phil-t

Nice to know about the upgrade kit! I've already done the Olsson block / 35W Heater and new temp sensor, then printed an alternate feeder/fan duct, but having the official upgrade kit would be definitely something I'd like to fit!

Hi Izzy, I quite like the 'O' mount at the back, that way if you did add the original mount holes, when you undid those, you could still swing the fan out the way, or just unscrew the rear head bolt to completely remove it. To be honest, I only print PLA with a 60 degree bed temp, so it's more a fit and forget I'm after, but some slotted mount holes would allow me to move it up/down and get the height perfect! I have had a couple of shutdowns due to the excess air, so am just messing with the fan speeds and duct heights to find the perfect settings!

Hi Izzy! I've just printed a set of the fan ducts, they seem really good, and certainly a massive amount more air than stock! My only comment on a quick print are that Instead of the 'clip' mechanism, I'd love it if the inner face was elongated and two holes put in which allowed it to screw into the existing shround mounting holes so it was strongly mechanically mounted. The reason for this is that it 'rattles' slightly and has a bit of play that means it often drops slightly on one side. The fan mount is genius by the way, it really holds those fans in very well and I don't worry at all that one might fall out! I only print PLA, so am hoping with a 60 degree bed temp that it will last a while.. And I've found pretty much any more than 50% fan speed can start cooling the head a little too much! I have a suspicion I'll be able to get very nice overhangs with this setup!

Some good ideas already! For me, I'll echo some points already discussed, plus my own. 1. Improved filament guide, there are a few more enclosed filament guides that don't allow the filament to pop off like the original one (e.g. https://www.youmagine.com/designs/ultimaker-2-filament-guide) 2. Bearing'd spool holder with conical retaining nut (e.g. https://www.youmagine.com/designs/low-friction-um2-spoolholder) 3. I would love a flex3drive feeder or similar to print more materials easily. Or improved feeder that has a door mechanism that makes changing filament less prone to straggly bits getting stuck in it. 4. Improved hotend with no PTFE coupler issues, I'm still scared to even go near ABS and know it's a case of when not if my current coupler starts having issues 5. four post main bed mechanism, maybe with 2 drive screws etc, but something to make it 'solid', the cantilever design works quite well, but definitely one area that causes some precision issues 6. Ethernet connection so we can have a web-interface to control/monitor prints remotely 7. Built in camera, and you can monitor it from the web-interface. 8. Feed detection and other simple detection mechanisms added to help detect and stop bad-prints for unattended use, and also stop catastrophic issues if the head gets impeded. 9. Dual extruder's - one for de-solvable supports That's about it! I think the main usability issue for me would be cured with an ethernet interface, I contemplated using my Pi 2 with OctoPi, but I want full UltGCode, so perhaps some collaboration with OctoPi or similar would help? And points 1 and 2 are in response to me getting work and friends to buy UM2's recently, and it's the same 'essential' first few improvements they've all ended up printing, so you do think it'd be great if UM improved those simple aspects.

I can't remember the last time I had to calibrate the bed (Ultimaker 2), maybe 30 or so prints ago and am still happy with the calibration. I use a 200 micron first layer, printing direct on glass, and get a very even/glossy finish.. I am also a bit dubious of using any auto-levelling that constantly requires the adjustment of the Z-Axis, it would most certainly have an impact on print quality as opposed to the normal mechanical calibration. Saying all that, I'm not against innovation, so I see no harm in asking..

I would also say that 95% plus seem perfect at the moment, although the last 10 prints have been perfect, no finishing required. I started out with a very hit and miss success rate, the improvements have been partly sorted out small issues with the printer, part educating myself on material flow rates, and partly educating myself on what does/doesn't print very well.. I do design my own stuff when I can, and my success rate with that is very high.. some stuff from Thingiverse/Youmagine can be a bit weird, not that it doesn't print, but more it needs more finishing that I like.

Hopefully final update! Removing the USB cable from the UM2 has seemingly completely solved the problem! I've been printing (touchwood) for nearly 2 weeks and not a single hiccup!!! I thought it best to update the thread, since if anyone else gets this issue, they will at least known one possible cause!

Yeah, it's a 5V DC basic fan, nothing fancy!

Whilst I've been sorting out my UM2 issues, the fan was very loud indeed, so I bought a 25x25x10mm Sunon Maglev fan and used m2.5 x 12mm cap head screws and used a dremel to take some excess bulk on the outside of the fan to make room for the hotend feed wires.. I will say it's much quieter, but not silent, although I am only 2 feet away from the printer, its very tolerable.. it stated 5m3 flow rate, and it certainly is pushing a nice amount of air through! http://www.ebay.de/itm/Lufter-5V-0-43W-25x25x10mm-5m-h-16dBA-Sunon-MC25100V2-A99-/231085071506?pt=Geh%C3%A4use_L%C3%BCfter&hash=item35cdbe5c92 Mind you I've yet to print anything, so I'll see if anything is affected!

Oops, My bad, I didn't read your post and failed to spot you where referencing your i3!

Hi, The first thing to do is obviously a standard Bed Calibration using the Maintenance->Build Plate menu option, but I then print something with a nice large first layer, and manually adjust the screws as it's going around (always adjusting the screw when the head is furthest away, and doing it by trial and error, I can get small objects to put a perfect solid polished finish on the bottom layer at 0.1, however I've recently just discovered my glass plate is actually bowed so I can't do larger objects with a 0.1 layer just yet! There is no 'option' to change, the build plate calibration built in pretty much gets you with 0.2mm or so following the instructions and using a thin sheet of paper as directed. e,g, this is the bottom face of a small halloween badge I did for one of the kids.

Thanks again for all the great advice.. I found a countersink bit in work that I borrowed, I removed the levelling screws, and the heated bed cable retaining clamp and use the countersink in a screwdriver handle (it has a hex shank) and did all the screw holes by hand.. It took 2 hours to do the glass retaining screws and bed levelling screws, but all is nice and flush now!! Just for a laugh, I have indeed turned the glass over so the bow is topmost and am doing some test prints and I'll keep an eye on it whilst UM support get back to me! At least I'm OK for small jobs in the centre of the glass! you never know, the heat/head pressure on the first row might magically bend it back over time!! I'll phone around some more places tomorrow to see if I can get any cheap deals on glass, it's the rounded corners (needed for clearance with the front clips) and polished edge (to stop any cuts) that seem to add that bit more cost, but I'll see what I can find!

I've wound up the spring tension (which is effectively pulling that screw head down) quite high, and it's clear the countersunk hole diameter is a shade too small, or the screw heads are a shade too large! I work next door to a company who sell fixings amongst other stuff, I'll see if they have some M3 x 20mm countersunk bolts in to try, if not I have found a countersink bit in work, which I could try. I think I'm correct in saying I need to address the proud screw heads before thinking about new glass, since that is more than likely the reason it has bowed in the middle?

Thanks, I know support are snowed under reading other threads, so I usually ask here first since you lot are very knowledgeable! But as it seems like the answer to my issue is going to cost a bit of money I've raised a support ticket to see what can be done.