Underextrusion - SOLVED... For me at least..

[qwarks 1]

Hi Guys.

According to Keukpa in his post "it's all in the PTFE coupler" he states that underextrusion problems are due to the PTFE coupler on the earlier versions of UM2 not being good enough quality.

See his post here:

https://ultimaker.com/en/community/view/17016-its-all-in-the-ptfe-coupler

I just wanted to second that.

I have been very close to binning my UM2, it has given me nothing but problems from day one.

When i saw Keukpa's post i chose not to believe that it could be that simple so a tried alot of other things before i finally bought a new PTFE coupler for my UM2.

IT WORKS!!

Changing your PTFE coupler should be the first thing you should try if you have similar problems.

My UM2 has now completed a 46 hour print for the first time without any skipping and maybe its just me, but the overall print quality seems to have improved.

Next time you guys at UM know about a problem, please be so kind as to inform us that there is a problem and what to do about it.

I do not use this forum every day so just a kind email next time would do :-)

Thanx.

[cloakfiend 996]

Its should really say......

Its all in the PFTE and in proper atomic pulls, meaning a totally clean nozzle. It is possible to do a decent print with a dying or badly installed PFTE which i have been doing for the past month but you need to know what you are doing. Also you might just have a jammed PFTE which means if you over heat it and let it drop then do gentle atomic pulls it will print fine. The trouble with the PTFE thing is that when you do do harsh atomic pulls, then you may get hydraulic pressure which allows some filament to ooze between the PFTE and base causing yet more problems, and I think a lot of people get this but just don't notice, and just swap out their PFTE far to early thinking its dead.

[nallath 1,124]

Well, i've informed everyone that i've ever heard having extrusion problems about the teflon bit (same goes for pretty much every response that any of the 'regulars' make with regards to extrusion). I believe support does the same. This is actually the reason why new machines are shipped with an extra teflon part.

[cloakfiend 996]

In my opinion you only need to swap out the PFTE if you can't do atomic pulls anymore. Thats the giveaway. If you can do atomic pulls then filament can still pass through the PFTE hence no need to swap it out.

[qwarks 1]

Cloakfriend, I somewhat agree to that, but in my case and in most other cases i have come across people can do atomic pulls just fine but when examining the old PTHE coupler ive found that the hole that the filament passed through had been deformed and once in awhile the filament will jam in the uneven coupler.

However if you do extreme atomic pulls and get material in between the coupler and the brass youve created a whole new set of problems - Been there myself.

Instead of using PLA for the atimic method i now use PA (Nylon), i cool the nozzle down to 130 C and pull gently and slowly, this works much better for me.

When using the standard atomic pull you risk - as you say you might make it worse.

#Natallah, that might be true lately but i was not informed of this and neither was a freind of mine who contacted your support.

We've just finished installing a new coupler in hes machine as well and it now works perfectly.

I know of a few more who have had the same problem, they do not frequent this community and they got tired of their machine pretty quick.

I think that alot of your costumers would benefit from an official email on this subject however much some might think that they should do more research themeselves.

Thanx

[qwarks 1]

Oh and one more thing that would be nice.

When this is now found the be a consumeable there is no point in this costing 15 euros and 11 euros in shipping.

I know you have the best printers on the market but it seems your sparpart prices are a bit high.

The tiny PTFE coupler i bought came in a huge box - i have no idea of how your postal system works but a bouble envelope where i come from would not cost 11 euros to send across europe.

[neotko 1,417]

I would check the new TF2K that 3dsolex it's going to sell. Almost same price and seems that will last much longer.

[nallath 1,124]

that might be true lately but i was not informed of this and neither was a freind of mine who contacted your support.

We've just finished installing a new coupler in hes machine as well and it now works perfectly.

 

Well, that's odd.

@sandervg: This sounds like something you should pick up.

[SandervG 1,521]

Cloakfriend, I somewhat agree to that, but in my case and in most other cases i have come across people can do atomic pulls just fine but when examining the old PTHE coupler ive found that the hole that the filament passed through had been deformed and once in awhile the filament will jam in the uneven coupler.

However if you do extreme atomic pulls and get material in between the coupler and the brass youve created a whole new set of problems - Been there myself.

Instead of using PLA for the atimic method i now use PA (Nylon), i cool the nozzle down to 130 C and pull gently and slowly, this works much better for me.

When using the standard atomic pull you risk - as you say you might make it worse.

#Natallah, that might be true lately but i was not informed of this and neither was a freind of mine who contacted your support.

We've just finished installing a new coupler in hes machine as well and it now works perfectly.

I know of a few more who have had the same problem, they do not frequent this community and they got tired of their machine pretty quick.

I think that a lot of your costumers would benefit from an official email on this subject however much some might think that they should do more research themeselves.

Thanx

 

Hi, thank you for your post and I am happy to hear your problems are solved. Sorry to hear it took some time before you manage to track it down to the PTFE teflon coupler. Did you talk to our HQ, or one of our partners? and approximately how long ago?

If you ever find yourself in need again, don't hesitate and visit us in the in community or reach out to our support pages. Plenty of knowledge to share, which we can't fit all in an email (we do have started sending out tips through social media and we recently wrote our first Ultimaker Schooling blog. More will follow! )

[qwarks 1]

Hi Sander.

Thank you for your input, i did not know about your schooling blog it's great!

I contacted HQ by email early in 2015 and was replied back that i should check the extruder that it was'nt overtightened and i should check to see if the nozzle was clogged, nothing about PTFEcoupling but i guess i was'nt an issue at that time?

I asked around on this forum and on other 3D printer forums about this but i've never gotten a straight answer - i guess there is no straight answer - it could be down to alot of things but no one mentioned the PTFE coupler could be the culprit.

Anyway it's now a known issue now and it solved my problems with the printer.

My friend with the UM2 just reported back that he has successfully completed he's first long hour print with the new coupler installed.

Thanks again for your feedback guys.

[cloakfiend 996]

My PFTE is visibly melting around the edges or deformed now, so i know i'm running on borrowed time. I never installed this one properly from the beggining though and seeing as this is not my printer i don't really care, but if i get mine, i really would like to make sure i install it right as it lasted a lot less than my first PFTE that shipped with the printer. Ill keep printing till I cant print no more.

[ieol2015 3]

Wish to know if the PTFE coupler is 15% Glass Filled or 25% Glass Filled? And I like to know if the retraction made by filament at the end of the print should be avoided as IMO is the problem of PTFE deformation.

I wrote my last sentence because after I do a "Move Material" from menu at the end of every print I have no more problems of filament stuck or under extrusion problem at the beginning of the next print