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ioan

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  • 3D printer
    Ultimaker 2
  • Country
    CH
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  1. I am perfectly aware of all that. Fact is that a few simple improvements are obvious to me (materials/mechanical engineer) to make the Ultimaker more user-proof. For instance, subjecting a PTFE part to a load, at a temperature in excess of is Tg is a mistake, to quote 1 out of 3, and there are ways around this.
  2. One input to the last contribution. It is definitely NOT to the customer to "get in the groove". Noone here would tolerate a "get in the groove" use of any of the devices one has purchased for private use. Play a DVD, even 100 of them...once one gets in the groove? I guess it would be difficult to market. Ultimaker sells an immature product. It is OK for me, but it should be marketed as such. It is immature, but not far from being mature. Re-think the coupler, the feeding device, and the filament spool holder, and it will be fine.
  3. Well...this time the print ceased after t=3h (out of 14) and in the morning, the nozzle was all black, burnt PLA. The feeder had logically ground the filament. Upon disassembly, the coupler is not that deformed...something else has caused the nozzle to clog, and the filament to get burnt. It was kind of gradual, as the (white) part has slightly tan last layers. I changed the whole (with typically ~1h of work...) as I had a spare hot end kit , but would like to recover the nozzle. Any idea of a solvent which can remove the burnt PLA? Or should I burn it with a gas flame? Difficult to imagine that the nozzle is a consumable too!!!! Frankly, it's a nice machine, but Ultimaker actually sells a kit to fiddle with. It is not a mature product, and as buyers of this generation we're actually working on improving a beta version. Interesting for me, but not sure everyone is in this state of mind.
  4. Thanks. Anyone any idea how much glass in % in the "new" couplers? 25%? I.
  5. Yes, they are "good", but 200h of print as lifetime (if that ends up being confirmed, I just re-launched the print) makes them a consumable. One can't ask for Eur 10-15 per unit in this case, considering that they don't cost more than Eur 3 to produce (way less actually, and even Swiss made). I'm going to ask a (Swiss) manufacturer for a quote, for 1000 parts. We'll see. Technically: It is a design fault (or too quick a compromise) to subject a PTFE-matrix component to a load, and 200°C, while stating that the ideal extrusion temp is around 210°C. The glass temp. of PTFE is in the 140° area; works on the subject (strong softening >140°C) abound (1). Reinforced or not will only delay the issue, never solve it. In other words, the hot end should be re-engineered to allow for a strong temperature gradient; metal part homogeneously at >200°C, coupler <<140°C. This can be done with proper heating and cooling circuit. (1) Example: http://www.ewp.rpi.edu/hartford/~peetrm/Other/ME%20Project%20References/The%20properties%20of%20poly%28tetrafluoroethylene%29%20%28PTFE%29%20in%20compression.pdf
  6. Dear community One question: what is the lifetime of your PTFE coupler, particularly the newer glass reinforced version, in terms of printing hours? I installed a new PTFE coupler at h=405 (printing hours), I am now around 600h and have the strong feeling the PTFE couple issue is back. I judge this at some misprints (under-extrusion), as well as the small lateral bump in Atomic-method pull-outs in the vicinity of the hot end of the coupler. Is 200h a reasonable lifetime for the coupler? If this is the case, then one can consider the coupler as a consumable, and Ultimaker should re-think its price. Machining cost for such parts in batches is well below Eur 3, as many of us (at least in the engineering field) know. Regards, Ioan.
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