Ulticontroller flaking big time

[Daid 306]

The 2 main box headers where the ulticontroller connects, and then the connections going from there to the Arduino headers.

[snowygrouch 1]

Ok thanks Daid, I will pass that on to my friend in the UK.

C.

[billdempsey 0]

1) Evidently due to the number of people having this problem

You mean a grand total of 2?

I know every single problem sucks, especially if it's a 80$ UltiController that is not working properly. But I can personally guarantee you that every UltiController is checked if it works (LCD, Button and beeper) before it's shipped. Seeing the shipping numbers (that I cannot disclose) then we would be flooded with support email if there was really a major production problem.

Our current electronics producer is sub-standard, and we are working to change that. But changing this is not as easy as it sounds. Having electronics produced is not the same as baking a bread. The previous company I worked at made the stupid mistake of saying one day "Well, from now on, all electronics need to be produced at company X". Hilarity ensured and tons (100k) of money where lost due to lost in sales, extra support and lack of stock.

Most of the electronic problems (I've checked out a few of the "bad" boards we have here) seem to be down to bad soldering. This can be on the UltiController side but also on the UltimakerPCB side. It kinda sucks if you need to check it, but it's not "unfixable"

The Ulticontroller cost me more like $150 with the crap exchange rate and insane shipping prices to the U.S.

The only reason I haven't contacted Ultimaker to ask for a replacement is because I don't want to pay the insane shipping AGAIN for a "free" replacement. So, I have a $150 paperweight.

The shipping and exchange rate are also the main reasons I haven't ordered a second printer. With the part failure rate, their "blame the customer" support policies, useless warranty, poor exchange rate, time zone difference, frequently out-of-date documentation, and crazy shipping costs, the pains of owning an Ultimaker are just too high for people in the U.S. I've been warning friends to stay away from buying an Ultimaker by telling them my own expensive experiences.

Ultimaker really needs a U.S. distribution/manufacturing office. Until they get one, they should really just stop taking orders from the U.S. They're going to have a horrible reputation in the U.S. before they even get a U.S. office at this rate.

[joergen 2]

The only reason I haven't contacted Ultimaker to ask for a replacement is because I don't want to pay the insane shipping AGAIN for a "free" replacement. So, I have a $150 paperweight.

Good point for not even trying.

It is probably a single dry solder joint, either on the UC, or the 1.5.6 PCB... it should be fixable on your own with a multimeter and a soldering iron... yes, in an ideal world, UM should only ship perfect electronics, the real world looks unfortunately different. and without a tiny bit of troubleshooting, a dry joint on the 1.5.6 board will not help you when you get a new UC from UM... it'll be the same problem, and no solution, and you and UM just wasted another $150... in the same vane, if one of the ribbon cables is flaky, the same problem would persist: I do assume you have swapped the cables already (tl;dr)? if you want to engage in a bit of trouble shooting, check the signal pins first. when I got my UC, I had 2 bugs: one bad cable, and one pin of the SD card slot was dry, which took me 2 afternoons to fix (the first afternoon was running around like a headless chicken, asking for help on the forum, which didn't came, and the second to use a methodological approach to find&fix the issue).

in short, there are not so many problems with the US UM as you make it sound. but it requires commitment, it is not a consumer friendly, plug&play printer yet. "bring your own brain" (BYOB) is unfortunately necessary. support in the NL will get better over time, and daid and sander are doing a pretty good job providing the support.

[johank 7]

Really, If the ultimaker is still BYOB then why have they dropped the "beta" classification?

My Ultimaker is a great machine and I don't use a UC. I would also be able to find a bad soldering point on my board and fix it. However, this is not something that can be expected of every user. The specification on the shop page for the kit (kit!, not even assembled machine) clearly states "Soldering skills are not required", which I would rate a much lower on a difficulty scale than troubleshoot pre-soldered electronics.

I think the Ultimaker should still be classified as "beta" or similar as it still is a BYOB machine. And I don't think users shold be blamed for not properly functioning electronics. It's one thing to test a board for DC connectivity before shipping and another thing to claim all electronics is functioning properly on delivery.

I have searched for some proper documentation for the ulticontroller but didn't find any (strange being a OHW company?). From the pictures on the assembly page it seems the support for the UC board is pretty sparse allowing the board to bend, e.g. when pushing the knob. This is not something a PCB is fond of ( no, I don't really think the PCB has any feelings ) and this could be a possible cause of errors.

If the position of ultimaker is as described in this thread I find that deeply troublesome.

regards,

Johan

[Daid 306]

Really, If the ultimaker is still BYOB then why have they dropped the "beta" classification?

As far as I know, because everyone else also did it. Just look at all the reprap kits, they don't have beta on them, and do require a lot more BYOB.

[billdempsey 0]

For some of us, time is worth more than money. Spending a day or two with a multimeter and soldering iron figuring out exactly WHY their product is faulty, is not worth the time or effort. Believe it or not, I have actual work to do. So, the UC is in a drawer and I'm out $150. Another Ultimaker lesson learned.

[thirty6 3]

add me to the list of dead

UltiController

card stopped working ages ago, easy fix turn the machine off and on again with the card in.

Now the display is playing up okay i could handle that but when it has a proper mental session it pauses the print.

So how do i preheat the pla etc with the controller?