chrisr

Thanks :-)

Brilliant thanks! That looks a very useful thread indeed :smile: I did do a forum search but found nothing. I paid for a KISSlicer license as well and thought similar that I really ought get my head around all those scary looking settings... I now get why Daid had the UM2 control the initial warm up (rather than from Cura) as it's a much more flexible way of starting especially with other slicers in mind. Was your answer 'yes' to 3) that it's the gcode starting which causes the bed to finally raise to print height? I'm going to be getting my head around gcodes from today onwards... I came across this: http://www.cnccookbook.com/CCGWizardE.html - which I thought looked interesting from the point of view of a complete gcode newb like myself! Oh! and this: http://openscam.org/

Couple of quick questions: Before a print, both the extruder and bed are first heated up to temperature. 1) Am I right in thinking this function is carried out by the UM2? i.e it's not from instructions in the prints gcode ? Next, the bed is raised to ~2cm below the extruder and the extruder is primed (in the top left corner) for a short while. 2) Is that a function also carried out by the UM2, rather than instructions in the gcode? Finally, the bed gets raised to the correct height for printing and the print begins. 3) Is that final bed raising to print height also carried out by the UM2 or is that when the prints gcode starts executing? Reason I'm asking is I'm trying to figure out what prefix and postfix gcode I may need for KISSlicer. Thanks in advance for any help :smile:

Reading through these recent posts I really can't wait for my heater blocks to arrive. I'm as excited about these as I was when I got my UM2. It feels like having a new printer all over again :grin: Anders and swordriff, you two have a lot to answer for :grin:

+1 After a while WD40 will also solidify into a nasty sticky goo.

Breakout Easter egg? You made me google that and I found this: Blimey! :-)

thanks, will do :-)

Bit off topic, but in keeping with this conversation... have you considered any of the large deltas out there as a change from another cartesian? Specifically http://seemecnc.com/products/rostock-max-complete-kit http://www.tripodmaker.com/product/tripodmaker/ and http://hypecask.com/portfolio-item/deltatower/ ?

Ewwwww..... I'm sure this works, but yuk! ;-)

Get yourself a bag of these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006PF1RBK/ref=pe_385721_37986871_TE_item (As Don suggested above) I think these work better than the stock UM items as the locking portion is thicker so it tends to close the collet up more.

I bought a UM2 and ended up being so impressed with it that I bought another. Personally I wouldn't buy the Zortrax, I did look at it but didn't particularly warm to the attitude exhibited by some from the company to their users on the (old) forums. I wouldn't hesitate recommending the UM2 to you, it's a wonderful printer, it produces superb prints relatively easily, it's open source and the knowledgable support you can tap into here is worth one hell of a lot. :-)

Loose filament tends to have a greater curvature which helps. I now use loose filament by choice with this holder: https://www.youmagine.com/designs/loose-filament-holder-v3

Found it! http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/4127-um2-extrusion-rates-revisited/ more here: (first post) http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/3418-um2-extrusion-rates/ I mention it as it's all useful info to have, but it sounds more like your problem is a blocked up nozzle and a ground up filament.

There was a handy graph which someone on the forum drew up, which plotted the max feed rate (mm/s) for a 0.2mm layer height against nozzle temperature. But I'm damned if I can find it again... I do have a print out of it though and according to it, at 210C you shouldn't be feeding faster than 60mm/s or you'll see underextrusion. So try printing at 55mm/s or slower unless you already are. If anyone knows the link to that graph could they post it?

At what speed are you printing at? Is your PLA 2.85mm diameter? as some PLA is sold in 3mm and that can cause problems. The "Atomic" method: http://support.3dverkstan.se/article/10-the is an excellent way to clean out the nozzle. You may want to give it a try in case your nozzle is blocked. Also check that your feeder hasn't ground a flat spot in the filament (which by the sound of it, it most likely has by now) :smile:

Possibly the filament will have been ground down by the feeder so it's no longer being gripped. What material are you printing with and at what temperature? What feed rate? Layer height? Have you tried the atomic method of cleaning the nozzle?

Phew! thanks for that foot note, I thought I'd missed out :-D

np! :-)

Hi Nick, To cut and paste, I highlight the link I'm after, then CTRL C to copy it and CTRL V to paste it. It then gets turned into a highlighted link you can click on. Is that what you meant? To quote part of someones post, you can use Multiquote or Quote, you'll see these buttons at the bottom right of the post you're replying to. They're just below the "Like This" button Does that help?

Welcome Nalfy, you've got yourself a superb machine in the UM2. I'm still amazed by what it can produce so much so I ended up buying a second one :-) As Nick said, there are loads of very knowledgable and helpful folk here. There's also been some very useful and informative guides published here: http://support.3dverkstan.se/ and here http://www.extrudable.me/ Happy printing! :-)

- Teflon Isolators. - Heater. - Thermistor. - Sewing machine oil. - LOTS of filament ;-)

It works pretty good too ;-)

The first and middle photos look like you need more retraction, or print cooler (or both) to avoid the whiskers you're getting. The last one looks like underextrusion toward the top right of your arch, which would be helped by printing more slowly. So as a first guess I'd suggest trying; more retraction, print a little cooler and go a little more slowly ?

Yup! - and I don't think I'll be trying that in the middle of a big print again... :-)

I'd like to see a larger (X-Y) build plate size than the UM2 :-)