qmaker

Thanks for the tips and information. Did you create a spool that has bearings etc.. or you have created a solid spool holder like the original just on a 90• angle? Also you mention Naturel, does it seem to print significantly better than white? It would be interesting to see the same model with same settings printed in the various filaments.

Simleware, It looks like the software would be very useful can you let us know the pricing?

Hey swordriff, do you have photos of the bronze fill and copperfill prints you have made? I would love to see them.

Also I thought I would share that I have been having trouble getting successful prints from this piece due to the long overhangs... I purchased a 3d doodler for my daughter and used it a few times to reinforce some of the struts that I had made in Meshmixer that kept failing. Not ideal, but it worked great. A few extra supports from strut to strut and things were solid.

Hey guys, I am printing now at 218 degrees, .8 shell and things are looking much better!!!! I can't believe I had this set wrong. I even recall reading setting it as a multiple of the tip diameter somewhere along the way and then either forgot or..... Is it true that certain color PLA prints nicer than others? What colors print well and what colors do not? I am still working on a good spool holder, perhaps I will try just putting it down on the floor. I made a spool holder that I am using now, but I think it is causing tension as well.

thanks, I will re-check the settings and adjust as you mentioned. I will also up the temp and see where we are at. Thanks for the tips. I will let you know how it all works. By the way. Do you think that I need to replace the teflon insulator based on my machine hours?

Heres where I am at. Printing 291:42 258M I went back through my pile of bad prints just to see and saw that I had a similar issue on a print awhile back using a different PLA. After thinking about it,that is the reason I switched to the Colorfabb. I thought maybe this brown PLA was giving me problems. I did get a better print out of it after switching to colorfabb, but still had some of the same issues. I did have several prints in between the brown pla and the colorfabb that printed quite nicely. This is why I also suspected it could be just an issue with my Gcode. Thanks,

Thanks guys, I looked back on some previous prints and see some of the same issues. These were done with a different PLA. I do think that maybe the problem may be compounded by the temperature, but suspect that it is more likely an underextrusion issue due to hardware. I have noticed a couple of times that when I did the atomic method and went to pull the old material out that it was tightl in the nozzle end of my Bowden tube. I measured the diameter of the filament and it was fine. Do you think my bowden tube could have shrunk due to heat and is making it difficult for the filament to push through/ Is there a counter that tells how many print hours are on my machine? I am using the original nozzle and teflon, no other mods. Is there a general maintenance guide as to how often to change the nozzle or teflon insulator? Should I also consider using one of the extruders that others here have come up with? I am using normal white not xt. Thanks

Is the reported issues of the bronzefill, copperfill filaments wearing and enlarging the nozzle true? Is it worth staying away from for that reason? Just curious what to expect from those who have used it.

Just my two cents. I too have found the Colorfabb to work the best of the various PLA filaments that I have tried.

Can someone give me a quick analysis of whether my issue here is a result of my settings in Cura or a hardware/temperature issue. Cura settings are as follows layer height .15 shell thickness1 bottom/top thickness 20 print speed 40 This is a full dimension build 28 hour print. I am using ColorFabb at 210 temp and 65 buildplate temp Perhaps I should drop my layer height for better quality. I expected layering but not the gaps....

Thanks that worked fine. By the way, just out of curiosity I have been playing around with the features that allow you to price and upload to shape ways etc... Although it seemed to give me pricing etc.. it wouldn't actually upload to the cart. I then went to shape ways and tried to upload the file directly to my shop and found that the pricing was different. Just a heads up.

No real issues yet, just trying to create a workflow that makes sense. I wasn't sure if anyone has found the supports generated by Cura better worse etc... from meshmixer. I definitely like the control that I have with supports in meshmixer. I still haven't figured out the best values for density support diameter etc. Do you use the ultimaker preset in the dropdown or create custom settings. Finally, is there anyway to change the xyz orientation to match Cura, would be nice not to re-orient the model 90 degrees each time. Thanks for the feedback and help

Thanks Guys, I think I am getting closer to what I want.

I am trying to print a model of a figure that has a great deal of difficult overhangs and small unsupported details(hands and feet). I have tried using meshmixers support generators to help, but still have not made a successful print. Does anyone have any suggestions for good tutorials or information on best methods for cutting a model into individual pieces that can be put back together in post. I have seen a few by doing a web search, but they haven't really got me where I need to be. Does someone have experience doing this and know whether I should be thinking about trying it with: Zbrush Netfabb Meshmixer Other? Thanks for any help

Thanks guys, for now I have it working. I will give exporting my .stl files without making my geometry editable and see how that works. It seems like basically the caps on text don't weld properly to the extruded sides and then netfabb tries to weld it back together and closes over Os Ps etc... I tried changing my cap subdivision level etc.. and had better luck. Does 3d printing prefer to have few and simple polygons or more? If I don't figure it out I may take you up on having a look at my model to see if there is something I am missing or doing wrong. Thanks, Q

I have been experimenting with it on a print I have been having difficulty with. I created the supports with meshmixer exported the stl and then re opened in Cura for slicing and saving the Gcode. Is this a bad approach? Should I be exporting right out of meshmixer now that there is an option for ultimaker2 in the printers? Thanks, Q

Yes definitely, if I make extruded text I notice that it doesn't weld the caps. I have had some success optimizing the mesh after making it editable, but many times it just fills in the centers of more complex letters. C4D is my main modeling program unless I am creating something organic, then I use zbrush. Either I need to figure out how to make better topology in C4D or use something else for these simpler builds. Thanks for the help.

TinyDancer, I am printing the enable raptorhand right now in White color fabb as well. All_parts_at_100___left___single_build_plate I am not getting great results yet, and am going to change my print settings to something very similar to what you have. I would love to see what your model looks like as a comparison. I am not sure if my quality is a function of the Gcode, the model, or printing issues. I printed at .2 and a 50mm/s print speed. I too have had underextrusion issues and changed to ColorFabb because I suspect that my last filament had too much variation in the diameter throughout the roll. In some cases it seemed really tight pushing it through just the bowden tube. Also, I wonder if my tube has distorted or shrunk as it seems tight closest to the print head. I have also considered changing the extruder to robertI's version. Good luck and let us know if you get it worked out.

Hi, I have been building models in c4d lately and have attempted to create several models with simple parimetrics and extruded text. When I make everything editable and export my stl, I find that overlapping parametrics and caps of text etc... seem to cause geometry problems. Either not welding at the seams or not combining properly. If I send them over to zbrush I can usually mess with it and make a usable solid mesh. I do use Netfabb to repair models. However I wonder if changing my modeling process would help. Example. If I put two tubes together, is it best to Union them together with a boolean, or simply make them editable and then connect objects and delete. Thanks, Q

Wow Great topic. Thanks Daid for laying out the things to look for. I am very pleased with the way the concerns, problems, complaints are being handled here. I think we all have the same goal. To improve reliability and print quality and not place blame. I think the big thing is that everyone would like an easy place to go that could give us an idea as to what may be potential weakness areas etc... for troubleshooting. This guide is SO HELPFUL: http://support.3dverkstan.se/article/23-a-visual-ultimaker-troubleshooting-guide#underextrusion Perhaps a list with photos of some of the additional issues and potential resolutions in an easy to find location. I find that I stumble upon some of the problems while looking through the forums. I know it is dangerous to point out potential flaws and fixes, but I think everyone would appreciate knowing all of the possibilities and places to look. Underextrusion seems to be the biggest issue that I see come up. What steps or tips do the advanced printers here use to remedy the situation. Tip replacement Teflon insulator replacement Atomic method Extruder modifications (what printable versions are currently out there) Filament reel holders and placements Filament quality Maybe these are all collectively located somewhere and I just haven't found it yet. So far I find bits of advice from various topics. Thanks to everyone here for all of the help.

Thanks guys, I was just wondering. But, maybe sometime in the future it might be a feature that would be really beneficial.

This may have already been answered or requested, but I couldn't find it in the search. Is there any way to scale a print at the printer. I find that it would be nice after getting a decent print with my g code settings to simply dial up the scale at the printer and print it larger. Even if it was just set increments like 25% 50% max build volume. Just wondering.

Thanks gr5 that makes sense.

So I am still messing around trying to get things working. It seems like the sensor cable is the right way to go, but before I order one I just wanted to ask everyone a few more questions. It seems that the default temps setup for my files when printing PLA are 210 nozzle temp and 75 bed temp. This seems like too hot for the bed temp, so I find myself tuning and setting it back down to around 60. (Not sure if this is a good idea or not, I just found that it worked well on several of my prints) However, when I then scroll up to temperature to see what the nozzle temp is it is at 0 until I dial in a temperature. Does that mean whenever I hit the tune button the temps set to 0? If I wouldn't have hit tune would it automatically heat to 210? When it does begin to prepare to print and it extrudes material all seems normal then it goes over to the print location, doesn't stick and begins to gum up under the nozzle. At this point I usually abort the print. By the time the head returns to the home location the gummed up PLA is hard and the tip hardly seems hot. Anyway, I just thought I would share this to make sure I am headed down the right path with the sensor wires. Thanks