vitalsparks

I do not have a printer with that configuration (mine is UM2) so cannot comment with authority, but if you can remove heads, then perhaps you should try that first.

Try heating with a hair dryer, then when soft remove with pliers/tweezers

If you need to print in ABS, then I highly recommend ABS-X available from 3DFilaprint which boasts 'zero-warp' technology. I now use this exclusively for working mechanical parts as layer adhesion is also exceptional giving great strength. It does not cost any more than that from competing ABS filament manufacturers, and is available in a variety of colours. It also responds well to acetone smoothing.

For ABS I use ABS-X from 3DFilaprint (this is link to black, but other colours available). It has excellent mechanical properties, and boasts 'Zero Warp' technology, which I find to be true. I have successfully printed many functional prototypes using this material.

No problem - I was about to make a new post in this forum anyway, to highlight this amazing material, but I couldn't think of an easy way to demonstrate visually how good it was at solving the warping problem. Your posting gave me the inspiration to build a model that reproduced your problem, and demonstrate how good ABS-X was at overcoming it. What may be of some interest too, is the best glue-stick I have ever found for use on the buildplate. It has the attribute that it is blue when applied, and turns clear when ready for printing on a hot buildplate. The blue colour makes it easy to ensure the glue is spread evenly. It is easily removed from the build plate when cool with a suitable scraper, and it is soluble in water. It has worked well for me over the last couple of years except for those that warp excessively. In those cases, adding a wide brim usually succeeds. .

I used to have problems like this with thin tall sections using ABS in my early days of printing with it. It is obviously to do with warping which ABS is (in)famously known for. Eventually I found a brand which is advertised as using 'zero warp' technology, which also boasts excellent layer adhesion, and reliable bed adhesion coupled with greater strength over previous ABS filament. Sounds too good to be true? Well, I've been using it now exclusively for over a year and I can honestly say - yes, it's all true. And the price is very reasonable - £23 incl vat and postage for 1kg reel. It is called Filaprint ABS-X from 3DFilaprint in the UK, although I believe it is manufactured in the Netherlands. Here is a link to the black version (there are several other colours too). This is also available as a 5M sample from 3DFilaprint at a modest price to try it yourself. To illustrate how good it is, I knocked up a simple model similar to that which you posted. The panel is 120mm x 80mm x 2mm, and it stands on a base 120mm x 15mm x 2mm. I printed this twice - once using Reprapper ABS (green) and secondly with ABS-X. Both were printed using 255deg, 80deg bed, zero fan, and at 70mm/sec. I enclosed the front of my UM2. As you can see, the regular ABS has split and, although difficult to see in this picture, had lifted off the base at the right On the other hand, the ABS-X was a successful print. Hope you find this useful, because there are many instances where ABS can still be a go-to choice.

Try loading your stl file into a viewing program, to see if the problem is with the file I recommend this free program. It is also great for inspecting your model for errors, cross-sectioning, and measuring dimensions. https://www.3d-tool.com/en_free-viewer-download.htm

I totally endorse this too. This brand of ABS is the best reasonably-priced one I have ever used - It has near-zero warp.

Do not be 'sniffy' about, or underestimate the power of Tinkercad, especially for technical models. I have used it exclusively for over 4 years to design over 200 objects of varying complexity without needing to find an alternative. It is often dismissed as being too basic to be of any serious use, but this must surely be the opinion of those that have never really tried to use it. It is bristling with features that soon become apparent when using it. The learning curve is short and very easy and ideal for newcomers and seasoned users alike. Above all, it is highly intuitive. As an engineer myself, I thoroughly recommend using this software. Here is an example of a recent (two-piece) design I created to remove the stones from plums and slice them into 3 pieces ready for jam making. This is by no means the most intricate thing I have produced.

That's what my measurements showed, but it is reassuring for me to know exactly what that temperature is, especially when I occasionally change to a different material like T-Glase or PolyFlex. With ABS, and various other materials, carbonation turns the material into a hard crust that lines the inside surface of the hot-end and, when eventually minute particles break away, this is what can clog the nozzle. In my experience, an early warning sign is the slipping of the feed motor as the carbon builds up, increasing the pressure required to force the filament through the hot-end - due to increased friction against the walls I would guess. With my favourite ABS (ABS-X from 3DFilaprint) I set the temperature to 235deg (actual 255deg) and a bed temperature of 80deg. I get excellent layer adhesion, and no evidence of warping (an attribute of ABS-X). I rarely turn on the fan, except when printing very small objects.

I have a UM2 with Olsson block, and print mostly with ABS, but what I am about to say could apply to any machine and material. I bought my UM2 in 2014, and began with PLA, but soon switched to ABS for its superior strength (not to be confused with stiffness), working temperature, and resistance to water. This is because most of my models have mechanical rather than ornamental use, and can easily be strengthened by using an acetone-dipping technique. After a couple of months I began suffering regular hot-end blockages resulting in under-extrusion and slipping of the feeder motor. I was running my machine almost 24/7, and found I had to perform an atomic-pull on a weekly basis. Eventually, the original nozzle/block would not clean out properly and I had to remove it for more rigorous attention. I did this a couple of times, and also replaced the teflon insulator. Fed up with doing this, I bought a replacement hot-end block and temperature sensor because I was unable to remove it from the block, and eventually broke it trying to get it out. After a couple of months this new part started misbehaving like the original necessitating frequent atomic cleaning. I was now into my second year of use, and the Olsson block appeared. This seemed a sensible upgrade as it had interchangeable nozzles so I purchased one, together with a new Bowden tube, i2K insulator and yet another temperature sensor. At first, all seemed OK, but ultimately I began to get recurring nozzle blockages. It seemed then, that the problem was independent of the hot-end design, and I wondered if the temperature calibration of the nozzle was incorrect. I have a contactless (infra-red) thermometer that I have previously used to measure bed temperature, and an accurate thermocouple pyrometer (photo attached). Attempting to measure the nozzle temperature on its outer surface was inconclusive - the infra-red device seemed incapable of detecting such a small object, and the thermocouple bead did not contact the nozzle well enough to get a consistent reading. So, I realised that I need to place the probe inside the nozzle itself to get an accurate reading. First, I needed confidence that the thermocouple device was reasonably accurate, so I placed the probe inside my kitchen fan oven together with an oven thermometer and set the oven temperature to about 220degC. When the pyrometer reading settled to a constant value, I opened the oven door and quickly noted the oven thermometer reading, and took a reading with the infra-red device. To my amazement, they were all within 2 degrees of each other at 225degC. So I was confident that the thermocouple device should give a reasonably accurate result. I now returned to the UM2, and removed the filament and Bowden tube from the hot end, and inserted the thermocouple probe right to the bottom of the nozzle. I then did a series of tests, setting the temperature in 10deg steps from 200 to 250deg. In every case, the temperature was 20degC higher than I had set it to. So, when I had set the temperature to 260degC, the actual temperature was more like 280degC. No wonder I was getting blockages - caused by carbonation of the filament which is notoriously difficult to remove. I have now been running my UM2 with nozzle temperatures set 20deg lower than required and, over the last (nearly) 2 years I have not had one instance of nozzle blockages. The only times I have used an atomic pull is when changing to different type or colour of filament to ensure the hot-end has been purged. Incidentally, I only use nylon for the atomic pull - by far and away the best material for doing this. Thermocouple Pyrometers like this can be bought on Amazon quite cheaply if you would like to check your own printer.

I have always had this problem since I bought my UM2 4 years ago. I overcame the problem by always increasing the hole diameters by 0.4mm when designing a part.

I recently had to repair a coin-sorter, where the motor drive gear had split in two. It was very small (only 4mm dia), so I was surprised to find that my UM2 made a perfect replacement. I used a 0.25mm nozzle with Innofil3D Fusion ABS (remarkable stuff) printed at 10mm/sec with 80% fan. The repair was a total success What tiny items have you made? Here is the gear sitting on a 5p coin

Here's an example of Verbatim's Primalloy flexible filament (right) compared with the best result I have obtained with any other filament previously (I think the one on the left was PolyFlex). These objects are approx 12mm dia. They were both printed on a UM2 with original black feeder, using 0.4mm nozzle on Olsson Block.

Printing with flexibles on Bowden fed printers can be a nightmare. I've had real problems in the past, but I obtained a sample of a new material at the TCT show last September that is very, very good. It is marketed by Verbatim and is called 55507 Primalloy 2.85mm. The guys on the stand said it works well on UM printers, and the results that I get agree.

Try Innofil's 'Fusion' ABS. This has zero warp, and can be printed directly on the glass without any adhesive of any kind. It is a 'professional' class of filament, so is a bit more expensive than most others - but well worth it for critical and difficult designs.

It was me that posted about my FilCatch addon for my UM2. You can read about it and watch it in action on my website www.vitalsparks.com where you can download the model file. There are other things there too which you may be interested in. I have a mk2 version of FilCatch in the pipeline, which is adjustable, and should work on any Ultimaker. I will be providing an update when I am happy with it. I originally thought of making this using the wire from a large paperclip, but thought better of it when I realised that it could possibly get snagged with the nozzle/print head if it was accidentally displaced - hence the safe option of making it in plastic.

Also, I predict he reason is because it does not have a uniform, or balance density in the Z axis. I have come across similar effects on 'tray' type models myself. If you had used a low-warp ABS like Filaprint Premium, then this would barely be noticeable.

I have been using my UM2 on a near-daily basis since it was first released, and the machine tells me that I have clocked up over 1500 hours of printing time. I started with PLA, but soon migrated to ABS when the mechanical devices that I was building regularly failed under stress using PLA. It was not an easy transition, particularly because of the warping characteristic of ABS which made bed-adhesion a huge problem. I tried everything to overcome this, including Kapton, PCB sheet, ABS juice, etc. but nothing really worked when printing large flat areas for things with heights over a few millimeters. I even forked out for a sheet of BuildTak, but had real trouble getting some (large, flat) models to release after printing, and finally gave up with it after some models split (delaminated) during printing, and I damaged it badly removing one of my creations. I had even more trouble getting the BuildTak off the glass, which chipped in a couple of places, so I can only use one side of it now (keep meaning to buy a replacement...) After much deliberation, I finally found the solution(s) : Don't use cheap ABS - Get Premium grade, which has much lower warp, and better layer adhesion. This need not be expensive - I use 'FilaPrint Premium ABS' from 3DFilaprint.com - about £20/1kg (+free postage). Use a decent build-plate glue. After much experimentation, I have found two products that have served me extremely well over the last couple of years. They are both water-soluble (so the base of the models, and the build-plate are easy to wash), they release the models easily after the glass is cool, they scrape off the glass easily with a razor-blade scraper, and they are not expensive. The first is Bostik's Big Blue Stick, which goes on blue (you can see where it is), and dries clear. I use this for everything except the most demanding (large, flat) print. The second is a bottle of liquid glue made by Pritt. It is just called 'General Purpose Glue', and I buy it in Lidl stores when they have it. However, it is available from places on-line too if you search for it. This is the best adhesive of all, and I have successfully used it on models with a base area over 400sqCm. I just put several drops on the glass and rub it around in a circular motion with a 4cm dia 'rubber' that I printed some time ago. I hope this is of interest to someone struggling with ABS. Sorry the images are not showing, but this forum is driving me nuts. It has taken me hours to make this post, with several attempts failing to appear when I post them. Now, the images are not visible... agrrrrrrr! I was about to make significant post about how I have tamed my ultimaker into handling ABS perfectly, and eliminated nozzle clogging, filament grinding with repeated retractions, and various other tips including how to calibrate hot-end temperatures. But I don't think I will bother on this forum because even if I got the (essential) images to show up, I expect the post would soon become buried and lost as many other interesting ones that I have read here have. Basically, this forum engine is a disaster! Jeff P.S. Problem solved - I've migrated to http://www.3dprintingforum.us which is where a lot of original Ulti-experts now seem to hang out too - including Anders Olsson. So, if anyone wants to follow my journey through the improvements I have made to my Ultimaker machines and their workflow, then take a look there because, regretfully, I shall not be posting here again.

I agree with you, but I think it is necessary to make the distinction between applications that are 'intended for beginners' and those that are 'also suitable for beginners' - which I would class Tinkercad as. Unfortunately, at a first glance at its user interface, it is easy to assume the former description. It is only after using it in anger on complex designs that its underlying functionality becomes evident. Having said that, it does not have a 'surface modelling' capability that would be required for organic/artistic shapes. However, with a little patience, a degree of 'aesthetic smoothing' can be manually added to a design to make its appearance more visually appealing. In my case I rarely need to do this as my designs are mainly intended as functional mechanical mechanisms, which it handles very well.

In the 3 years since investing in my UM2, I have exclusively used Tinkercad to create my 3D mechanical designs. I know that many will scoff at this, and dismiss it as a 'classroom toy', but the reality is that I have been able to create over 100 mechanisms with it over this time, many of them highly intricate designs demanding high precision, and well matched to the Cura slicer and my printer. Couple with this the absence of a noticeable learning curve, and the speed at which things can be created, and I really cannot fault it. Whilst I concede that it is unlikely to satisfy the rigors of a professional work environment, or the aesthetic demands of an organic/artistic designer; for me, as an inventor who needs to turn ideas into reality quickly and accurately, and on a shoe-string, it is ideal.

Yes, I used to do this too when I first got my UM2, but I found it to be less satisfactory when I moved from PLA to other types of filament, especially nylon types which do not cut easily and cleanly, unless the cutters are expensive precision flush-cutting types that are also in first-class condition. That is why I made the sharpener which has worked flawlessly ever since I started using it. Also, getting the filament easily into the feeder is only part of the story - ensuring it cannot catch on anything on the way to the nozzle is another advantage of having a symmetrical chamfer on the leading edge of it.

Sounds like a good idea - easy to do in Cura with UM2? I have modified gcode for my Prusa i3 using Cura, but the facility does not seem to be there (to the best of my knowledge) for UM2.

There is no doubt that the Ultimaker machines are extremely good, but there were a couple of aspects that I disliked right from the start. The worst one was the location of the filament reel and the feeder, which I found to be highly inconvenient especially since the feeder needs regular attention if the printer is being used every day. Another was the difficulty in loading new filaments, needing a lot of pressure to get it started without shaving the plastic and jamming the feeder, made worse of course because of the awkward location of the feeder. Also, on many occasions if I wasn't present at the point when the hotend was being primed, a great glob of plastic would be dragged onto the build-plate, collide with the printhead, and mess up the model. After the first few months, I was so frustrated with these problems that I set about solving them, with 100% success. These solutions have been in daily use for nearly 3 years now, and so I have decided to share them with fellow users here in the community as they have been thoroughly tried and tested. I had made videos of these in action and posted them on YouTube. I was going to post links to them here, but I decided instead to go the full mile and create a home for them on my website together with instant links to download the model (stl) files you need, and full details of how to print and use them. Here's my website - www.vitalsparks.com I had intended to start an Ultimaker section on my site over a year ago, but I knew it was going to be a huge effort to get the thing started, and free-time was not on my side. However, now I have kick-started it (prompted by the annual TCT 3D Printing Show at the NEC next week) I will find it much easier to move forward - and I still have loads of hints, tips, and mods to share. Just keep an eye on my website over the winter. If anyone here is going to the show, I may bump into you on Wednesday somewhere near the Ultimaker stand. Jeff