brian_from_uk

Hi folks. Just like to add an observation I made recently regarding feeder performance. A lot of users have reported issues with blocked nozzles and/or feeder problems. I have also had these issues. However, I recently descovered these issues seem to occur as the filament reaches the end of a reel. As the material unwinds from it's reel at the back of the UM2, the radius of curvature of the filament gets greater. This can be observed by unwinding a bit of filament and watching it curl as you hold it up. As the filament gets closer to the centre of the reel, printing problems start to occur because the curvature is so great that the filament will no longer feed down the tube to the nozzle. Putting on a new reel solves the problem. However, you do waste about 10 to 20% of material. I've noticed someone has placed their feeder on top of the nozzle. This sounds like a positive move as you are now pulling the filament instead of pushing it. This will tend to straighten the filament out and reduce friction in the feeder tube.