[Bed CANT raise]

7 hours ago, geert_2 said:

What you can always try to see if there is a mechanical obstruction: switch the printer off, and then manually rotate the Z-screw to see if the bed comes up, and feel if there is anything blocking rotation. If that works fine, gently try pulling the bed upwards manually by hooking your fingertips under the bed, but only at the back near the guiding rods, not in front. Normally you can pull up the bed in this way. This should let you differentiate whether it is a mechanical issue, e.g.: dirt in the Z-screw. Or whether it is an electrical or electronic problem, e.g.: steppermotor or drivers, or a Z-stop switch that is defective so the printer can't find it and keeps pushing the bed down to try to reach it, to know where the Z-zero position is. The printer does not know where the bed is when switched on, so it first has to move the bed down to activate the Z-stop switch to find the zero-position. Only then it can move the bed upwards safely by counting steps up, and not crash into the nozzles. My guess is that it is this Z-switch that does not give proper contact, or that came loose and dislocated. But as said, this is a guess...

 

Yea it is a mechanical obstruction. For some reason the two white angled plastic pieces hiding the motors and cables are in the way of the bed now. They press against the metal arms that hold the buildplate. I haven't figured out why all the sudden they don't fit though...they were still seated in the slots properly.

[Ultimaker 3 bed won’t raise up.]

Did You ever figure out what the issue was? It is happening to me as well.

[Bed CANT raise]

Hey everyone, I couldnt find anything online to help with the current situation im in so maybe you guys could help. I just attempted a test print on an Ultimaker3 and the bed seems stuck at the bottom. It raised a few cm's and then made an awful noise as if it was getting jammed or stuck and could not raise any higher. The Z screw doesn't seem bent or anything. It certainly seems like it is getting stuck though. Any suggestions, or relatable experiences? Thank you!

["Fluffy" Prints]

19 hours ago, Torgeir said:

Hi @UALib3D

 

You've already got good advice from @gr5 here, -so I'll just add something more..

 

This is quite interesting, first I noticed the brownish color on the front (inlet side of cooling fan) that tell a story?

This color indicate high temperature, a black debris just in front of the printed object and finally the nozzle in the middle of the print.  All this indicate too high temperature to me. How does your print head look from below?

 

So, -inside the head there is a control PCB (printed circuit board)and this board also include the precision amplifiers for both print cores.

Say that no1 print core amplifier by some reason say that the temperature is to low, then the control circuit will increase the temperature as high the error signal tell.

If this is the problem, it would not help to change (swap) the print cores.

You may also use an infra red temperature sensor in order to check if the temperature is correct.

 

A better close up of "all" sides of your model may give more info about the problem.

Also try to turn the model 45 deg to see how this work..

 

Good Luck

 

Thanks

Torgeir

 

 

Mystery Solved, Once I read that the PCB behind the cores control temp I looked at it and the middle pin was bent down. The hotend was just getting as hot as it wanted. Bent the pin back in place and the print is looking great!

["Fluffy" Prints]

14 minutes ago, kayakbabe said:

Did you try using the print core from the printer that is working well in the printer that is having issues?

 

That would eliminate the print core being an issue. 

 

Also check your fan, make sure there aren't any itsy bitsy fine filament goodies wound around it's axle. It does look like it's too hot. 

Yea, I swapped printcores, still had the same issue. The belt tension seems to be fine as well. also no play in the axels. The fans all appear to be working. Im wondering if there is a faulty thermistor or something. Although I think the thermistor is apart of the printcore, so that would not make much sense either. 

["Fluffy" Prints]

On 10/28/2021 at 6:37 PM, gr5 said:

Does the other printer have white filament?  White is worse.  Raised edges over overhangs are common but this is extreme.  Check the fans.  Fans and cooler temps improve this.

The other will print white fine, and the fans are working. It seems like the only issue is the X direction.

["Fluffy" Prints]

The other will print white fine, and the fans are working. It seems like the only issue is the X direction.

["Fluffy" Prints]

Does anyone know why I am getting this weird effect on my prints? I am using the exact same settings, and same print on a different ultimaker 3 and am not having this issue. It seems like the only thing that could be the issue is something with the printer itself. I've done almost every calibration, bed level, swapped printcores, checked to see if the fans are working. The temp was at 200 C for PLA which is what I use for the other U3 printers. It looks almost like the PLA "rises" and then the nozzle pushes it down, and squishes it over and over. It just looks fluffy. Again, I have the same exact cura settings on another U3 and it comes out perfectly fine. 

[Questions about supports]

Torgeir,

That is some very thorough documentation! I am using Ulti Cura 4.10 for my slicing and it looks like you and I are getting very similar results on our finish. So, aside from the few parameters you mentioned to tweak, that seems to be about that I should be expecting from same filament supports. Break away filament was mentioned, I might get a mini spool and experiment with that. 

The ambient temperature variance is, predictably, variable. I work in a storage room in the build of the building and the HVAC for my space is directly effected by the demands of the building. Being that this is a library they often keep it aimed at the high 70s, it's not a joke that female office workers often bring sweaters in during the middle of our very hot summer due to the AC in the building. I was lucky enough to be able to move the printing racks out of the way of the vents. We have a new dedicated space for the printers, with the intent to show them off to the public, so I will have to run new tests since their new location invalidated my old results. I will let you know when they are done later this week. I have a big project planned to gather a lot of data, it'll be fun!

[Questions about supports]

I am actually most comfortable with ABS, before we got Ultimakers we only used ABS. Historically PETG has been one of the worst materials for us to use. It strings terribly and the supports are worse, being very difficult to remove. I almost have a phobia of it at this point.

 

I will look into the breakaway material. 

 

And I will keep practicing for good support interface. 

[Questions about supports]

This is all very helpful information, and I really appreciate taking the time to even print a sample!

Unfortunately I don't have any say over the model and can't make modification to it. My job is just to slice jobs and press buttons. We currently don't use PVA supports because of various reasons, so it's all single extruder work for this piece. Plus we get a lot of requests for ABS, and you can't use PVA with that, so if I can find the general recipe for settings for clean supports that would be a boon.

 

Torgeir:

1) Initially I had it supported that way Greg did, but without the tree supports. The issue is that I know I was have ugly layer lines and say trying to minimize them by putting them on the thin edges. I am printing a test print right now with Greg's orientation and we'll check it's surface finish.

2) I have support material as extruder 1, so no need to disable the second print core 

3) Great tip about the combing, I will have to look into that for future prints.

4) I have used that feature in the past but couldn't on this print with the orientation I selected. I think you can see the results of not using supports in the gear teeth.

5) I also use skirt most of the time, but brim is the default and I didn't want to mess with too much for my sample. We also have ambient temperature issue where I work.

Do you have any problems with your default surface finish on your supports on your UM3? I would love to see some of your prints to compare and contrast!

 

Greg:

My kingdom for the ability to modify the files. Unfortunately we don't have the bandwidth to do those corrections, design via email is a nightmare if you've never tried it. I tried my hand at a redesign, just to practice, and I did a similar split but I chose a half lap joint. 

 

My service is concerned with speed of print and easy of customer interaction, they want folks to be excited to 3D print stuff. We do have a separate department that I can refer folks to but if I can dial in our settings, that would go a long way. Especially since the other department refers back to us for print profiles.

 

I deeply appreciate the work you've put into brain storming solutions, none the less.

Here is the last piece I printed, using Torgeir's suggestions, it's pretty good and I wonder how it compares to your own prints.

[Questions about supports]

Hum, I don't know what the download issue, I can download it between my work and personal laptop just fine.

I will wait for an answer while I tweak settings and press buttons.

[Questions about supports]

Unfortunately this is for an open lab setting, where I have no control over the parts design. I can only control the orientation of the parts to the build plate. This problem is only recently developed. My prints were better when I was using Cura 4.8. Currently we don't use the PVA support for a number of reasons, one being that we haven't gotten good results with it, but that is a separate post once I get our regular profiles solved.

 

It's interesting that you mentioned under extrusion as a possible cause. What would be the solution? I don't see a setting for extrusion after support material.

I have gone ahead and attached the 3MF file so you can look over it, I am using the default Cura settings (to the best of my knowledge).

 

Support test.3mf

[Questions about supports]

Hello!

I tried your answer but that wasn't the solution. I appreciate the suggestion because it made me really look at the support options and I am happy to report that I found the answer to my first question during that deep dive:

Use Towers is the setting that controls those structures. 

 

I am still curious about the second part, getting a clean and attractive interface surface between supports and parts. 

[Questions about supports]

Hello,

I am doing some tweaking with support settings trying to dial in a good profile for my lab and, in doing so, learning more about the Ultimakers I work with. 

I have this little test piece and I am hoping people can identify two things for me. All of my examples are using the default profiles.

1) What is causing the outside support towers I have highlighted in the Capture screen shot. I am sure they serve a purpose but I am also interested in how to remove them, using the support blocker does not work the way I would expect it to. I do not have them when working with other versions of Cura so this are obviously Ultimaker specific.

2) how I can improve the finish of my layers where they interface with the support material? The support error photo shows how rough the surface above the support material is. Other 3D printers I have used don't have such a poor finish and I would like to improve this.