[Should you be able to see retraction?]

A quick follow-up - I have noticed my bowden tube end at the extruder is moving up and down a few mm on retraction. I know the bowden should not move at the print head but is the extruder end movement something I need to fix?

[Cant get flat walls on this print - any ideas?]

I was wondering if the wall sloped inwards a bit myself. I checked as best I could and it looks like there might be a very slight slope on that wall but at the same time the bulge is still sticking out more than any inward slope. I printed a similar item with no chamfer right after this one and the wall was perfectly straight. I have not have issues with walls before so I don't think it is the Ulitmaker (2+ ext.) itself but might be something in the slicing?

[Cant get flat walls on this print - any ideas?]

I am getting pretty good at troubleshooting and solving problems but my latest print has an issue I can't wrap my head around. The print is a 6mm high plaque with a 45 degree chamfer starting halfway up.

For some reason there is a bulge all the way around the side when the chamfer starts. I haven't seen this before and small tweaks to speed, temp etc don't seem to make a difference. One or two of the corners have very minor curling (1 layer high maybe) that I would expect would cause something like this but the ridge goes all the way around the perimeter of the print.

The only thing I see in layer view in Cura is that at the start of the chamfer, the printer starts doing a thin zig-zag fill inside the wall to support the next layer (see photo). I am not sure why that movement would cause such a large bulge though.

I am using Ultimaker Silver PLA at 205-210 degrees (60 deg. bed) at .15 layer height and 45-55 mm/s print speed.

Any ideas?

[PLA curling on one side only]

I have been playing with different strategies for dealing with general curling such as extra fans and speed/temp etc. This one print just surprised me at first as it was just the one out of the three overhangs that was curling - the other two were doing OK with my adjusted settings. I think it is just the placement of that one overhang and the fact it is in a bad position relative to the print head fan outlets - the airflow from the fans is not as direct as on the other two prongs due to the width of the print head and the nozzle being on the left side.

[PLA curling on one side only]

Hi all, I am currently printing out some of the 'arrows' from https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2020668 for my son.

I have found this particular PLA filament to be very susceptible to overhangs curling up and have been adjusting settings in Cura and on my Ultimaker 2+ to minimize them as much as possible.

This print is interesting as the curling is only happing on one of the three 'prongs' of the arrowhead, but it is the same one on each arrowhead - the right rear prong (see pics). The other two on each arrow are printing without the curling.

Any ideas why this would be printing like this - fan placement and airflow on the print head? And any help to further minimize the curling would be appreciated.

Printing at 195 / 45mm/s (or slower) / random z seam

Thanks!

[Cleaning x/y axis rods?]

Thanks for all the great replies. I think I may start by trying a light amount of a non-abrasive cleaner like WD40 to start (just for its cleaning properties - I would clean it off and re-oil). I never thought of plastic polish and I may have some around here from plastic modelling etc.

[Cleaning x/y axis rods?]

I just purchased a second hand Ultimaker 2+ and noticed the X/Y steel rods have a decent amount of black residue on them, probably from dust and grime over time. I have tried lubricating the rods with sewing machine oil and then wiping them (and repeat etc). A bit of black comes off but it seems like there must be a better method or lubricant/cleaner that will attack that black gunk better. The printer is still running like a watch so I don't think it is affecting the operation in any way but I would like to get them looking clean and shiny if at all possible. Would a metal polish work without harming the rods?

[Should you be able to see retraction?]

Thanks , that is what I am seeing now so I guess I had a bit of over-retraction at some point when I saw the filament moving near the nozzle.

[Should you be able to see retraction?]

Hi, I recently bought an Ultimaker 2+ and am getting it tuned in. When I first was experimenting with retraction I was sure I could see the filament retracting in the Bowden tube above the print head. Today I noticed that I was not seeing the filament move there anymore. The extruder is retracting as I can feel it when gently holding the filament as it enters the extruder. For extraction to be working properly, should I be able to see the filament move at the head? My retraction setting are at the default speed and distance.

Thanks!