Wisar

Here is a picture of the dust filter / lubricator that I am using. Pretty simple, quick print, that looks nice hanging on the back of my expensive printers! Maybe it is because I am a yank living in the UK but I am sensitive to the stereotypes that occur to people when the think about an American...and Barnacules Nerdgasm hits the majors: Too loud, too large, and too over the top! Regardless of the quality of his content it pains me to watch his delivery!

I find the guy hugely obnoxious but he is right about the difference this can make. Not sure why he felt the need to cobble a filter together when there are dozens to choose from that can be printed! In any case, he is focused on the dust aspect until the end where he mentions the benefit of lubrication. It might be a combination of both but I think the lubrication is the bigger benefit.

I did a rudimentary strength test with results that while contestable in terms of them being "apples to apples" would still indicate that strength is not an issue. The test was not apples to apples for two reasons, first that I can only base my before strengths on data collected months ago, and second because the test prints I used back then look like they might have suffered from a wee bit of under extrusion themselves! So, when I printed two new test pieces and put them to the test one destructed at 17.59kg and the other lifted my desk off the floor so I gave up. In my original test the break point average was 14.3kg. Whether apples to apples or not I am satisfied that strength is not an issue! BTW, here is a link to the dust filter that I am using. Obviously there can only be a little oil entering the system.

Thanks gr5, I was going to tag you for an opinion but you beat me to it. I will do my rudimentary stress test today. The amount of residual oil ending up coming through the nozzle has be pretty tiny so I would be surprised if there was a difference. Of course both of my printers are now filtered so my baseline will have to be the data from a heat related test that I did some months ago. Not the best scientific method! I am just amazed at the difference that it has made, Will

That is why I am asking! It does seem like it could be problematic but the prints that I have done to this point, and there have been quite a few, show no issues as of yet. I have a layer adhesion test that I will try to do today or tomorrow but based on my observations to date I don't expect to see a difference from when I did it some months ago. Hopefully someone that is a polymer chemist will chime in! Will

I have two Ultimaker 2+ (upgraded from 2's) that I have been running for 18 months. Prior to these printers I had built a Prusa I3 and had a Makerbot Clone. My number 1 recurring issue on my Ultimakers always seems to come back to extrusion. I do a lot of atomic cleans, I regularly replace the teflon coupler, I keep the extruder gear clean, and with the advent of removable nozzles, I change nozzles a lot. What I have not done until recently is lubricate the bowden tube. I did replace them with more slippery versions prior to the "+" upgrade which of course did come with new tubes. The "+" upgrade certainly improved extrusion. Startups are much more reliable without my attention (prior to the upgrade I often manually primed the nozzle just to be sure of a good startup). Recently, however, my "+"'s have started to sputter a little on the extrusion front. Having done all of the normal things that I have been doing I looked for something new that I have not tried and came across a suggestion to lubricate the bowden tube. This suggestion was made on the 3D Hubs forum and since I had not seen it on the Ultimaker Forum I did a couple of searches and did find some references suggesting the use of dust filters that also lubricate. The feedback was very mixed with recommendations that you not lubricate stuff going into the feeder. I had used a filament cleaner on my Makerbot Clone and it did not seem to hurt so I decided to go ahead and try it on my Ultimakers. The results have been profound (in a good way). The only difference between the failed print, due to under extrusion, on the left and the near perfect print on the right was the addition of a filament filter that also lubricates: The questions this leaves me with are: First, is there a reason that I should NOT be doing this (as in will I see some long term harm)? Second, what lubricant should I be using (right now I am using a high smoke-point temperature nut oil)? As I mentioned, I am now doing this on both of my printers and am really happy with the result though I have had to adjust my profiles to lower my extrusion adjustments as compensation for stuff getting to the nozzle more easily! I do question myself as to why I have not done this before and wonder if my extrusion issues have been threshold related. Meaning that I start to see issues at a certain threshold of resistance. Say that "R" is resistance and R=100 is the point where problems start to occur. Say that changing a nozzle gives you a benefit of -10, an atomic clean might add a little to that as it may also clean the boundary between the nozzle and the teflon coupler so maybe a -15 with a nozzle change. Changing the teflon coupler gives you another boost, maybe a -30, depending on how bad it was. In the meantime, however, the bowden tube has been adding resistance. Say a +5 every month. Once you hit the 100 you can improve things with nozzle changes, atomic cleans, and new teflon couplers, but the inexorable creep of resistance building inside the bowden tube will ultimately take you to the threshold and beyond. Enter lubrication? So...am I making any sense? Why is lubricating the bowden tube not a more popular suggestion? Thanks for listening!

Thanks. It is working again but I will bookmark this for when it quits!

Pressing the thumbwheel on one of my printers no longer works! It stopped mid print and I only found out when I went to cancel the darn thing. I have not pulled the printer apart yet but wondered if this is common? I assume the thumbwheel is a sealed unit and the issue is not debris? Thanks, Wisar

That would be a good test but for having to get at the mother board and I prefer to let sleeping boards lie. I only posted again 'cause I had remembered the thought process that got me to thinking that an enclosure would make a difference. :-o

Two machines upgraded and two running perfectly. Feeder 'def working better than the old version. In fact on one print I had the bed a little closer than optimal and instead of click click click it laid down a first layer that required a pick-axe to remove it :-o

I wanted to come back to this point even though it really does not matter! Namely because there was a reason that I thought the enclosure mattered... It seems like an enclosed printer is going to make it easier for the build platform and nozzle to stay at their assigned temperature...there-by using less power and generating less heat to bleed into my man cave? The build platform more so than the nozzle of course. Wisar

I used the high number. Good point on the enclosure...it would slow things but not prevent the ultimate heat. Doop. I was less worried about the printers than my own melt down! I am heat sensitive but can leave the room...not an option for a poor printer. All this for the three hot days we get in the UK each summer. Just kidding.

Damn that is quite a nice print! Hetzers gonna Hetz! What model is this? Did the short belts do the trick? If not, how are your first layers? Could be that the bed is slightly too low? I have not done the short belts yet as my wife was traveling and I need an extra pair of hands to help get the tension on them. I am pretty sure that I was having an under extrusion issue as a result of a partially blocked nozzle but I have been distracted. Bed is probably too close to the nozzle...my usual and the new extruder can actually print closer than you would really like sometimes. Something to watch! If you are interested in AFV prints check out my blog at http://raspberrypirobot.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/3d-print-technologies-costs-for-3d.html I have been using AFV's as a proxy for learning about printing and demonstrating the use of 3D printing. And I like tanks. Will

Ok, life changing may be a little bit of an exaggeration...but as far as my 3D Printing experience goes over the past two and a half years of non-stop work...it is pretty darn close to that verbage.

Did you update the firmware? Im still waiting for my upgrade, i have a question, im Using Simplify3d as slicer, what do i Need to Keep in mind when uprgrading?... i mean, in the last Version of simply3d the U2+ is not in the list of suported Printers. to be preciseand clear: if i update the Firmware from CURA to u2+ and i still use in simplify3d U2(plain) configuration, everything will be working? or some imcompabilities will ocurr? You do the upgrade using Cura and then Simpliy3D will work fine...no changes except some fine tuning needed with any of my profiles. Other than the price I am delighted with the upgrade. I used to have startup extrusion issues that required manual attention to ensure they did not happen..have not had one since. The time to heat the new nozzle is great. I have not demonstrated the fan capability yet but have some tests in mind. I was already running an Olson Block so can not say enough about how life changing interchangeable nozzles can be. Hang in there. BTW, for anyone with the upgrade, I have not noticed this link (but I have not looked for it) either. It is very handy for switching nozzles and making sure they are tight but not too tight: https://www.youmagine.com/designs/nozzle-torque-wrench

Thanks. One of those cases where I was pretty sure....but.... Obviously this is a worst case. Usually I print PLA and would assume consumption would be a lot less than max.Cheers, Will

I am air conditioning the room where my printers live and want to make sure that I account for all the heat sources including my printers! How much heat does a UM2+ generate when printing ABS (as a worst case) and PLA as the best case. When I do print ABS I have a complete enclosure for the printer. I also use the enclosure when printing co-polymers but the printer is open when printing PLA. I read that the max power input is 221 watts. Does this translate to max heat? Thanks in advance, Will

I saw a reference to doing that in the visual guide and will give it a shot. Thanks, Will

Loving a lot of things about the upgrade but am having a little trouble with the top layers of prints done at higher resolutions. This is done at 80 micron layer height, 250 micron nozzle, and an extrusion multiplier of 1.04. I am going to print some calibration cubes now... Thanks for any pointers, Will

Two machines upgraded and working with the gold plated upgrade! While the second one went faster than the first there was still some swearing. Why are the spacers for the mother board in two pieces? The printers do sound different ... one aspect being a much louder retraction. I used pretty aggressive retraction on some profiles so am re-tuning as it does seem the upgrade does a better job of not oozing. Startup for prints seems to have gotten more reliable with the new feeder. I used to have an occasional startup failure and had resorted to jolting the hot end with some high heat and a manual extrusion and then turning it over to the print. I have not been doing that since the upgrade and have not had a failure. Could just be fresh coupler but I hope not! I also took the opportunity to clean one of my machines...will get to the other one soon...once I figure out what I did to the glass from the printer I cleaned. Have used hair spray with PLA for the past 2.5 years with never a problem of platform adhesion but now I can't get it to work and am using 3DLAC which I try to save for co-polysters. Strange. Hindsight being 20-20 I should have done a test print or two, with known settings, before and after the upgrade but alas I did not. My feeling, however, is that I am getting a noticeable improvement. Darn well should! One big problem though. I lost one of the two sticker sheets. Any one from Ultimaker reading this? :-) Will

Door bell rang at 8:01 this morning for delivery of two upgrades for my printers (thanks Will at 3dGbIre)! One machine in pieces. Pretty straight forward so far but not a task for the faint hearted! If you are squeamish at the sight of a printers internal organs then you probably do not want to DiY this upgrade. Have some other things that are keeping me from working on the upgrade but hope to get back to it this afternoon. Printer #1 is up and running though first print failed for a reason nothing to do with the upgrade as I used the wrong profile for the print. The printer sounds different as I guess one might expect given a change to the feeder.

Double this for me! Reseller indicates that the ball is in the distributors court. Err. I think that means Ultimaker!

Not to pound on a dead horse....BUT...WHERE IS MY UPGRADE? Am in the UK waiting patiently, or not so, as the case might be! Will