mechamecha
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Posts posted by mechamecha
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I'm not sure if this will solve your problem, but I've managed to get much more even layers by tightening up all the screws on my printer (set screws on the pulleys and motors as well as all of the screws holding the frame together), tightening the springs on the bed to reduce bouncing, and keeping the rods oiled/greased.
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Yeah, the only time I tried out the spiralize feature, nearly a year ago, I got the same type of scarring. It was especially noticeable because I was using blue t-glase.
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Is there any plan for Cura to provide an option for this in the future? With certain types of prints, it would be extremely useful to be able to limit the z-seam to a single location up the side of the model instead of marring the entire perimeter. For me, this is the major thing that's missing in Cura. I can't possibly be the only one who feels this way...
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I've asked this before, but I don't think I received an answer.
Is there an option in Cura that I'm overlooking allowing for the layer changes to occur along a single seam at the same location all the way up the side of the model? If not, are there any plans to implement this option?
Last time I checked (it's been a while, though), the way Cura handles layer change locations is to search for corners in the model where seams may be hidden. However, in very smooth models that don't feature suitable locations for Cura to hide the seam (cylinders, for example), especially when printing with layer heights of .2 mm or larger, this has left noticeable scars all around the perimeter of my prints.
It would be really nice to have the option to place the scar in a single line up the side of the print instead of scattered all around. Actually, I consider this a must-have feature, and it's really the only reason I use Kisslicer instead of Cura at times.
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shurik - I did change my Teflon insulator recently, but it was when I still had the stock heater block/nozzle installed, and it didn't make an appreciable difference. So now I have the new Teflon insulator, Olsson block and RSB nozzle installed, and my UM2 is working great!
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Just wanted to thank anders-olsson, swordriff and gr5 once again!
I installed my new heater block + RSB 0.4 nozzle and it's working great. I was previously experiencing constant under-extrusion problems and had to increase material flow to about 135% as a workaround. With the new heater block and nozzle, it's working like new... maybe even better! I also love the ability to easily maintain and change nozzles. I'd definitely recommend this mod to anyone with an Ultimaker 2!
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@mechamecha:
Good question! JET's are classical design with a 118deg steep lead-in to the nozzle exit.
The RSB (Brass) and RSS (Steel) have a totally different inside geometry ,possibly helping faster printing. They are both very slick on the inside. There outside of RS-series also makes modifications more possible. I can now supply 1mm on request. This is for effects. It will not print "faster", but thicker. I already shipped to a designer in Norway.
Thanks, swordriff! I just placed an order with gr5 and can't wait to get my new heater block and nozzles! And thank you for providing the UM community with this really great option!
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Sorry if this has been asked before, but what's the difference between the JET nozzles and the JET RSB nozzles? I tried searching for the answer, but couldn't find an explanation. (I know there's a very brief description on the 3dSolex site, but nothing that explains why someone would choose one over the other.)
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Slic3r seems like a good candidate for what you're trying to do. You can uncheck "Extra perimeters if needed" so it won't print the "shelves" to help support the upper layers that gr5 mentioned.
Here's the start and end g-code that I've been using for slic3r, which seems to work OK:
Start:
G21 ;Metric Values
G90 ;Absolute Positioning
M82 ;Extruder to Absolute
M106 S0 ;Fans Off
G28 ;Home All Axes
G1 X5 Y10 F9000 ;Move Head to ~Origin
G1 Z20 F9000 ;Raise Bed to Head
M140 S<BED> ;Set Bed Temp
M190 S<BED> ;Wait For Bed to Reach Temp
M109 T0 S<TEMP> ;Set & Wait Head Temp
T0 ;Select Extruder 1
G92 E0 ;Zero Extrude L
End:
T0 ;Select Extruder 1
M104 S0 ;Head Temp Off
M140 S0 ;Bed Temp Off
G91 ;Relative Position
G1 E-1 F300 ;Retract 1mm
G1 Z+0.5 X-20 Y-20 F9000 ;Drop, Move Head
G90 ;Absolute Position
The initial priming that Cura does seems to cause problems with slic3r, so I removed it. Instead, I make sure I print a skirt of 3-4 loops. Also, for some reason, I have to manually set the temperature of the hot end and bed on the U2 front panel before it will start printing.
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It seems that in Cura 14.09 the layer change locations are spread out around the object's perimeter to prevent a z-scar. In some situations that's desirable, but often I would prefer a z-scar in one location so the rest of the object's surface is smooth. With the scar being spread out, I now see tiny scars all around the surface. Is there any way to enable the old layer change behavior?
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Yes, I think this is a much needed feature. Also, I apologize if I'm overlooking something obvious, but is there any way to delete a material profile?
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I think this a an excellent and thoughtful post by korneel, and I agree with just about everything he said.
I've been working with a few different 3D printers over the past several years (mostly a Makergear M2 and my Ultimaker 2, which I received this past summer), and I can certainly appreciate how much easier it has been to operate and troubleshoot my Ultimaker 2 than it was with the M2, which I had been using for two years and experienced SO many problems with. It was so nice to see that the U2 actually comes with its own software, a manual, and a well established online forum with a large user base who are always so helpful (none of which the M2 had). I enjoy troubleshooting computer/electronic stuff, so I've been able to find most of the information I need here on the Ultimaker forum, and I haven't had to contact Ultimaker support directly yet (not counting a few replies I've received from illuminarti here on this forum!). That said, anyone who hasn't had experience using another machine and support options won't necessarily be able to appreciate those differences.
Even after several years of working with FDM printers, troubleshooting my printing problems can still be a daunting task because of all the different variables that can affect print quality. This forum can be a mixed blessing, because although I've gleaned quite a bit of helpful information here, I've also read about some things that worry me about my U2 (possibly unnecessarily) like this whole teflon insulator thing, which puts another wrinkle into my troubleshooting efforts that I had never considered before, because this information isn't readily available (as far as I know). I just happened to stumble upon this concern while reading various posts on this forum. I've gradually started to experience some under-extrusion problems with my U2 which I think I've solved by increasing my flow rate to 120%, but I'm not sure if that's an indicator that something in the printer needs to be replaced, like the teflon insulator, perhaps? Or, even though I regularly perform the "cold pull" trick with my filament (which I would have never known about if I hadn't visited this forum often), maybe my hot end is still partially clogged?
So, I'm basically agreeing with korneel that, compared to most other FDM 3D printer manufacturers, Ultimaker's product and support is top notch, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. The manual that's included with the printer is a really nice touch, but the maintenance section is severely lacking. My recommendation is to either make the manual more comprehensive in this regard, or to include a URL which is constantly updated with comprehensive information (without users having to continuously search and wade through this forum).
I'm still very confused about this whole teflon insulator issue. When should I be concerned that it needs to be replaced? As part of my regular maintenance, should I be taking apart the hot end assembly from time to time to check for specific problems with the teflon insulator, the hot end, the spring, the fans, etc.? If so, what should I be looking for?
If the teflon part is as much a "consumable" as some of the people on this forum are claiming, shouldn't the U2 ship with at least one or two spares? (After all, the manual itself suggests printing at 260C for at least 10 minutes to fix a clogged nozzle which, according to this thread, will damage the teflon insulator if done repeatedly.)
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Hey guys, cool stuff is happening here all the time. Check out my new projects I've been working on lately. I've passed my 3rd year at Ninja Theory and I've sculpted and printed a stylized Dante character. He's 16 cm tall and he's made up of 8 parts. The other little guy is still just a prototype, but will end up as a Wacom pen holder.
That's very cool! What treatments have you done to the surface of these models after printing?
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Nice printed skull!
Maybe you could share the Model-file?
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:43591/#files
I downloaded the skull_Fill_Build_Space.stl file which is the entire skull as a single piece. The model had some visible faceting on its surface (especially the top of the skull) due to the relatively low polygon count for such a detailed model, so I brought it into Blender and applied a subdivision surface modifier set to 1 subdivision level before I exported it and brought it into MeshMixer to generate supports.
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Hmm. I've used a few different 3D printers over the past couple of years. This skull ranks up there with one of the best prints I've gotten from an FDM printer, and I'm quite picky (I'm a professional illustrator/graphic artist, planning to use my Ultimaker 2 for sculpture work, among other things). The skull is only about 2.5 inches in height. I had to use a macro lens to take the photo on my DSLR, then I reduced the image in Photoshop which sharpened it. The coin in the background is a US quarter.
Here are the settings I used (if you click on the photo I posted, you'll see more info):
0.1 layer height
0.8 shell thickness
Retraction enabled
0.8 Bottom/Top thickness
20% Fill Density
30 mm/s Print speed
Colorfabb Standard White filament
Print time: 10 hours
Oops… Forgot to add:
Nozzle temp: 220
Bed temp: 60
Retract length: 5.5mm
Retract speed: 35mm/s
I also find that enabling combing gives me fewer surface blemishes.
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Sorry to crash the party but I see some (very faint) underextrusion. Also there is some banding. Did you by chance print with Faberdashery white and which settings did you use?
I am asking because I have a somewhat similar issue.
Hmm. I've used a few different 3D printers over the past couple of years. This skull ranks up there with one of the best prints I've gotten from an FDM printer, and I'm quite picky (I'm a professional illustrator/graphic artist, planning to use my Ultimaker 2 for sculpture work, among other things). The skull is only about 2.5 inches in height. I had to use a macro lens to take the photo on my DSLR, then I reduced the image in Photoshop which sharpened it. The coin in the background is a US quarter.
Here are the settings I used (if you click on the photo I posted, you'll see more info):
0.1 layer height
0.8 shell thickness
Retraction enabled
0.8 Bottom/Top thickness
20% Fill Density
30 mm/s Print speed
Colorfabb Standard White filament
Print time: 10 hours
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I couldn't be more pleased with my new Ultimaker 2!
Here's a screenshot of the supports generated in MeshMixer:
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Shurik, I really like your emoticon...I could watch it all day long and laugh... B)
And now on topic: I just had two print which resulted in grinding with the orignal feeder. However, I have a quite new UM2 and thus the spring is the weaker one. Do you have the stronger spring? I think the tension is just (still) too big. If you have many retracts within a short time, the filament gets heated up due to the pressure and is getting weak and flattened.
I've set the minimum travel before retracting to 5mm and the minimum extrusion before retracting to 0.5mm. Especially the second one makes sure the feeder has a new piece of filament to chew on.
Thanks for this info, Dim3nsioneer. I've been trying to print a skull for the past few days using support material generated in MeshMixer. There are a LOT of support posts, and the print kept failing. I finally realized that, because of the excessive number of retractions being used to print the support posts, the extruder was crushing the filament down to the point that it was physically unable to exit the top of the extruder and enter the Bowden tube. Using your suggested settings for minimum travel and minimum extrusion seems to be doing the trick! (I'll find out in four hours, if this thing actually prints completely…)
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I decided to see what difference, if any, printing with a 0.4 mm layer height would make. It made a noticeable difference in surface clarity. I would definitely recommend a 0.4 mm layer height when printing with T-Glase filament. (Because of the additional volume of filament being extruded, I had to lower my filament diameter setting yet again—to 2.30 mm—to get a watertight bottom using Spiralize.)
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T-Glase really shows any kind of flaws in the surface. I chose a large layer height, because I had read that larger layers make the T-Glase surface more transparent, while thinner layers add opacity. (Is a 0.4 mm layer height possible with the Ultimaker²?)
Anyway, after experimenting for a couple of days, I produced a very nice, water-tight print of my cup! I had to set my filament diameter to 2.50 mm (even thought it's actually 2.85) to make the bottom water-tight. The final settings I used are as follows:
Layer height: 0.3 mm
Shell thickness: 0.6 mm
Bottom thickness: 1.2 mm
Print speed: 10 mm/s
Hot end temp: 220
Bed temp: 70
Filament diameter: 2.50 mm
You can see the z-scar in the second photo, but a person picking up the cup just to have a look would really have to scrutinize it to notice it.
I must say, T-Glase produces a very cool looking surface! Depending on the viewing angle, it can look glassy, metallic, or plasticky.
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I probably wouldn't notice the z-scar on the print so much using normal filament, but T-Glase definitely makes it more obvious!
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Thanks, illuminati!
All of my layer heights are set to 0.3 mm, speed is 10 mm/s, and shell thickness is 0.6 mm. The bottom prints fine when I set the shell thickness to .4mm, but develops holes when I set it higher than the nozzle diameter. I want a thicker shell to print a sturdier cup.
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I'm trying to print a cup that I designed in Blender. I'm using Cura's Spiralize feature and blue T-Glase filament. I exported the model from Blender as an STL file. I'm trying to print a .6mm shell so the cup won't be too flimsy, but it's been difficult getting a watertight surface, especially the bottom. It seems that my Ultimaker 2 under-extrudes quite a bit when attempting to lay down a shell wider than its .4mm nozzle. It's been printing a mesh with tiny holes on the bottom of the cup. I've been gradually reducing the filament diameter setting to compensate, which seems to be helping. Is there some other setting that I should be modifying?
Another thing I've discovered while viewing the g-code in Repetier-Host is that Cura's Spiralize feature is generating a z-scar down the side of the cup. It was my understanding that Spiralize was supposed to prevent that. Is there any way to get rid of the scar?
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Thanks, illuminarti! Thanks to you and many others who provide the excellent support I've witnessed in these forums, I became convinced that the Ultimaker 2 was the way to go for me… A very nice machine and a great community!
Fan Speed Firmware Bug?
in UltiMaker Cura
Posted
I've noticed that if I try to ramp up my fan speed very gradually over several millimeters (using "Fan full on at height" in Cura), the fans never actually turn on, even though the display shows the fan speed percentage increasing by a small percentage on each layer in the Tune menu. I have to manually play with the setting to get the fans jump started. Is this a firmware bug?