Artiz

Same as Jay-Cee no Z movement with Pronterface - and yes UM2. So what help did he/she get gr5... he appeared to answer his own questions to me? Us starters need all the help we can get no matter how confusing our problems are. Of course we're going to repeat many of the same problems others have had in the past and we may often sound stupid but much better for us all to just keep on repeating over & over the same advice even if it is irritating... we're all in this together after all is said & done.

Glad you got this sorted... couldn't help noticing that you didn't get much help or support from the community though??? I've got the same problem and after reading through the forum it seems to be a common one and usually down to the main circuit board. Can you tell me if your machine was still under it's 12 month guarantee/warranty please?

Loved this Ian... infectious enthusiasm. People tend toward 'caution' when recommending stuff just a bit too much online. I'm with you... the technology is simply breathtaking... your concluding comment regarding being creative enough to own one is the starting place for my line of thinking... it rang a loud bell... enthusiasm is key! It's a whole new world of unlimited product design created right in front of your very own eyes. Being 55 I've been kept waiting for this kind of 'super power' since childhood. To be able to produce your thoughts into material reality... in about 15 hours usually.. is better than science fiction... and the tip of that material reality is the Ultimaker 2... make it simple and more people will like and buy it. Apple sell it because it also represents their philosophy of bloody expensive but perfect in every other way? Because the thread is old I assume the OP bought his UM and now thinks the same way perchance? Excellent comments Ian much thanks!

The reason I have added the fans is that the filament just will not bridge for me, it just curls up and gathers as a big blob on the head. With the fans, it goes a bit solid and bridges across better. I agree with LePaul... any fan seems to speed up the drying/not bridging type processes... but if its helping you and this particular print then why not? The other parameter I thought of fiddling with was your 'Fill' %... why not try 100% and then work backwards and see if that will affect your support structure... does the 'support type' setting make any difference? Fully understood regarding the writing on the top of the cap by the way. Keep us updated though jockspice... all helps in the long run.

definitely worth experimenting but it dries so quickly that you might run into problems if printing speed is too slow

please forgive if i patronise... have you tried flipping your design over? first settings I would try would be reducing initial print speed to 75% and also increasing material flow to 150%... seems to work on some of my smaller/thinner prints... good luck

Looks great but what is it?

..perhaps a free Ultimaker wouldn't go amiss either hehe!

@LePaul... I think you are getting complication confused with the quest for perfection which @Nicolinux has now pretty much achieved with his superb print... all we need now is a summary of settings and procedures from Nicolinux and this thread is pretty much one of the most helpful on this forum... BIG UP Nicolinux... wicked thread! Getting reliable consistently good prints is the problem. Agreed... and hopefully @Nicolinux has already recived confirmation from Colorfabb regarding his free lifetime supply of XT CF-20 so that he can now achieve 'reliable consistency'... Can't get a better free advert than this...

@LePaul... I think you are getting complication confused with the quest for perfection which @Nicolinux has now pretty much achieved with his superb print... all we need now is a summary of settings and procedures from Nicolinux and this thread is pretty much one of the most helpful on this forum... BIG UP Nicolinux... wicked thread!

***Top Tip @neotko***

Now that is a thing of real beauty... way to go @Nicolinux

I love the finish of the XT CF-20 looks fantastic... one thing to add from my experience though... XT CF-20's real or integral strength comes when you orientate the print lengthways rather than printing upwards which you can actually see in your photos above. The smaller pipe which has been printed lengthways shows the stronger melded layers... whereas the larger pipe printed upwards sometimes suffers from a lack of layer adhesion in my experience. Having said that I do splice most of my prints/designs into 2 halves and then bond them together for future injection moulding purposes rather than making the 3D print finish my priority... swings and roundabouts as they say!

I sometimes get the same line skip problem which I reckon is probably a little speck or few specks of carbon getting caught in the nozzle which takes a moment to clear... it does seem that sometimes my layers don't bond that well too hence using a sealer... I've also used super glue for that problem. Overall I reckon it tends to dry/cure very quickly making it quite a tricky filament... but strength wise I'm guessing there is nothing much else like it yet. BTW Nice prints (& photos) @Nicolinux

I do (any brand) if I've got nothing else... I presume its probably the CFC's in the aerosol which help. I tend to use a clear matt Valspar aerosol sealer from B&Q now tho cos I also spray my parts with it too... loads more expensive and very smelly of course but the finish is epic. I get the feeling most aerosols will help with plate adhesion tho... nothing like a bit of research... specially when you're desperate!

Perhaps I should try other brands of PLA too... ColorFabb's PLA's seem to be top of the list. The XT-CF20 will be hard to beat tho... it's strength with the added fiber regarding working parts is particularly outstanding and why I bought my UM2 in the first place... a 3D printing material that could/may withstand the stresses inherent in spearguns at last was just too tempting to ignore... not actually sure whether XT-CF20 is regarded as PLA/ABS or just a new copolymor category of it's own?

Everything except the handle is printed in XT-CF20 but I used ABS for the handle. This is obviously a prototype but I still want to test it as a working example for either plastic extrusion or aluminium milling at a later date. Easier said than done of course regarding strength, durability etc but so far so good... bar a few technical issues. I've broken it down into component parts which makes printing easier of course but the handle had to be printed in one piece. Still a long way to go yet tho...

Everything is trial and error for me still but PLA gets strangely slimy in sea water so I don't bother with it... not convinced it is fully waterproof? ABS is also far easier to sand down but even better is the XT-CF20 as long as you orientate correctly. Not so good for tall prints cos layers don't seem to adhere particularly well. The handle I mentioned was a tall print so ABS was the most suitable material... as I said though all is still trial and error for me. I'll upload some photos when I get time...

Yup agreed... although every now and again something does come up which is not suitable for printing in ColorFabb XT-CF20, which is my preferred material of choice... nothing better. I'm currently printing a (scanned gloved hand) speargun handle in ABS because it needs to be light, highly detailed and waterproof whilst also using 90% infill... mainly because I want to screw directly into it... but also because I've run out of carbon fibre of course. PLA is not even an option for me...

... there's a few build plate fixatives out there and as we all know that initial fix is 'key' I use a Matt Clear Sealer (solvent) spray (Valspar @ B&Q in UK) which I also use to completely seal/bond my prints when cool. I'm making detailed working parts for spearguns so this sealer is essential for my end products. This fixative works at lower temps for ABS so I reduce my initial build plate temp to 50C and spray it on a split second before the print starts... works every time. I also start at 80% speed which gives a nice thick/fixed brim to hold everything down as well as a material flow of 120% for your initial foundational layers. Fans @ 100% reducing to zero depending on initial levels of detail. After 30 mins I bring my speed up to 100%... my buildplate temp up to 90C and reduce my material flow to 110%... checking back every hour or less. Nozzle temp @ 260C throughout... seems to work for me!

Not sure about that 110C Bed temp... seems that if you have your bed temp up to high all the time you get a lot of warping and curling if you are printing anything with a bit of detail... especially at the beginning of a print... "Horses for courses" as they say. A 260C nozzle (higher) temp does seem to be the most reliable in my experience too. Same goes for fans too... if you are printing a detailed part having the fans at 100% are important for fixing & drying/cooling your initial supporting/foundation layers to the build plate (especially important if your print is going upwards)... you can always turn them off later. Having said all of that I am a bit of a print fiddler/tuner which is usually a dangerous game to play... nothing worse than losing a print that you just didn't watch or didn't bother fiddling with though.

Tried ABS and PLA which are pretty rubbish really when compared to XT CF-20. Takes a little getting used to of course but some of my results have been outstanding. I'm trying to build a speargun prototype so I need it to be waterproof and it is... I left a printed part in water overnight with no visible issues. I need precision for screw holes etc so any warping or shrinkage would make it useless... I get none of either. I need strength... and providing you orientate correctly the strength is unbelievable. I use canned Air Freshner on build plate glass... works wonders and is cheap as chips. Post production with super fine sandpaper gives it an even more beautiful matt finish. Hot nozzle 250-260 Material flow 120%+ Build plate 50 Infill more than 50% - useless lower cos it dries so quickly Lower overall speed also helps through tricky layers Good luck

I had this problem after fiddling with my retraction settings in Tune... I just returned them to default and away she went...

Hi Guys (newbie) Just got my UM2 extnd specifically for printing with XT-CF20. I found all your recommendations and advice here and felt obliged to say much thanks to all of you for all your helpful comments... massive help so BIG UP to everyone!