That would be a nice innovation. I wonder when we will see something of the sort.

Okay, before I start, I would like to state my intentions. I want to start a reasonably long thread intended to help new users with getting good print results directly after assembly. If you think this thread should be moved to a different category please let me know. Assembly: You are given a bag of silver grub screws. Replace the black ones in your pulleys with those. Pre-print Calibration: Before you even try to print anything, make absolutely sure your sliding blocks are aligned. (there are plenty of threads to learn to do this) Make sure belts are also reasonably tight. Tighten heated block and brass nozzle so they cannot be moved with a light push. This will help prevent molten PLA from leaking through the threads. When it comes to the online directions' version of bed leveling, ignore it and go directly to Cura's bed leveling wizard. This is much faster and easier. Post-print Calibration: The Ultimaker is a fantastic machine. However, you can make it much easier to use by fixing a few of its very minor downfalls. The first fix I recommend to print is this part: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:62819 This is a z axis end switch precision calibration device that mounts to the back of your machine and makes getting your z axis exactly .1mm away from the nozzle much easier. Next I recommend printing this: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:69327 This is an improved fan duct that will replace the sub-par one which was included. This will immensely reduce warping and increase overall print quality. Last, I recommend printing this: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:46157 This is a retraction clip that will help give you more accurate retraction and prevent play in the bowden tube mount on the extruder. Other tidbits: Use wider masking tape (2" or greater). This will make for less tape lines, greater adhesion, and faster taping. Wipe your taped print bed with isopropyl rubbing alcohol. This will also help with adhesion. Store all PLA filament you are not using in a sealed container with those silica packets to suck out the moisture. You may want to print a new spool holder if you buy anything but Ultimaker filament. Other companies that I have seen all use spools with smaller holes that will not fit with the current spool holder. Well, I can't think of anything else off of the top of my head so all I can say in addition to what I already have is just to have fun. Hope my little guide helps. Any other bits of advice?

Putting it together is fun and a bit frustrating. I didn't paint mine but I am a sucker for natural wood color so I just decided to leave it the way it was. I think it gets here so fast because they use some sort of priority service. That may be one of the reasons it is so spendy to have it shipped to the US.

Well, the hot end in my opinion is the easiest to assemble and disassemble because there are no pressed parts aside from the self-lubricating bearings. I honestly think it would be easier to assemble them both at once. If it were me, I would just leave the brass nozzle off of the second hot end so it stays out of the way while I got used to just having one hot end.

I am at MSUB right now actually. Do you mind if I send you a message so as not to get an off topic thread going here?

Did you determine whether or not it is the stepper motors or something of the kind that is your problem yet?

When is this taking place? What brands will all be represented there?

I switched filament and now the noise has almost vanished. Not sure why. Maybe Ultimaker gray filament is a little on the sticky side.

Also, this sounds a little obvious but make sure you are measuring the distance between the areas where the spring makes contact; not the end of the screw to the bottom of the spring. And when you are trying to screw it down to achieve high tension, you may have a similar problem that I did. When I began to turn it, the nut turned with it. In order to stop this and to overcome the high static friction, you must press really hard when you are screwing it with the screwdriver and at the same time, use something to hold the nut in place. As for your motor screws, use shorter screws? there should be extras. You only need 3 or 4 mm of thread inside the motor from the screw to avoid stripping. Hope this helps.

I agree with illuminarti's take on this. Before trying to fix this any more, determine the cause of the lock-up by disconnecting the belts from the sliding blocks. Then try to move them. I think the rest is obvious. Hope this helps.

Not completely sure about other upgrades besides the ones you mentioned. I will say that an accomplishment has been made however. There are at least two Ultimaker owners in Billings!! Do you attend MSU Bozeman? I am planning on attending there.