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jcyjr

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  1. Was the ultra-clear PFA slippery enough to allow your filament through? It seemed to be slippery enough, but retractions were an issue on some prints, enough that I went back to my stock tube. I'll save it to use if I get some oversized filament (actual 3mm or larger). Maybe using 1/4 X 1/8 would work but I haven't ordered any yet.
  2. I have my UM2 (2.1.4 control board) on a work bench in my garage/shop area. During the summer the ambient temp around the printer is in the low 90sF - no air conditioning in the garage. I have been having print failures during long prints at these high ambient temps. On one occasion, I observed the Z axis drive stepper motor drive the build plate down by about 1 inch between layers, resulting in "printing in air". This is the type of random failures that I have had. This led me to look for overheating on the control board and I found the same indications of high temp on the circuit board (around the driver chips) as others have reported - a light brown color around the chips for the X, Y, and Z axis ICs. Since I wanted to continue my printing projects and contacting UM for a solution would mean a delay, I chose to add a cooling fan to the board enclosure and heat sinks to each of the driver ICs. I ordered the heats sinks, thermal conductive adhesive tape, and a cooling fan from DigiKey. Here are the parts that I ordered, part #s are Digikey: Heat sinks (X5)- P/N AE10837-ND, 10mmX10mm, $0.78ea (smallest of this type that they had) Thermal tape - P/N 1168-2057-ND, 12mmX1120mmX0.25mm, $2.09ea Cooling blower (X1, powered from the 24V fan connector) - P/N 1570-1036-ND, 50mmX20mm, 24vdc, $8.79ea I added heat sinks to all 5 driver ICs even though the E1 extruder IC areas was only mildly discolored and the E2 device isn't used...yet. The heat sinks are inexpensive and are easy to install. The E2 driver is for the 2nd nozzle upgrade if we ever get one. I cut out some of the louvers in the short side of the control board cover to improve the blower air discharge flow and mounted it using a longer bolt in one of the cover bolts holes. I can't help you with a part number or source for a plug for the 24V fan connector, I cut down a strip of pin plugs I had left over from a pinball machine repair. The blower does add to the noise level of the printer and it does run all the time but at 29 dba, it isn't very loud and I don't really notice it. I could add a switch but then, where to mount it (another project)? I also printed four "feet" for the printer to improve air circulation under it. For other part sources, the Digikey online catalog has references to the part OEM and their p/n. Yes, I know all this is probably overkill, adding just the blower to stir the air under the printer may have been sufficient. But if a little cooling is good, isn't more cooling better? I've been printing for about 3 weeks now, including 4 prints that required 10 to 12hours each (ambient air temp 85F to 95F) and have not had any more problems, so I consider this project a success. In my opinion, if your board is getting dark, I would look into adding some additional cooling. I understand that UM believes that the darkening is of the solder mask and is acceptable, if not normal. My limited experience indicates to me that the thermal design is marginal on the driver ICs (based on my Z axis control channel issues on long runs in high ambient conditions that seem to clear up after cooling down, along with these indication of high temps on circuit board), but it could be an isolated device issue as well.
  3. About 2 weeks ago, I replaced my UM2 back fan with a Digi-Key MC25060V1-000U-A99 fan. It is listed as a 5V, 3cfm, 13,000 rpm 25X25X6.9mm Sunon fan (the Sunon Mc25060V2 is listed as 2.2cfm, 10,000rpm same size and voltage). The V1 is much, much quieter than the OEM fan. I don't notice it at all now when it starts or stops unless I'm listening for it specifically. The OEM fan made a loud (to me), high pitched siren sound that was very noticeable and annoying. I don't know what differences there may be in air flow from the OEM fan, but have noticed an improvement in printing overall. I generally use PLA and did change brands of filament at the same time as the fan change out so my observations may not be an "apples to apples" comparison. So far I'm pleased with the results I seen. Only down side is shipping was more than the cost of the fan ($6.64/$7.19).
  4. Ordered 5' of 1/4" X 5/32" ultra clear PFA tubing from McMaster-Carr today ($4.78 / ft + shipping). Should be enough for two bowden tubes for my UM2. We'll see if it works out.
  5. I received my UM2 about 2 weeks ago and after printing 20 or 30 projects, I found a screw in the bottom of my printer. The build plate would not move up or down with the Z axis lead screw. There are supposed to be 4 - 3mm screws bolting the build plate to the Z axis threaded bushing. After removing the Z axis cover plate (at the back of the build plate with "Ultimaker 2" printer on it), I found all 4 screws were missing. I checked the packing materials and the inside of the shipping box and found 3 more screws. They had apparently come loose due to shipping vibration. I replace mine adding a thread lock compound called " Blue Removable Locktite" on the threads to keep them from coming loose again. Printer works fine now. (to get the cover off, remove 2 - 3mm screws accessed from the bottom of the build plate - the screws are in line with the bottom edge of the cover - one at each end). If your build plate has any play in the Z axis, check the screws.
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