kmanstudios

BTW...we need a 'thumbs up' emoticon....

Maybe, I did not think of that. But what is funny is that I did not touch those settings and wanted to make a screen shot. Methinks the program knew it was about to be spanked publicly and it decided to behave LOL But, seriously, should that happen again, I will definitely look at that. I did just checked the modes as you mentioned and it does look likely that is all that happened. It has been the tech week from hell and, well, it just seemed more of the same. Drive going wonky, slow backups and other strange things. Thanks!!

I am using 3D Coat for those ops. I create intersection and subtraction objects and perform the booleans in Surface mode. Volume mode will create bevels and gaps as it is working with Voxels and not direct mesh. I do not have solid works. 3DS MAX just chokes on that and I have not tried Blender for those ops yet. Edit: And 3D Coat also has a mode that allows for creation of ball and socket and other types of joints quite well.

And now their back. But, I do not know why they would go away or what I did to bring them back. Really, really confusing. Anybody got a clue?

For some reason, no matter how I blow out Cura (App Data, etc), it will not show the per model settings. ????????? How to bring it back. Worked flawlessly until this morning.

Yep, that'll do it!! LOL Glad you found it out. I asked about the splitting of the model because I had to split a model and found about ten ways to do it, but only one gave me a clean split without introducing gaps or bevels.

o_O Wow, I had a print that I started over after about 10 layers because I noticed that I'd made a mistake and could not tear the part apart. I mean with pliers in both hands twisting and pulling. And on another print I could bounce it off the floor. the only trouble i had was when I dropped a part and it hit a thin, spindly thing. I am glad that you found something you like though. That is what counts. But at some point, you should try a different PC. That stuff is strong.

I have done no 'net' printing. I am weird that way. I just prefer an air-gapped unit. Just as a variance, try to print directly from the USB drive via sneakernet. This may give you an idea of how fast or expose issues. I have no experience though with other printers, so take my advice with two aspirins and call the doctor in the morning for the headaches that I may cause

Could be a few things. 1) Other people have commented that their glass is not level. Actual 'bowing' or uneven surfaces. Some have even called a banana shape, fat in the middle and thinner on the edges. 2) Also do a solid leveling before starting to print. I found my machine can drift a bit over time that it will not active level. This can happen for a variety of reasons. But it does require a manual leveling before you can depend on the active leveling. It can also go off level if you have bumped or pushed the plate around when removing a part. I had to start taking my plate off the bed when removing parts to keep that from happening. 3) Make sure your plate is completely clean. If it has any surface areas that are slick (Oils from hands, etc) in any amount, it will not let the filament stick to the plate evenly. 4) What are you using as a plate adhesive? I like to use a PVA slurry and some the glue stick with a wet wipe down with a damp cloth or paper towel to smooth it out. Others hairspray, one guy even uses a novel solution of salt for certain filaments. This may vary a lot with the environment and filaments used. I do not think there is a one and done solution for buildplate adhesion. I have had this happen and it was usually one or a combo of the above issues. Although my glass has been smooth and even, so that is the one exception I was lucky with. I have also taken to taping a piece of bubble wrap over the front to help keep the air inside the build area more even. I actually found a series of layer differences one day when I opened the doors on a nice day to get fresh air in and it made a noticeable/visual difference in my layers.

Also, do not forget that your environment can have a great effect on your print. For instance, I do not have a well controlled climate in my apartment and I can tell differences in materials when we get fast changes in temp and humidity. Also, I find the default values in Cura for their machines to be great starting points. As for getting rolls mixed up, yeah...welcome to the noobland!! It is how we learn. As Sander said, it is all about finding a feel for models and such. It is on of the things I like about it. It is as much science as it is art and techniques.

If you have set the model to one extruder, I would think there is something about the model. If you could provide that I would be happy to take a look at it. But, just a quick question, what did you make/cut the model in and are all the pivot points aligned? And Bagel-orb is right. But I have never seen that happen to me and I have done several merged models.

Unless you are going to make really small parts, I have printed at 0.06 and 0.04 and the difference is really not worth all that extra time. I can prime, sand and finish a model in the extra time it takes to squeeze even those 20 extra microns out. I would have no idea what extra time a 20 micron print would take as it is an exponential progression in time and not linear. I think it follows the basic square/cube law.

I kinda think that market forces will take care of the issue. Your worries appear to be based off the idea that Ultimaker will not respond and instead stay stagnant. And, even if they do, someone will see the opportunity and make good conversion kits. Look at how fast proper print cores (Meaning properly adapted to the new tech) popped up as 3rd party additions to the UM3 series. I've been in computers since '85 and the stagnant companies do not survive or they become adaptable by way of 3rd party mods. I think Ultimaker are a bit more savvy than to stagnate. I mean, really, do you think they would continue to make printers for a filament size that basically would not exist? That would be business suicide. And, if they do, someone else will come along. Some changes are slow to take an industry and others take over quite quickly. But, by the time this all happens, I think most of us will be upgrading our printers as other, more radical changes take place. Think about it: our computers, that we purchase for a mere few thousand dollars (Francs, Pounds, whatever) are far more powerful and can do in real time more-so than the supercomputers of just 15 - 20 years ago and I can remember when the UM3-X I have would have cost at least 25K or more. And just a little over 30 years ago, it would take 24 hours just to render a frame of the original Tron movie. Disney had that thing rendering on every supercomputer in labs and institutions it could get time on.

The center of your model has a denser proportion of longer/deeper parts that could lead to different cooling times in those areas and thusly push/pull as it continues to cool.

If your filament is grinding in the feeder and thusly not feeding, it is probably a tension thing. If your printcore is not heating up enough to properly melt the plastic, it may be having to use too much force to get the filament through. If your feeder is too loose or tight, it can grind the filament. Here is one link for info on this. https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/173-the-feeder Since you say it is a two year old machine, then I took a guess, but the idea remains the same as far as I have found. Be aware that different makes and colors of materials can have slightly different properties.

Bed adhesion can cut loose after a time. Be very careful with that as that is how I bent my fanguard. But I will tell you how I did get it off. First, be very, very careful. I seriously cannot state this enough. Second, go to the firmware controls and turn the printcore temp up and wait for it to heat and then slowly start to pull off the material with needle nose pliers. I had a glob of PETG that did that. If it is way up into the electronics of the core, I would suggest contacting reseller first.

Oh and one last thing on that....I followed a piece of advice from (I think) gr5 about letting the buildplate heat up with the heat shield ( my fancy mit der schmancy bubble wrap) to let the ambient temp come up and even out before I started to print.

Tank yew veddy, veddy much ol' bean!! Woops...you are from Australia...hope that was not offensive.......

To me? Nope...just winging it a bit with that sort of thing. The slurry I make from recycled PVA can be thick. I was trying to use the PVA as a cradle type of support on one set of experiments, but wow, environmental issues play with that prospect a lot. The black piece with the spikey parts was just on the PVA slurry. I was paying attention to temp (Bed and nozzle) and speeds mostly. I also used a bit of my experience with T-Glase with the bed height (just a tiny bit looser than the normal tightness I would level with and then did not active level as it would have wiped that out) so that it would lay down a nice, hot loop. It really bridged well. I could not believe how clean the arches were in the piece I printed and nice overhangs too. As soon as I get this project finished (been the tech week from hell and really bad sinus infection the week before) I will be trying to print my supersized Enterprise with it. The only part I will use something different on will be the Red Nacelle Hydrogen Scoops (I will be using a transparent PETG for those). But it is what I am wanting to print it with primarily because of the strength it has. It will be a 39 inch model printed in parts and with those long, tube/angled parts, I do not want a weak plastic. And I have much more success with the PC than ABS. That stuff is strong! But the PVA slurry did put a nice surface between the glass and the PC material. It was fun to let it sit and cool. I could hear it just cut loose from the PVA on the plate without any damage to the glass.

For every material there are printing instructions on the UM website, look here for the instructions for PC. These are valid for PC from UM, your mileage for other brands may vary. PC is tricky. For example, it is easy to pull the chips from your glass plate if you don't follow the instructions. Definitely. I just used those settings and they worked. I also taped up a bubble wrap barrier to hold in heat. I have also printed using an exceptionally clean plate (alcohol) and even a PVA slurry to put a slight barrier between it and the glass. I have been trying to get other things done before I return to it so it has been a couple of weeks. Here is a sample of the weirdness I do: https://ultimaker.com/en/community/35928-can-the-um3-print-polycarbonate I brimmed the heck out of it, but, to be fair, I did use a PVA brim just to keep air from the edges. Again, I re-iterate, I was/am using the Ultimaker PC material. Every other make of materials from other vendors (PLA, Etc) do have different properties in general. So, if not using the Ultimaker PC, consider them a jumping off point.

I have not had that behaviour. But I never change Print Core 1 as it is always used for non-PVA materials. That is just me though. May I ask why you would be changing the Printcore 1?

The PC material I use and have great success with is the Ultimaker PC. It is the strongest and highest temp material I have found yet. I do really like it a lot

This may sound really stupid to most of you, but I know to use the magna-lube on the main Z-Axis screw and the machine oil on the printhead parts that slide along the X-Y rods. But, the slideblocks, I have not seen anything about them. I have the black sideblocks. So, lube or no lube?

Have you tried to print in Polycarbonate? It has the highest TG threshold my research has found as well as no more difficult to print with. I actually have more successes with it than ABS. Nylon can be too flexible and is hydroscopic.

I think I am just used to Testors because of all the models I have put together. I like that it bonds the plastics together. ABS really does well with it as it is a styrene much like in model kits. And for some reason, I really cannot get Superglue type of CA to work worth a flip. I know it is me, but I just cannot get it to work. I am going to be trying something in combination with Testors soon if I can just get one part to print correctly. I have literally burned up a full spool trying to get the heat and such right for no warping.....sigh....And they are long prints just to find an issue. PLA no less! If it works out, I will be posting with pics soon, but I gotta get this part out right before I release the model. Do not want to release a model that I cannot print. If I can print it, anybody can.