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Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

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I had started a print on my Ultimaker 2 and left it unattended, for it was a 6 hour print and didn't have time to sit there and watch it all day. When I returned the print had massively failed. There was also a thick glob of filament in between the fan plate and the extruder head. I unscrewed the fan assembly so I could remove the blockage. I found that the filament had hardened around the medium sized grey-ish wire. How should I proceed? Do I need to buy some new parts and wiring and fix it? Is this something that can be fixed or is my ultimaker broken for good?

Any advice or ideas on how to fix this or how to properly dispose of my new $2,500 paper weight would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

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    Posted (edited) · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    I'd say: ask the Ultimaker company for advise. This shouldn't be able to happen. I'm sure they want to know what went wrong.

    I would find a PLA dissolvent (if printing PLA) and hang your paper weight in it until the PLA is gone. Then try to fix it. All parts, like nozzle and fans are replaceable.

    Edited by Guest
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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?
    I'd say: ask the Ultimaker company for advise. This shouldn't be able to happen. I'm sure they want to know what went wrong.

    I would find a PLA dissolvent (if printing PLA) and hang your paper weight in it until the PLA is gone. Then try to fix it. All parts, like nozzle and fans are replaceable.

    I will do just that. Thank you for your help!

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    Posted (edited) · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    First, don't panic the UM2 is one of the best reparable and maintainable printers out there. I'm not sure what's the cause of your big block of molten plastic (print got loose from the bed??) Can't say for sure based on these pictures, but it looks like you need a new PT100 (temp sensor) and a new heater, the nozzle block can be cleaned by burning it clean with a gas burner.

    How's the hot-end-isolator looking (the metal ring with the holes in it..) this thing is easily damaged so check it as wel.

    I'm sure support will help you get it fixed again... but FYI here's the assembly manual for UM2: (botom of the page, download with the zip button on the right of the page)

    https://github.com/Ultimaker/Ultimaker2

    Edited by Guest
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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    There aren't any good solvents. Instead use heat. Hot water would work but electronics doesn't like water so maybe just a hair dryer. It doesn't take much heat to loosen PLA.

    I think you broke one of your cables while trying to clean things out - maybe the heater cable. After you get it cleaned off better there are two cables that go to the heater/nozzle assembly. the larger diameter one (4mm) is the heater and the smaller diameter one (3mm) is the temp sensor.

    It's very important to watch the first layer to make sure the part is sticking well but you certainly don't have to stare at the printer the whole time. I've done plenty of prints where 8 hours of the print occurred while I slept. But I wouldn't leave it for more than 20 minutes at a time until you are getting consistently reasonable results.

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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    Hi Joshh,

    The damage is not too bad as far as I can see. You will need to get a new PT100B sensor and perhaps a heater cartridge (can't find it in the photos). Usually You can clean up the nozzle if you heat it up to 100+ degrees C and wipe it off.

    If the heater cartridge is ok, one of these Hot-end-pack should be enough to fix your machine. It may contain more parts than you need but its good to have spares. It also contains a small ring to prevent further similar problems.

    Cheers,

    Johan

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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    Hi Joshh, Thank you for your email.

    All of the above is good.

    You can use a hair dryer to remove most of the filament.

    It looks like indeed one (or 2) of the cables broke which you can either buy or you could connect with the support team to look into the possibilities of getting a replacement.

    My best bet is that your print got detached from your printbed.

    It can have a variety of reasons;

    - The leveling can be off

    - The bed could have been dirty

    - The bottom layer could have been deployed to fast or to cold

    - The footprint could be to small.

    The extruded filament no longer is being added to a print, because the print is being dragged along with the printhead. After a while it results in a big junk of filament surrounding your printhead, and sometimes (often) it also gets inside of your printhead.

    Let us know what the status is after clean up and what parts need replacement.

    Like Ulti-Arjan said: 'Don't panic the UM2 is one of the best reparable and maintainable printers out there.'

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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    I guess the cat's out of the bag so to speak. The ring is a new addition which is an attempt to prevent filament from getting between the nozzle and the fan shroud. It goes into the hole in the fan shroud from the top and is held in place by the nozzle+heaterblock.

    It started getting added to machines very very recently.

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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?
    I guess the cat's out of the bag so to speak. The ring is a new addition which is an attempt to prevent filament from getting between the nozzle and the fan shroud. It goes into the hole in the fan shroud from the top and is held in place by the nozzle+heaterblock.

    It started getting added to machines very very recently.

    cat-in-the-bag.jpg

    Thank @IRobertI :)

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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    Ahh, and working in combination with the new extra metal flap at the back of the fan holder... personally I would have preferred them to focus on a symmetric single head fan holder design ... lets hope that's still on someones roadmap....

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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    Could we see a picture of the new ring,in place. Should we all buy or make one and retrofit?

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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    @henryCasson, you can but I don't think just the ring would justify buying an entire new head. You would only experience the benefits if you would be unlucky enough for your print to get detached from the bed ánd the filament crawls up into your printhead.

    Obviously, if you rather be safe then sorry, feel free :)

    I don't have any pictures available here, the machines on our desk are also from before this addition. Imagine a regular printhead, and when looking up into the nozzle you see a small white ring closing the gap between the nozzle and fan shroud.

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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    Thank you for your reply. I have removed all of the excess filament and I'm not sure how to proceed. From what I can see all other wires except for that grey one in the pictures above are still attached and in tact. What do you suggest I do to get this thing fixed? Should I try and contact the Ultimaker Support team and have then help me with this or will they have me mail it into them or something of that nature? If not and I need to take this on myself, what parts do I need? And am I going to need to rewire anything else because of this? also is there any manuals or something that show to rewire this thing so I'm sure I'm doing it right?

    Thanks again for your reply, I look forward to hearing from you soon!

     

    Hi Joshh, Thank you for your email.

    All of the above is good.

    You can use a hair dryer to remove most of the filament.

    It looks like indeed one (or 2) of the cables broke which you can either buy or you could connect with the support team to look into the possibilities of getting a replacement.

    My best bet is that your print got detached from your printbed.

    It can have a variety of reasons;

    - The leveling can be off

    - The bed could have been dirty

    - The bottom layer could have been deployed to fast or to cold

    - The footprint could be to small.

    The extruded filament no longer is being added to a print, because the print is being dragged along with the printhead. After a while it results in a big junk of filament surrounding your printhead, and sometimes (often) it also gets inside of your printhead.

    Let us know what the status is after clean up and what parts need replacement.

    Like Ulti-Arjan said: 'Don't panic the UM2 is one of the best reparable and maintainable printers out there.'

     

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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    Can you post a new picture of your cleaned hot end?

    You could email support and ask them for help too.

    Usually we prefer for a customer to do the fix himself for multiple reasons.

    1) it is much faster! As a customer instead of shipping over your machine (which you should always minimize for risk i.e. DHL) back and forth, there is only 1 shipment involved; the parts.

    2) You gain knowledge when fixing the machine, so next time instead of a problem you know how to solve it and you convert your problem into an inconvenience. We have designed the Ultimaker so you can keep it running; instead of summoning warning-signs about voiding your warranty.

    We have a manual here that should offer you some more insights. If that is not sufficient our support team can provide you with additional info.

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    Posted (edited) · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    Hi Joshh

    I would first suggest you update your profile specifically your location

    I can still remember the dreadful feeling (its more than a year ago now for my printer) of having turned my beautiful printer into a paperweight, but in my opinion your machine is fixable, I am sure by you with help from the forum and Ultimaker.

    Looking at the pictures I would suggest you need a new temp probe and maybe the print  head heater, the heater may still be OK but while installing a new temp probe you may as well change the heater as it could have been damages. Both the cables for the above parts go from the print head and are connected to sockets on the mother board underneath the machine

    Is there any way you can check the three fans still work, a volt meter or a 12 volt supply would help, there are connectors for all of the fans inside the black plastic mesh - just above the print head the two fans either side are connected together (in series). So replacing the fans is quite easy assuming the connectors are not damaged.  

    I hope you are able to repair the machine, doing so will give you a lot of confidence to solve problems

    good luck

    S

    Edited by Guest
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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    You can check the temp probe by simply turning it on and it will complain if it is completely broken, then go to MAINTENANCE ADVANCED and go to nozzle temp and make sure it is at room temp (around 20C). Then you can test the heater by turning *that* on but only for 5 seconds as you should be careful. The block should then feel warm to touch even after only 5 seconds of heating.

    To test the fans, the rear fan usually comes on upon power up (but not newer models whcih come on when nozzzle gets > 40C). The side fans are tested by selecting "PRINT" then choose any random model then immediately go to TUNE menu (and potentially turn off heat to bed and nozzle) and turn on the fans there. Just cut power when you are done testing as exiting the TUNE menu may have the printer start trying to print.

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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    To contact support start with support.ultimaker.com. Who sends you the spare temp sensor will depend on where you bought the printer and what country you live in.

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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    I would also suggest using this as an opportunity to upgrade to the Olson heater block with i2k isolator. I can't recommend it enough for the ability to change nozzles easily!

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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    I'll post a new picture of the cleaned hot end on Monday when I see the Machine again.

    Thank you for all your friendly and helpful advice. I am confident I can fix this thing with all the helpful info and the great support of the community. I had read about Ultimaker's amazing and friendly community, and I am proud to find out that was a very accurate description.

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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    I see you are in the USA joshh. You can get a new temp sensor from met at gr5.org/store or get an official UM one from fbrc8.com. fbrc8.com might even send you a free one if you ask nicely. My store may say I'm out but I expect a shipment to arrive Tuesday.

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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    What makes that heater block an upgrade and what is a reliable source I can trust to get me things like this?

     

    I would also suggest using this as an opportunity to upgrade to the Olson heater block with i2k isolator. I can't recommend it enough for the ability to change nozzles easily!

     

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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    If it comes down to replacing the parts, I would say it is actually quite easy. Nothing to stress about and I definitely wouldn't chuck it in the bin quite yet. it looks to me like the only things you will need to replace thus far are the thermistor, element, and probably the head.

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    Posted · Is my Ultimaker done for good?

    The only reason to get the olsson block in my opinion is if you want to change nozzles. It makes it much easier to do so - 60 seconds instead of 20 minutes. However in your photos it looks like your temp sensor got ruined so I'm pretty sure you will need a new one.

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