yellowshark

I have same similar problem, I see the message "Loading machine settings" then after a while Cura just dies - blank screen. I have had to go back to 2.3. I uninstalled and reinstalled 2.4 but thw same thing happens. It was working fine for 10 days prior to this probem. I hope 2.4 Release will work!! cc @nallath

Generally speaking filament is specified as 1.75mm or 3mm. Also generally speaking 3mm filament is not, it is 2.85mm. Excellent filament, such as you get from Colorfabb and Faberdashery, is 2.85 guaranteed to be +/- 0.05mm. With a Bowden tube printer once you get to about 3.00mm you will start to get problems - one printer may hit this below 3.00mm and another printer, the same model from the same manufacturer, may go beyond 3.00mm. The problem is the filament sticking in the Bowden tube which will cause under extrusion. It could just be minor sticking which corrects itself in real time or it could result in a complete blockage. This will not in itself damage your printer but will require work to unblock the feed system. I am guessing that ultimately if you keep on blocking the drive system you may end up damaging the plastic cog(s) that the Ultimaker uses.

OK I get that but when you define a custom printer in Cura there is an option entitled "machine centre is zero" which I assume compensates for that? A bit outside of my knowledge area as I use Repetier Host to control my printing and that has a separate dialogue for locating the origin on the printer bed.

Well XTC-3D certainly cures to a very hard finish. Its job though is to provide a smooth finish so I have no idea just how much abuse it would take. I will see if I can drop a piece from a 1st floor window tomorrow 8)

Hi @nallath well I have been running 2.4Beta 2 for the past week and very pleased with it - although at least once and I think twice, it has lost my custom printer definition. Now, I normally just set the laptop to Sleep when I have finished so 2.4 has not really been loaded since it was installed - maybe once but not sure. Anyway I needed a reboot so I had to close 2.4. Now it will not load. I uninstalled and reinstalled but it will still not reload. So I have gone back to 2.3.1 and will try again when the 2.4 release proper is made - hopefully it will load then!! Standard Windows 10 HP i5 laptop

All good stuff above, but why not right click the model in Cura and select "centre model on platform" if it is still trying to print beyond the edge of the print plate, ie grey in colour, then it is too big and needs to be scaled smaller. Of course I am assuming that a printer has been defined with the correct x/y/z dimension settings.

I am guessing @somewhereinla is in a business using UMs. If so then for an FDM printer the UM, especially the UM3 is going to be near the top of your list of printers. If you are running a business then down time is a real issue so I can understand and sympathise with the "rant". I am very interested in the UM3 as an additional printer for our business but I will be waiting some considerable months to let it bed in and monitor the volume of problems being reported - quite a lot already it seems. Our current printer has had one fault in 3 years and the replacement part arrived within 3-4 days of reporting the failure.

and 2.4 Beta 2 seems to be substantially bug free too - nothing of note for me except Equalise Filament flow was messing up my 1st layer infill so I turned it off

Nozzle is too close to bed. If you fitted a new nozzle, which you did, then very likely that your nozzle to bed distance will have changed - no reason why the level of your bed would have changed, it probably is exactly the same as before the upgrade. If I change a nozzle I always recalibrate the distance.

Lol Bob, persevere! I have spent 2.5-3 years printing without such a problem but have just spent the last 7 days tearing my hair out trying to get my bottom layer right! My major problem was that I could get set up to print the walls so they really stuck, 3 islands so three sets of internal walls which meant jumping around sometimes pulling the filament along but when working the infill was a mess. So today I went back to square one for the 3rd or 4th time. A new piece of card to make sure it was flat, and at some point OK is there a setting I have chosen in 2.3 that was not in 15.4. Yes there was - "Equalise Filament flow" - I set that to blank and problem solved - no idea why! So changed my z offset about 15 times varying by 10 or 5 microns and now have perfection and a big grin. If you know what you are meant to be doing and I am sure you do, then stick with it, take a big breath, relax and start again and you will get there.

Yup a brim disadvantage. To manage this I would suggest 1. Put a filet around the bottom surface 2. Buy a good quality modelling knife, useful if you have a compete wall you need to cut away; and a good set of jewellers files - probable cost 30-50 eu 3. Learn how to use a file - it will be on the internet somewhere or ask a jeweller

There was a post here by @illuminarti a few years back where he referenced some articles on using Meshmixer that he had posted on the web, where were really useful. No doubt some searching will throw up his post.

I used to do a lot of RC 1/10 scale car racing and bearing maintenance was high up the list of maintenance to get that extra 10th second off the lap time. Now they were circular not linear bearings but I would have thought the principle was the same. 1. Clean the bearing. Ideally take a small container with a snap down lid to seal. Put some motor cleaner in the container along with the bearing and shake vigorously. Always amazed me how much crap was left in the cleaner. Take out the bearing and blast with compressed air. If the cleaner is dirty then repeat the process with new cleaner until clean. OK so what is motor cleaner – cannot remember, just always bought it from a model shop. But it is not WD40, which leaves a residue and so is bad for bearings. This is the type of stuff you are after https://www.modelsport.co.uk/schumacher-bearing-blaster-motor-cleaner/rc-car-products/23015 2. Oil the bearing. Basically any thin oil. Again I cannot remember what I used but I suspect it was proper 3 in 1. Basically any thin oil and of course sewing machine oil would be fine I think. Again a good model shop will have an appropriate oil. 3. With the circular bearing, say for a wheel, you could always turn it afterwards and feel whether the bearing was nice and clean without friction and ok to use. Maybe you would get a similar feel by pushing the shaft through the linear bearing but I have never been there so I do not know. HTH

Yup Meshmixer is an alternative worth trying if you are still failing. It was free and probably still is. You will find it on the Autodesk site. I used it quite extensively a couple of years back; it is very easy to add and delete supports once it has auto generated for you.

Could be faulty filament. Load a new reel and preferably not white. Could be wrong nozzle to bed distance. Take a simple oblong and print a skirt around it close the bed edges, say 2-3 loops. Watch it and adjust levelling screws to get it right. Some knowledge of your settings would be helpful. What is that is printing, a simple cube or similar; are the initial layers solid on the x/y plane or are there islands there causing the print head to jump around? What adhesive are you using?

Thanks for that, the Soldiworks part files are a godsend! Mine is 2015 so no inbuilt threads function.

Nice one DaHai8 . I have just installed 2.4 Beta2 under Win10 and as you say it seems to be separated perfectly. I can switch between users and load the relevant version of Cura. Strangely I had some issue with finding the Appdata folder for the new user account but resolved now and it has its own custom printer and settings files created by myself and my original ones remain in Appdata under my main user account. So everything looks great! Sure not 100% perfect, I have a large number of files and folders I would need to move to Public data so the new account can see them (or maybe if I make them shareable that would work too) and make it seamless. But for looking at 2.4 in earnest and testing it that will not be a hassle. Another hour and I think I will be confident to go to the 3D printing laptop and load 2.4 on there! Again, many thanks for the idea

You're not the first. This is something we're looking into. Our current focus is improving the speed & improving automated testing. Thanks @nallath, I am sure that if it is being looked at it will arrive sometime. Look forward to it

Such is life! It always pays to be flexible when interpreting people's suggestions on settings, not two scenarios are ever the same.

From the work/testing I have done I think your temp is too low. For ngen adhesion I started at 235 but ended up at 245 or 250. I tested 0% vs 40% fan and could not determine any difference between the two really; I think I ended up at 40% but would not argue with anyone who felt 0% WAS better. Maybe just my printer and the piece I was printing

Nice idea @neotko although lol I am getting too old to muck around with that sort of stuff. Mind you it would be a good way to get Windows 7.1 back, so just maybe 8)...

Can I just add my request to the list to sort out the implementation process so that different versions of Cura can co-exist on the same laptop. I would love to get my teeth into 2.4 beta but I am too busy at the moment to risk screwing the machine and not being able to get 2.3.1 back quickly and correctly. Right now a loss of a days production would be disastrous and will remain so for some considerable time. I guess I could spend 500eu on another laptop but that sort of defeats the object of Cura being free. Mind you I wold be happy to pay for Cura if this sort of thing was working.

Well me for one. I have always used Cura to slice and Repetier Host to control the printer - lots of advantages including usb connection. Cura is on one laptop and drops the STL onto a network drive and the printer laptop, attached via usb, pulls the stl from the network drive and prints it. Of course if one is used to using Cura to print I can see the issue is a bit of a b*mmer. For me Cura morphing to just a slicer is OK.

Lol that is why I buy my most of my PLA from Faberdashery - they sell it in in loose coils, i.e. not wrapped around a plastic spool, so you get to use every cm without issue! I limit lengths to 50mtr, imho going above that probably makes it a bit difficult to handle. Oh and I do not wind it around anything I just have the coil laying on the floor when n use.

Yes @SandervG, just moving the cursor without a click causes the problem. I think I will add that sometimes it just decides to die without being near the X. I will try and see if it is just the cursor moving rather than the position of the cursor.