CrownGirl

Hey again, Speed - I'm tried varying the speeds during my helix test prints . I have the speed at 50 mm/s. I have varied it from 30-60mm/s with no change. Fan: Fans are on, 100% Here are my slicer settings. They are the default for the "Normal" profile. Speed: Print Speed 50 mm/s Infill speed 50 mm/s Outer wall speed 32 mm/s Inner wall speed 42 mm/s Top/Bottom speed 25 mm/s Travel 150 mm/s Initial later speed 25 mm/s Initial later speed 25 mm/s Initial later print speed 25 mm/s Initial Later Travel speed 75 mm/s Walls: Layer height: 0.15mm Initial later height 0.27mm Line width 0.35 mm Wall line width 0.35mm Outer wall Line Width 0.35mm Inner Walls Line Width 0.35mm Top/Bottom Line Width 0.35mm Infill Line Width 0.35mm Initial Layer Line Width 100% So, the z screw... I took the z screw assembly out, cleaned it in my parts washer, and applied a light coat of light weight machine oil. The lead screw was was coated in a heavy grease, kinda like wheel bearing grease if you are a car person. I figured for the heck of it, I should take the z bearing out and clean/oil it as well. After cleaning it, I checked for play and think it might be out of spec. Using my dial indicator, I measured around .010" backlash. This seems a bit excessive, and want to bring it up. As for the rest of the build plate, it moves smoothly without any binding. The bearings sound a little loud, but I wasn't able to feel any play. I've printed several things with it, and generally don't have any issues unless there is some sort of unsupported area. With supports and areas that would generally be bridged are rough after the support is removed. I can post pictures of it if needed. Generally speaking, I really only use this printer to print brackets and stuff for car projects. Most of what I print is usable, as aesthetics are not that important to me when the part is behind my dash or out of view. I've been asked though a few times to print things/figurines for friends, and feel embarrassed by the quality of the print. Most of the time I'll have to sand or work on it after before giving it to them. Hoping I can cut down on my post print work Thanks again for the help

Hey again, I'm overall very happy with the quality of my prints compared to where I started. I believe I'm still having issues with bridging and or possibly overextruding. I've printed several temperature towers, with varying improvement based on my slicer settings, but most still don't look nearly like any of the tests I'm seeing online. Mine seems to have a lot of "spaghetti" if you will:

Hey, and thanks for the reply. I replaced the nozzle/hotend as I broke it during disassembly.The factory UM2 feeder had constant problems with grinding filament, so I swapped it out for the UM2+ one. Since then I haven't had any problems. I swapped the temp sensor for the bed before I ordered it to test. Replacement sensor hasn't had any issues. Same issue with new sensor unfortunately.

Just my luck, received a nozzle temp error today. Ordered a new one off Amazon, we will see if this was related.

Hey all, I semi-recently purchased a higher mileage Ultimaker 2 that I haven't been able to get a great print from. I'm new to 3d printing outside of downloading STLs from the web and making minor tweaks to the slicer. I've also played with a bunch of settings and replaced a bunch of different parts. My prints are getting substantially better from when I first started, but I think there might be something I'm missing. From the pictures (and video), I think I'm having problems with stringing and poor bridging from what I can tell. In the helix video, you can see that it looks like its consistently bumping the print as it moves. In some of the pictures, you can also see where it looks like it is almost dragging the nozzle. I've also noticed that the filament also tends to curl up on the nozzle. Infill also doesn't completely connect, but this only started recently happening. I think this is due to a slicer setting. Things I've done: I've adjusted the temp up and down +/- 5-10 degrees as well as played a little bit with the speed with no success. I've also replaced the complete hotend, bowden tube, and upgraded the feeder to the Ultimaker 2+ feeder. When I upgraded the feeder, I did calibrate the e steps several times and believe it is within 1mm .The printer has over 1400 hours on it, and seems to be in decent condition. One of the belts does squeak, which I plan on replacing at a later date. I have also performed many atomic pulls, even with the new nozzles. Slicer settings: Latest Cura using the "normal" profile (0.15 IIRC). Have messed with retraction distance and speed, with no real improvements. Filament: I WAS using Ultimaker PLA Red, but have switched to Ultrafuse 2.85 in order to rule out filament (Ultimaker PLA is all several years old). Filament is kept in mylor bags, and is preheated to 55c for two hours prior to printing. I feel like I've hit a brick wall with 3d printing. Any advice for me on what to test or check? Video: https://imgur.com/a/AcmIdgA