Having trouble with any print longer than 4h (Ultimaker 2 Extended)

[MARCODENARDI 0]

Hi there

As title suggest, was able to print small size objects but any time print has to last longer than 4-5h, or less, otherwisei am to expect some kind of problems. I'm a beginner and am using the regular setups, and i printed mostly with PLA so far.  I have to say that the printer has been unused for months at times, i wonder if that's the problem. I also would like to know if ABS may be more reliable for long prints. I know Ultimaker 2 is a very good machine so i think i am missing something, or maybe having an issue with my device (which should be still in warranty).  In general i 'd like to print items as big as possible (thats why i bught the U2E) so i can consider upgrading to the latest version, but i need to know exactly what i am doing first.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Edited August 1, 2016 by Guest

[IRobertI 521]

What is the trouble you are seeing exactly? It's difficult to give advice without knowing what's actually going wrong. If you have pictures that is even better.

Letting the machine sit unused is not a problem. If it's humid where the machine is and you still have filament loaded, the filament might have absorbed moisture and become difficult to print with.

I would not recommend ABS, it's a finicky material to use IMHO. Some people love it, but I would say that the majority that use it have issues because it needs special care.

[MARCODENARDI 0]

Thanks for answering. So far i failed most of my bigger prints because of total clogging, or just finding the machine "printing in the air" or, less likely, the wire spool getting stuck somehow. While i can address the last problem quite easily, i am getting frustrated by the first two events and really don't know what to do. I think i could never print successfully for more than 12 hours. I don't know if this is normal. It's very easy for me to go past that printing time when trying to print objects of moderate size and details (i mean something of about the size of a 500cc can of Coke). I wonder if there's a problem, or i am doing something wrong, or if it's just my expectations to be unrealistic. But how can i use so much space of Ultimaker 2 Extended then? I have a couple of questions to understand if i can get what i would like to:

1) what's ur longest print time? What material were u using?

2) is it possible to print, for example, a 1:1 size human skull, or a puppet as tall as the whole space, all in one go without expecting printing failures?

Edited August 3, 2016 by Guest

[neotko 1,417]

Just wondering (I might be absolutely wrong about this)

- What's the room temperature?

- How does the filament looks when this happens (does it has a big bite?)

- What color are you using?

- Its a um2extended plus or non plus?

- Print hours since last time coupler was installed?

- Photos of the failed prints helps BIG time to see what might be happening.

[tinkergnome 927]

Just wondering (I might be absolutely wrong about this)

- What's the room temperature?

- How does the filament looks when this happens (does it has a big bite?)

- What color are you using?

- Its a um2extended plus or non plus?

- Print hours since last time coupler was installed?

- Photos of the failed prints helps BIG time to see what might be happening.

 

in addition:

- all three fans of the printhead are operational?

Printing times of 30 hours and more are not uncommon, the machine can handle long prints without problems (if it is in a good condition...)

[Dim3nsioneer 558]

 

Just wondering (I might be absolutely wrong about this)

- What's the room temperature?

- How does the filament looks when this happens (does it has a big bite?)

- What color are you using?

- Its a um2extended plus or non plus?

- Print hours since last time coupler was installed?

- Photos of the failed prints helps BIG time to see what might be happening.

 

in addition:

- all three fans of the printhead are operational?

Printing times of 30 hours and more are not uncommon, the machine can handle long prints without problems (if it is in a good condition...)

 

In addition:

- What's the temperature of the feeder motor after 4 hours? Can you still touch it? You may have to remove the white cover in the back left corner; two screws from outside...

[MARCODENARDI 0]

I have a couple of questions:

1) My printer doesn't have this separate part of the spool holder:

I wonder if that's important and where i can find the piece to print.

2)Whats the most reliable material and color for long prints?

Edited August 3, 2016 by Guest

[MARCODENARDI 0]

Thanks so much for the answers, now i know any problem can be fixed so i will work on that direction. I answer to all questions in order:

- What's the room temperature?

21 C in winter and 29 C in summer

- How does the filament looks when this happens (does it has a big bite?)

It will get a bite on by the feeder as the spiky part will continue rotating, therefore i have to do some work to fix it afterward.

- What color are you using?

Last time i used a Silver Grey PLA but the same problems seem to be appearing with different colors. I would say i only used PLA so far, from Ultimaker website. The spool i used last time has been opened and exposed to air during months, but the problem comes from earlier. With this spool i managed to print a couple of small items with no problems, then the print head clogged.

- Its a um2extended plus or non plus?

Non plus. Again i am available to upgrade but i need to know exactly what to do and what to expect, for obvious reasons.

- Print hours since last time coupler was installed?

- I can guess my printer didn't print longer than 150 Hours in 1 year. I never changed that part, actually i lost the little box with spare parts while changing apartment but that's another stort

- Photos of the failed prints helps BIG time to see what might be happening.

I don't have one but i can easily describe: everything seems to be going perfectly for a a few hours, then i will look at the printer and will see the head still moves but its printing a wire in the air or not extruding at all, while the half-made print left behind looks gorgeous until the point the problem happend.

- All three fans of the printhead are operational?

- What's the temperature of the feeder motor after 4 hours? Can you still touch it?

I will do some testing tonite and will let you know.

Edited August 3, 2016 by Guest

[MARCODENARDI 0]

edit

Edited August 3, 2016 by Guest

[neotko 1,417]

29C room temperature it's high for the printer, ofc that shouldn't be much of a problem at first but the more time passes the more heat all gets, and pla can get softer because all that heat (and heat coming from the feeder motor) and the feeder starts to 'over bite' because the filament it's weaker. First test I would do, set the airconditioning or just put a small fan pointed to the feeder.

Also, pla if isn't stored properly starts to loose flexibility and can be broken easier (so the feeder also can bite/break it)

I would try the fan idea. Also I would try to relax the spring of the feeder and probably would make the minimum distance between retracts (on cura) a bit higher (that depends highly on what you print ofc).

The coupler 150h shouldn't be damaged but also probably it might be on the end of his life. If you print 10C higher and the problem disappears, then it might (or not) be the coupler. The only real way to see if it's damaged its to actually look at it for imperfections & brown color.

Um2+ kit isn't a must but they improved the feeder (more force), the fancap (better cooling), the hotend (olsson block with interchangeable nozzles), the coupler now it's TFM (last much longer). So it will give a good refresh to your machine but it just makes things easier, ofc your printer can print perfectly if your pla it's good, the coupler it's fine and the room temperature + motor heat doesn't affect the pla.