3DPhreaks

So tonight while running a few test prints - I noticed that the rod is pushed out one side quite a bit! See here: At one point - it actually came off the ballbearing and was totally off the frame. I picked it up and placed it back in the frame/ballbearing. But one side continues to protrude out of the machine. This might indicate that I have a rod that's slightly bent I think. If I press it in, it just bounces back. My guess is that the either the rod is slightly bent. Or whoever assembled it didn't do such a good job. See here: Should I just loosen the grub screws and re-align it?

Sorry you have to turn up the sound.

So I did just that and I think I isolated when it does it .. at first I thought it wasn't doing it when I moved it powered off / by hand. But if you move it with a little more speed the clicking is present (yay! one step closer). I'll try to post a video to show what I'm seeing.

I was really thinking the same exact thing. I can only imagine it shifted in transport. But it certainly didn't seem like it could have (the screws were tight tight). A little disturbing.

Thanks gr5 - but the system doesn't allow me to select "Best Answer" for my own posts. Unless there's something I'm missing (sorry, new here). All other posts have that option but mine do not. 3DP

Thanks for the clarification Robert. I just checked .. none of the belts are snapping back down or riding up. I wish there was an object I could print that can isolate the exact motion.

Thanks - I tightened the grub screw (they were all pretty tight already) and checked the pulleys. The problem is still happening but I did make other observations: It doesn't happen when the print head moves slowly - only when it gets up to a decent printing speed. It is definitely NOT the feeder mechanism in the back of the machine. It happens when it passes a specific point of the Z Axis. It might only happen at certain points of the X Axis. My guess is that its not a pulley or a screw (otherwise it would be more consistent) - it would happen in more places and even at slower speed. I really wish I could isolate the sound with some better accuracy. Anything else I can try?

Hmm it does it all the time now .. on every print include ones that was working previously. :-( Thoughts?

Thanks for responding - the worse feeling is if you post something and no on can help. So definitely THANK YOU. In my case the filament never made it past the motor axle (never past the tension block).

And I totally did the pointy filament thing. But once it got to a certain thickness (again stock stuff from the box), the motor would seize. Thanks for the reply guys! Really appreciate it. My fix worked and maybe it can help someone else in the community if they are out of other options.

I think I found the problem .. after a lot of reading and looking at the mechanism, I fixed it by shifting the housing to the tension block for the feeder. All the literature and people saying "just use force" was wrong (in my opinion). It really felt like if I used more force, I would have broke it. There simple wasn't enough space for the standard filament (using only what came in the box straight from Ultimaker). That, and the tension spring (which I checked) was WAY WAY too strong. There was no way a motor was going to shift the tension block back. This was my fix - and since then its been feeding fine.

My U2E just started making this loud clicking noise as the print head moves along the Y-Axis. This is what is sounds like: It wasn't doing this before. Although this is the first print I'm doing in .1mm. The print started off fine too for about 30 minutes. But then the clicking started. Wondering if anyone has any insight to this. This is the CURA Log of my print: Running: C:\Program Files (x86)\Cura_15.04\CuraEngine.exe -v -p -s initialSpeedupLayers=4 -s minimalFeedrate=10 -s preSwitchExtruderCode= -s supportXYDistance=700 -s insetXSpeed=50 -s retractionZHop=0 -s extruderOffset[3].X=0 -s extruderOffset[3].Y=0 -s gcodeFlavor=1 -s postSwitchExtruderCode= -s retractionSpeed=40 -s filamentFlow=100 -s infillOverlap=15 -s inset0Speed=50 -s coolHeadLift=0 -s extrusionWidth=400 -s upSkinCount=6 -s initialLayerSpeed=20 -s minimalLayerTime=5 -s infillSpeed=50 -s supportExtruder=-1 -s fanSpeedMax=100 -s supportType=1 -s enableCombing=1 -s fanSpeedMin=100 -s supportZDistance=150 -s supportEverywhere=0 -s filamentDiameter=2850 -s initialLayerThickness=100 -s supportAngle=-1 -s fanFullOnLayerNr=4 -s extruderOffset[1].X=18000 -s extruderOffset[1].Y=0 -s layerThickness=100 -s endCode=M25 ;Stop reading from this point -s minimalExtrusionBeforeRetraction=20 -s retractionMinimalDistance=1500 -s skirtMinLength=150000 -s objectSink=0 -s retractionAmount=4500 -s skinSpeed=50 -s skirtLineCount=1 -s startCode= -s skirtDistance=3000 -s extruderOffset[2].Y=0 -s extruderOffset[2].X=0 -s perimeterBeforeInfill=0 -s printSpeed=50 -s fixHorrible=1 -s layer0extrusionWidth=400 -s moveSpeed=150 -s supportLineDistance=2666 -s retractionAmountExtruderSwitch=16500 -s sparseInfillLineDistance=2000 -s insetCount=2 -s downSkinCount=6 -s multiVolumeOverlap=150 -g 49674 -s posx=115000 -s posy=112500 $ Cura_SteamEngine version 15.04 Copyright © 2014 David Braam

Can someone answer - is this the same clicking you heard:

Hello - I just got my U2Extended today. Very excited. I went through the set up wizard and watched several videos. My problem is that filament won't feed. When I push it up into the feeder motor, the motor skips. I've tried to applied a reasonable amount of force, but that only causes the motor to skip more. I've read through the articles and tried to lower the tension setting. No help. All settings results in the same problem. I even tried to "sharpen" the filament so the end is very flat (and gradually gets back to the original thickness). Still no luck - at a certain thickness, the motor just skips. Can someone please help? Thanks, DHC