Torgeir

Hi Folks, I'll think that Tri flow is really good in some places, but for sliding bearing with roller bearing inside it will be a problem without an oil film. It's a good idea to oil the sliding bearing before you install them to the shaft. Dust always collect up at the end travel on the shafts and is easy to wipe away if you lubricate frequently. This also save the rubber sealing so it will last longer. Well.. Also a little more about 3-in-one oil. As I'm at home right now, I've made a picture of the back of the two types of oil bottles I have. So here you'll see that the 3-in-one oil is really meant for sawing machines as well. So no problem! Just zoom into the details.. Happy printing and New Year ! Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi scenic01. Congratulation with a new printer. As I've a printer with the version 2.1.1 PCB, it may be a little different in between those two versions. But this might only be some minor stuff at the board as, the "new" feather clamp connector for the heat bed and heat block heaters. When I built my printer I got parts from many places and I had to scrap a "few" thing, just so you know. First, your power supply is OK., 12 Amps is a well rated supply -and 23.8 V is fine! It's strange that you lost the control of the internal light together with missed steps! (As there is a "half" or low level light, it "might" just mean that there is a wide spaced short pulses that's is the cause of the dimming, but could also be a hardware issue. However, do some more investigation before any final conclusion.) Due to this, I'd focus a little on the firmware. What firmware did you use when this happened? Did you try to upload a new firmware and activated factory reset? Have you checked the current settings (in the Motion Setting menu) for X,Y,Z and E? Should be about 1200 mA. (1.2 Amp.) Next, measure the voltage at the very end of the 24 VDC line for the stepper drivers. The good place to measure this voltage will be at the connector J20, the power for the cooling fan for the PCB itself, but be careful here as this is 24 VDC, so do not short. Best is to have a connector with wires going directly to the voltmeter. This voltage should be monitored while printing, in order to see any lo voltage occur when the missing step happen. Lets see how this go, Ok. Good Luck. Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi ProAce, Hmm.. Your desktop should really cope with Cura 2.3.1. An idea could be to have a look in Windows "Event Viewer \ "Saved Logs" to see if there is any crash report in there for Cura. Might give a hint about your problem. There was a request for minimum "Open gl2", but I'll guess your display card can cope with this easily. Latest version is 4.5. See here: https://www.opengl.org/ Win 10 also had some start "hick ups", but latest revision is "sometimes" the best.. Also latest display card drivers might be something, but you've prob. done this? This "AppData" under users (you), is intended to keep the "info" about your programs settings etc., even if you reinstall Windows. Might be someone else in here with some more info to fill inn. Anyway, good luck. Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi mastory, Also have Win7 64 bit (pro). Got the very same problem as you listed here, so just to mention did you got to this directory: C:\users\"your_Name"\AppData\Local\Cura\ ? In here you'll find the setup for your previous "Cura version", just delete "cura.cfg" then try to restart Cura. I'd deleted this whole catalog and reinstalled, then I could start Cura 2.3.1 However, could not use any of the newer Ultimakers from UM2 and up.. But could if I installed a custom version of (in my case) an UM2. Hope this will help. Good luck. Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi ProAce, Welcome in here! What version of Windows are you using? As bargel-orb said you need to delete the old profile file in the "user/app directory". Also the kind of computer used may be the issue, esp the graphic card. Had the same problem with my laptop. Thanks. Torgeir.

Well, how much, I do not know, but you sure find out.. Torgeir. Edit: Forgot to mention, I originally thought high humidity should soften this stuff, but some said no - it has to be wet.. hmm.

Hi, Temperature decending, OK. you need the next up heat element! Use copper paste, will improve heat transfere between heater element and OB. This also prevent corrosion and prevent element to stuck in the OB. Will create a litte smoke when first heated, just vent a little will soon be ok. Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi gr5, I'll see you point here and agree. But i don't think we're that much off topics, cause this PVA is alcohol based and does attract water very fast. Then become hard and brittle, moreover the memorized spring effect is increased. So, when you're a little down on the roll, the filament will try to keep its memorized radius and then start making S - pattern inside the bowden without being compressed. I'll think this is the reason for this focus. Just my 5p. Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi Folks, This is really an interesting topic, however I’m just a “mono 3D” printing individual, so I do not need this setup yet, but who knows.. But I’ve been thinking about such a dry house for the filament, in order to leave the filament on the printer. However, I’ll always store the filament into a sealed box allowing two rolls of filament to be stored into here. I’ve also put a bag of Calcium chloride (450 gram) together with a wireless humidity/temperature sensor. As I’ve a light version “weather station” allowing to use of up to four sensors of this kind, this extra sensors went into those boxes. Here’s a picture of the inside of the box: Here is it with the cover on and some spec. information on top: This is the link to my source for this type of box: http://www.clasohlson.com/se/F%C3%B6rvaringsbox-SmartStore-Dry/Pr341515031 And here is the source for Calcium chloride: http://www.biltema.no/no/Hjem/Rengjoring-og-vask/Utstyr/Fuktsluker-2000019534/ At least those links might be handy for the Scandinavian audience. Thanks. Torgeir.

Oi, PLA and 245 deg. C is pretty high I'll say. I don't think isolation will work in this case, -maybe a little.. But as Didier says, maybe the brand of filament is the problem here. I've never printed with my 1.0 mm nozzle, but I can do the "flow test object"t with 0.4 mm and temperature at 208 deg. C. Here, using verbatim PLA. What's normally happen is that the temperature is descending if you speed up printing, but with this high temperature already.. So, do you see underextrution, or grinding, or..? Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi leon_knook, Very interesting.. What kind of filament type are you using here? Ehmm, 24 m/s -must be a world record , so I'll assume 24 mm/sec. right? Anyway, pretty amazing for a UM2, with a 1.00 mm size nozzle. You could isolate the Olsson block, and/or use the next up heater element, more energy for melting the filament.. Last fix, will be to reduce the friction in between bowden tube and the filament, but here you'll need a few more step to do, but the feeding pressure will increase! There is a limit for such high demand feeding. But not sure the limit. Some more info pls. (Effect of used heat element and type of filament.) Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi Folks, Cant help, but been wondering about this issue for some time.. This is the problem with uneven lines/open lines and sometimes a real mechanical issue in the jack/nut creation separation as well. However, I've seen this strange lines with offset, -then looks good -and a slight offset and so on.. Well, since this is one of the problem often seen, we need to realize that this axis is the axis of the printer with the highest resolution! So any issue here will be seen all around on this particular layer, somehow.. I do not want to stir up something, but just want you to see this "possibilities" as well in the problematic Z-axis issue. Well, never seen this on my printer. Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi Jordan, Was just a little fast here.. Well, the new UM3 is a new 3D printer that no other brands can match in this class. Ofc. have to be used in the right way! If people tend to go outside "the envelope", every printer will fail however advanced the printer is. Anyway, if you need a printer to do some spesific job, go for an Ultimaker as this is an open source - can be adapted to "anything you want" - and found on every university around. Well, just to say; I'm just a user of this "great forum", have nothing to do with Ultimaker.. Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi Jordan, Hmm.. Well, I do not have an Ultimaker 3, just a "customized" UM2. For your special requirement with this filament, I'm quite sure that "any" Ultimaker brand can be adapted to use this special filament. I'll say it is much more easy to adapt one of the printer (or several) to accept this special brand of filament for medical use (if needed), than finding a similar filament that's certified for your purpose. But if you're lucky, this filament might easily fit.. I'll say, there is no problem, just solutions.. (Medical certification is very difficult, -I'll know.) Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi lhjordanlh, Interesting question and interesting filament. I've been printing with first gen Verbatim PLA said to be 3.00 mm, but really are 2.95 mm. So for the size issue, I'll see no problem here. It will really depend of the accurity of the actual size of this brand of filament. If the tolerance is good, there should be no problem using this type of filament. Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi Selcat, Great info from you. This is just caused by friction between the filament and the bowden tube. In addition your feeder stepper motor may be quite warm during print. Can you touch it without "burning" your finger? This motor tend to go very hot during a long print. As you might know about the + upgrade, that's add a few new thing to the UM2 printer. Among those items a new feeder stepper motor unit, geared to be stronger and isolate the knurled feeder wheel from the stepper shaft. This will avoid heating up the knurled feeder wheel ("softening" the filament). There is an easy way to improve your printer for this matter. You can do it in two step, the first part is to reduce the "friction coefficient", this will reduce the force to overcome the "friction force". As this reduce the energy used for filament feeding, we can reduce the current to the feeder as well in order to reduce the heat produced inside the stepper motor. (Step two is to separate the feeder (knurled) wheel from the stepper motor shaft. Will do this later to improve further if needed.) What to do is to mirror the feeder unit, right, -turn it around. Now the printer will grab the inner side of the loop hence less friction force to overcome. Here's a picture of my printer from the back with two feeders installed, this is the way to installe the feeder units for minimal friction with this (standard) filament roll setup. This picture show the new positin of the feeder unit when mirrored and the outer half is removed. PS. Those four screws are also holding the feeder stepper motor on the inside of the printer, so leave the last screw (upper left) and prepare to hold by hand the stepper when removing the last screw. (Remove the bowden tube before start). It is smart to tape the feeder unit on the sides, this in order to prevent a sudden surprise, in here there is a strong spring and some parts that suddenly can go into different direction.. If you like to clean and check this unit, open it inside a transparent plastic bag. Edit: There is no need to remove any PCB for this mod. Only to open two covers! As this operation make the feeder wheel to turn in the wrong direction, we'll need to change the motor direction only. There is two ways to change the stepper motor direction, an easy hardware change and an as easy firmware change. However, I’ll do recommend -only to fiddle with the hardware not the firmware! Here is a picture of where the conector is installed at the main PCB (located on the underside of the printer). To change the feeder stepper rotation direction you can swap two of the four wires on the feeder connector E1. This will be pin1 and pin two, -or pin 3 and pin 4. Here is a picture I've borrowed from "3DVerkstan", a detail of how to release a pin from this types of connector, here a a two pin connector but same method is user for the four pin connector . Here's another picture of the type of pin used in this connector types, also borrowed from "3DVerkstan". All you need for this improvement/modification is a hex driver, a pliers or wrench (for the nut) and a needle. And I’ll guess this will take about 45 minute.. This is actually all to do for this improvement. Have a look into this, and let me know if there is any thing that's not easy to understand. Anything, -just ask. This modification is easy to reverse, but I'll think you never will go back after trying this "adjustment". Stage two, will be to install two new pulleys and a GT2 belt. The pulleys are the same size, so no gearing here as this is done to have better isolation between knurled feeder wheel and the feeder stepper shaft. There will be some printing for this mode, but will not ruin you budget in any way.. Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi Folks, How about some interesting reading/studding stuff. http://reprap.org/wiki/Triffid_Hunter's_Calibration_Guide Happy printing! Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi Critical20, Most of my printing is small things, I'd learned that never use the heat bed when printing small thing. Reason, close heat radiation to the print object from both heat bed and extruder. So, use blue tape or glue. I'm using glue and no heat, works well. PS. Printing on "high" support, approx 4 cm also work.. Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi Philippe, I'll think everyone in here understand your frustration, so no worry.. I'd post to you lastly, but did not know you had a UM2+ version. I have a "self made" "UM2 ext", but never had anything like your problems. However, I've been looking into this problem for a long time as several have had/have this problem frequently with the UM2 versions. The latter problem you have is very well known as a few people have been reporting this here. I'll think someone cleaned well and used super glue, not so sure about this method, but someone will sure chime in. I'll think that if you manage to fix the stepper gear, your printer should be fine. So good luck. Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi Folks, To resume a little here, we know that the pressure is very important to be able to control precisely our other printing parameters. If the pressure is at the correct level, other parameter changes will be “easy” to adjust, detect and evaluate. This is like a clock frequency in a computer or a reference voltage for controlled processes. So pressure is a very important parameter for us to use and control. As we now have looked into how friction in between the bowdwen tube and the filament can vary the effective pressure to the extruder, it’s now in place to see how we can improve/reduce the friction in order to have a more “constant” extruding pressure. The first obvious thing is to change the feeder track line, I.E. move it from the top of the feeder. This is easily done by mirroring the feeder unit (here reflecting the UM2 type feeder unit). This will move the position of the knurled wheel from the outside of the filament to the inside of the filament making the track going inside of the bowden tube. This will improve (friction constant will descend a little) the system as there will be quite more “effective” force at the extruder. However, we know there is another problem as well in this setup, -the hot stepper motor shaft were the knurled wheel is mounted. A heated feeder wheel will not have as good grip into the filament when warm versus a cold wheel. The filament may/will slipp off the feeder wheel in such situation. So we’ll need an improvement/fix to avoid this issue as well. I’ll try to be on the topics as much as possible, but the feeder wheel/mechanism is directly involved in the feeding process and is impossible to let out. We know that this old stock feeder (UM2 type) can grind the filament when cold (without any gear to improve the force). So why not use a belt and two pulleys of same size, say GT2 16 – 5 (16 teeth and 5 mm shaft hole.) This will insulate the stepper and knurled wheel temperature wise. Using a belt is more flexible (easy to gear) and more precise (“no” play) in between here. Further, you are using the same e-step number as before and the only thing to change is the rotation direction. This can be done in hardware by “swapping two wires of any of the two coils on the stepper motor connector” -or just do an update/change of the firmware in your printer. This latter is handy, but now you have a non standard firmware in your 3D printer. I do like modifications if it’s improving the printer, but I don’t like modifications that’s change my firmware cause this ruin the ease of upgrade when factory firmware upgrade is a must in order to use/have new “issues”. For those having a genuine UMXX, this can be a benefit if you're selling your printer etc.. So, the improvement here is: The feeder need less force to print than before, less compression, more precise retraction and better overall performance. You can now also reduce the feeder wheel pressure, leaving less signature on the filament (deep track line) that’s improve the ease of feeding. Using this little modification and you can leave the filament roll where it should be without any issue. There is still some more nice thing to do for improvement, but this will be next when the time allows.. Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi neotko, Very interesting. This might be "our" rigs.. I'd use to think, I like both (2.85 and 1.75). But you have a UM3, so.. Torgeir.

You're absolutely right, this is the one! IRF8736PBF is also supplied by RS. This one is used for the heat bed, and the "two" heat block (extruders) in the (UM2 - UM2+) as well. Right on target. Good luck. Torgeir.

Hi Patric M, You'll have to turn it anticlockwise in order to tighten, made the same thing myself first time.. Try to add force directly helping feeding, if it helps add some more force. Adjust to mark two or around, will depend of the softness of you filament. Do you use PLA? A little more info about the setup, nozzle size etc. will help here. Good luck. Thanks. Torgeir.

Great info neotko! The (N)MOSFET you'll need is CSD18501A from Texas Instrument. You can buy it here: http://uk.rs-online.com/web/cp/8274877,8274877P/?sra=p&r=t But min. order is 5 each. but it's not to bad.. RS is all over the globe, but this is the one in GB. I've made some modification of your picture, so you'll see how to remove it and how it is orientated.. But you'll need a proper side cutter to do it, and knowledge how to proceed, -if you do not know - forget it and leave it to someone that do know. OK., here's a picture with some info. Good luck. Thanks. Torgeir.

Hi funkydrgonzo, As I'll understand this is an upgraded UMO become an UMO+? So you have a separated heat bed PCB with the PT100B sensor.. First, you cannot conect direct to the mother board in your printer! You have to repair your old PCB or buy a new PCB. I'll guess you mean Q2 here? Have tried to zoom into it but cannot see the type number on top of the Mosfet. Is it a burning mark going across? Maybe someone else have this type number? It is not that difficult to change this circuit, but you'll need some skill to do it. If you can’t do it yourself, find a radio/electronics repair shop or maybe a friend (with this skill) as neotko suggested to help repairing your heat PCB. There should be some more information about this PCB in github.com, a schematic would be nice to have, but I can't find it. Good luck. Thanks. Torgeir.