eldrick

You will only get pastel colors at best, because the color is only applied to the outside of the filament. You can try it out for free - use some sticky tape to create an "adapter" or hold one or more felt-tip markers against the filament before it goes into the machine. Note that the marker dries out fairly quickly since it is exposed to the air the whole time. You could easily design and print an adapter to hold the markers in place...

Try putting the buildplate in the freezer for a while, and that will probably allow the part to come right off - at least it works for PLA with gluestick on glass.

gr5 - you have a point - at least they are open to criticism. However, it's not rocket science to order a few percent extras for spares and replacements when purchasing small parts from an outside supplier, so I see little justification for not offering at least the most common parts for sale at reasonable prices. Nevertheless I paid a truly obnoxious price for what should be a $15 nozzle (sales accepted the payment three days ago) and I have not yet received a shipped notice or a tracking number. If this also take an inordinate amount of time for UM to get around to shipping it for $36 (like mnis' experience), I will be truly pissed off.

Lots of luck on a free nozzle. I just ordered one from sales@ultimaker.com, and paid the outrageous price of 96 Euro = US$ 134. Ultimaker seems to be intent on driving customers away with their bizarre policies on after-warrantee parts: they insist on highest-possible-cost shipping, and charge stupidly high prices with an estimated margin of 8-10x cost. Even their own people are horrified by the lousy parts service. I'll be selling off my UM2 once its replacement arrives, and certainly won't recommend the UM2 unless they change their policies on this. http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/6333-ultimaker-parts-ordering-costs-are-unacceptable/

Don't go getting all sensitive on us Daid, these are just suggestions for features that we think would rank Cura higher on the scale of world-class slicers. Meanwhile, I'll continue to use Kisslicer, now that it has a Sequential printing feature (Beta version).

Almost anything would be an improvement over the current method.

I've never had issues with ABS, even with objects as large as 250mm or as small as 12mm at the base, and up to 250mm tall, with two different reprap printers. The method: - glass bed - heat to 100C and keep it there, - glue stick for adhesion - forget ABS juice/tape/hairspray, and all that messy stuff - when the print cools, it will literally pop off the plate with glue stick, but it will stick firmly while printing - I've never seen any need for a raft - print temps from 236-244C - I generally use Ultimachine or Protoparadigm ABS - any hotter and it is subject to stringing and other artifacts - room temps around 80-82F - the printer keeps my small room warm - keep drafts off the print, but no special treatment or enclosure - for parts with overhangs, I use the fan at low to moderate speed after the first few layers to "freeze" the plastic immediately after extrusion and prevent curling upward - thinner layers work better for this - I never use supports, and almost never have issues with the overhangs up to 50-degrees or so

Personally I found it infuriating, as I strongly prefer to set the both temps manually so I don't have to sit staring at the machine for an indefinite time waiting for it to decide to start a print. And the ideal temp for varies from print to print anyway, so the presets are usually less than optimal. However, I discovered that Cura allows you to set both temps to 0, which disables the use of the presets and allows for manual control (Thanks, Daid). I also wind up using Kisslicer more often than not, so the presets are irrelevant with it.

I'm using vibration-absorbing sorbothane feet intended for home appliances. Keeps the transmitted noise down too.

Re. start/end placement, Kisslicer allows you to specify an angular area around the periphery where the start/ends will be randomly placed, if that description makes sense. On a circular piece, you could specify that you want all the starts to be placed randomly between 30-degrees and 135-degrees around the periphery.

I'm a big fan of Kisslicer, now that the author is back to working on it. It's free to try, with a couple of minor features disabled until you pay a nominal charge to unlock the Pro version. It's got a great combination of features, particularly in the 1.5 Beta, which does Sequential printing. It's fast and the only feature that would make it even more perfect for my products would be variable layer height, for smoother domed top features. My products: http://stores.thefencingpost.com/pommel-epee-french-grip-melting-pommel-14g-170g/ - and - http://stores.thefencingpost.com/pommel-epee-french-grip-palmel-18g-170g/

That's just a simplification of the issue for the unskilled. If you place multiple parts in a diagonal line across the build-plate so the gantry and head never intersects earlier parts after printing them, you can set the gantry height to an artificially high value, to ignore it, without problems. I place pieces along a diagonal from right-front to left-rear, to avoid conflict when the head homes after finishing the print. I can fit 3 to 4 small but tall pieces on the build plate that way for sequential printing.

Bad article, good slicer. The print they showed from Slic3r simply shows that they don't know how to use Slic3r very well. S3D is a bit obscure learning to use it, but it has features that make reproducible production of parts less of a PIA than others. It does have a couple of quirks in re. sequential printing, and it does not have the ability to specify where to locate start/end points, like Kisslicer. Overall, it's right up there with the three other good slicers (Cura, Kisslicer, and Slic3r), but is not free to use, and they unfortunately don't offer any sort of free trial, AFAIK.

You can use other slicer programs: - Slic3r (Open Source - free) allows you to set different layer thicknesses at different heights in the print. Very useful for making better-looking rounded tops on pieces. - Kisslicer (free or $45 options) allows you to print infill every N- layers. Speeds up printing greatly without compromising strength much. This effectively allows you to use thin outer layers with thicker infill. No slicer program does everything well. Cura is good, but lacks both of these functions.

The original E-steps value is 282, at least on mine purchased in April.

If you are in North America, buy from MakerShed: http://www.makershed.com/Ultimaker_2_3D_Printer_p/mkum3.htm However, be aware that purchasing any parts from Ultimaker is another broken process: overpriced, slow, difficult to order, and outrageously costly shipping as the only option. I've been waiting for a week to even try to get a PayPal address from them to pay for a small part, because their pro-forma invoice has no PP address on it. They seem to have no-one in-house who actually has any conception of how to manage a business.

"But i'm shocked to see that we sell those parts for that much money." Perhaps you could point this out to your management?

It's an issue with cooling - my machine does exactly the same thing. If you watch carefully while it is printing, the robot's right ear (left side as it faces you) will curl up on the first few layers, causing the issue. You can try to minimize it by using the lowest heat setting that will extrude your PLA, setting the fans to 100%, and slowing the print speed. Replacing the metal fan shroud with a more effective printed one that doesn't leak cooling air can also help. I've not been able to completely eliminate the issue on the robot yet.

"...without stepping on the software pause." Meaning without having to override or modify the pause capability. Pause/change/resume, in other words.

Use Robert's feeder, and you can manually change the filament quite quickly without stepping on the software pause.

You should also consider printing a spool-holder with a smaller diameter shaft, which results in less friction with the spool due to better leverage, or make Robert's ball-bearing version.

How humid is it where you keep it? You probably won't see a dramatic change in print quality, but print something, and see if it is degraded. Best to put it in a new sealable plastic bag.

Every other company I do business with in the EU offers the customer a choice of shipping methods for small parts orders: tracked and insured, or mailed as a small parcel for one-quarter of the cost. I view Ultimaker's intransigence on this issue as a significant customer service issue, and as major barrier to non-EU sales and support. It is very foolish policy on the part of UM's management.

What a good idea. Of course, with Robert's feeder, you don't really need it, since you can disengage the clamp.

Definitely noticed it - one can no longer view any of the images except the primary (first) one, and the 3D viewer is now broken. This is using Chrome on Mac.