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kerry

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Posts posted by kerry

  1. Looking at those photos it looks like the only consistently good walls I'm getting are at 3mm.

    I watched it print that piece for a bit, and noticed the grinding/skip sound from the feeder about once per revolution once it was above 3mm. It was a short sound, but pretty consistent per layer.

    It feels like there is some fundamental design issue with the UM2. My old Thing-O-Matic was a bit long in the tooth after 2 1/2 years, but I never had any issues with extrusion, even at fairly high acceleration rates.

     

  2. Thanks illuminarti, sorry I've been busy and haven't had much time. I increased the tension as suggested, it is now right in the middle of the range (I have a UM2 purchased in May).

    I have already installed a version of your firmware that had the filament grinding fix in an earlier build.

    Here are some not so great photos of the extrusion test piece.

    DSC 4411

    DSC 4413

    DSC 4420

    DSC 4419

     

  3. Yes, the PLA I'm using is silver, and has some transparency to it so I need to set shell width to 1.2mm (a multiple of .4) to get it to look solid. Otherwise I can see the infill pattern.

    I have not tried the test piece yet. Once I get it back to functioning I will give it a go.

    I've read some postings about Robert's extruder. Is that a known 'fix' for folks? Are they still seeing extrusion issues after installing it?

     

  4. The fan is always running when it is on. At least I hear it.

    I'm not at home to reproduce it, but I think the filament is getting chewed up.

    One thing that may be aggravating it is the layer height. I was printing most things at .1, but for these larger builds I went to 0.2mm layers otherwise they take forever and the resolution increase isn't needed for this type of part. I upped the temps from 210 - 220 for the 0.2mm layers, but it hasn't seemed to fix it (although it may have helped). What is the standard temps for 0.2mm layers?

     

  5. Sorry if this comes off a bit harsh, as I've been frustrated quite a bit at the hit or miss prints I've been getting on my UM2. I received it last month, and have had some fantastic prints off of it. But I've also had extrusion issues that require me to go through various steps to get it working again. For the past couple of days I've been printing 3-5 part batches at .2mm, 50mm speed, PLA, 20% infill, 210 deg (also 220) for a project I'm working on. I set them up to print at night as they are usually 5-7 hour prints. The first night went flawlessly. The second night, same plastic, temps etc., printed fine until the last 10% then terrible extrusion and ruined prints. Pulled PLA, re-insterted, put fine metal wire in nozzle to clear it, reprint and things look great until ~ 2mm in then extrusion issues again. Repeat cycle of fixes, set up a print for overnight and in the morning that batch looks great. Next print, ruined due to extrusion.

    I don't think I need to show photos, as there are many already on this forum that look exactly like what I'm getting.

    Can someone from UM tell me what the current plan is to fix the design? And what the status of that fix is? Thanks.

    Kerry

     

  6. A guy at work wanted me to print http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:331876 for him. So I loaded it up in Cura, looks good, set print parameters and copy to SD. Start print on UM2 and it looks like my extruder is clogged. It doesn't look like anything is coming out, or maybe just a little bit of plastic. Actually, some plastic is coming out, but it is just blobbing together.

    1) Check, recheck, check again that filament is being fed.

    2) Print. No joy.

    3) Check extrusion again. And again.

    4) Print. No joy.

    5) Switch to different spool of plastic.

    6) Print. No joy.

    7) Relevel bed.

    8) Print. No joy.

    9) Relevel bed really low this time.

    10) Print. Slightly improved, but no joy.

    11) Look REALLY closely at model in Cura. Set viewpoint to just above surface. See that that the model is floating very slightly above the surface.

    12) Accept that 2 1/2 hours of my life has gone by learning a new lesson in 3D printing - ALWAYS make sure that the model is lying flat on the platform.

     

  7. "The 'correct' position for the extruder indicator depends on when your printer was manufactured. Prior to March 1, 2014, the indicator should be in its highest position. After that, it should be in a central position."

    Illuminati, how do you know when your build date was? I just purchased my UM2 through Dynamism, and I'm not sure of the build date. It has the latest firmware. Thanks.

     

  8. I've been using Cubify Invent for the past couple of years. It is paid software, but US $49 is not terrible considering the functionality. I use the history extensively. I'm not sure what the nomenclature is for the feature, but it saves every step individually in the process of building your model. If you found that a hole you made in step two is too small, you can go to the step and change it. The remaining steps are still valid. This feature alone is worth the money to me, especially when I am doing iterations on a design.

     

  9. So I finally purchased a UM2 and I should be receiving it this Thursday. Reading this thread has me worried though - is the print quality really going to be that bad? Just looking at the cylinder print on this page makes me think my 2 1/2 year old Thing-O-Matic would do better. Should I try to find a copy of 14.01?

     

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