NFC tags and USB sticks not detected

[Zwakie 21]

My first long print (36+ hrs) was for a material-combination not (yet?) suggested (PETG @208C plus PVA for support), and the print came up flawlessly. Very impressed with the result, both finish and accuracy!

After almost of week of playing around with my UM3 I did however run into two issues:

1. NFC tags of the filament that came with the printer are not detected. Checked and reseated the connector a few times, no success in getting it to 'see' the tags though.

2. Last night I wanted to print from a gcode file created by Simplify3D, to find that the machine does not see the USB flashdrive that came with the printer. Reformatting the drive on my MacBook Pro in different file formats did not help. Now that I'm writing this I realize that I have not looked for a UM3 menu-option to initialize the drive, I will have a look tonight to see if that brings anything...

Any idea on the best approach on how to get these things resolved by myself? (first try that, if that does not work I will initiate the troubleshooting process through my reseller)

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi @Zwakie,

Thank you for your post and welcome to the forums

Do you remember if your Ultimaker 3 detected your PVA during your first print?

(And it is always inspiring if you can share some photo's of what you are making!)

The filament you are trying to load, is that official Ultimaker filament? That came with your Ultimaker 3? Perhaps it would help if you posted a photo of the filaments.

You see, for the reading there should be a chip on the filament, but also the NFC-chip on the reelholder. Third party filament for example, it will not read if it does not have the chip.

About simplify3D, you should check out this post. I believe simplify 3D is not yet structured for the Ultimaker 3. So it may produce a gcode which is not tailored for the Ultimaker 3. But I think it should see the USB-stick.

What happens when you go to the menu, hit print, what do you see?

[neotko 1,417]

Exactly s3d doesn't support natively um3 yet.

For the usb, I had that issue but was something that came and went sometimes and mostly was fixed with firmware update. Do you have the latest firmware update installed?

Also format on mac that works is fat32 for the usb drives on um3. I used other usbs also and they work perfectly. Do you happen yo have other usb stick to test?

[Zwakie 21]

Being a specialist in using barcodes and rfid tags in logistics environments. I am quite familiar with this stuff

I was using the spools provided with the printer, so they should have those tags. Can I visually check if the tags are actually present on the spools?

From the first booting up it did not recognize the tags, so yes, even with the first print I had to select the material for both spools manually using UM3's menu.

I know S3D has no profile yet for the UM3, I created my own for the UM3 with the limited knowledge that I have of this machine - this of course will be replaced once S3D publishes one. A little side-step, but while we're at it: do you provide input to S3D on the basis of which they create profiles, or is this S3D does without consulting UM?

All I get when I hit the print option in the menu is the instructions to insert the USB drive. I verified that the USB drive can be read on my MacBook and a MS Windows machine. I will test with another USB drive tonight and let you know how that works out. Could it be as simple as a USB connector behind the floor-panel loosened (similar to what I read here about someone who's camera did not work because of a loose USB cable connection)?

[neotko 1,417]

The connection (afaik) that goes outside is just a cable extension that goes into the A20 board mini usb plug So yeah if is unplugged it would not work.

Remember that a20 board is very sensitive to ESD so wear protection before touching it if you want to venture by yourself. Or better call your reseller and they will give you assistance.

[korneel 176]

so on a total sidetrack.. if you mail them they will ship you a Simplify3D profile for the UM3.. that they tested themselves..

[Zwakie 21]

so on a total sidetrack.. if you mail them they will ship you a Simplify3D profile for the UM3.. that they tested themselves..

 

Thanks for the tip Korneel, I will contact them tonight. (unfortunately that won't help me much until I get the USB thingie fixed, but I trust that will not take too long )

@Neotko: I will tread carefully if and when I open the machine, thanks for the warning!

[Zwakie 21]

Thanks for the tip Korneel, I will contact them tonight.

Kudo's to S3D support: I have already received a profile for the UM3, took less than an hour! Is there a way to make it available on this forum?

[Zwakie 21]

The connection (afaik) that goes outside is just a cable extension that goes into the A20 board mini usb plug So yeah if is unplugged it would not work.

Remember that a20 board is very sensitive to ESD so wear protection before touching it if you want to venture by yourself. Or better call your reseller and they will give you assistance.

 

I have checked it last night, two other USB sticks I regularly use are not recognized either, so I guess first thing to do next is check if I have a loose connection. Before opening up the machine, can you confirm my assumption that the board(s) to look at are located in the bottom?

[neotko 1,417]

@Zwakie @Korneel

I been checking their profile and it has one good thing. They did the toolchange system and starting sequence without using G280 (the Gcode that orders the printer to purge the big poop of filament).

There's only one problem, they have cut down Acceleration SO MUCH

{REPLACE "; changing to normal tool\nT0\n" "; changing to normal tool\nT0\nM204 S1500\nM205 X15\n"}

{REPLACE "; changing to pva tool\nT1\n" "; changing to pva tool\nT1\nM204 S400\nM205 X5\n"}

They have this on their script. This means that for First Core the maximum acceleration will be 1500 and yerk 15, but for the Second Core it will be 400 and 5 yerk. This is SO FREAKING SLOW, and also, a flow so low will cause problems.

But the main reason to stay away from this Profile is that it can actually damage your PVA core

Why? Because Cura has a 'intelligent' Heat/Cold sequence that calculates how much time the unused Core will stay 'hot' so they plan ahead and cool/heat as needed so you don't need to wait for them to heat up.

Why can this Damage your PVA BB Core? Because they don't cool the Unused Core, because they don't have a intelligent Heat/Cool sequence like Cura. Probably they will add that on the future? Who knows.

I have printed on S3D with my profile PLA/PVA and leaving the second core HOT too much time can burn PVA and clog your Core, and most important, you could damage it.

Why you can damage it?

Imagine that you use PVA for just the first 15-30 layers of a 1500 layers object? All that 1470 layers where the PVA isn't used, the Core will stay HOT all the time, and all the PVA inside will burn and go brown over time.

Can it work? OFC! Everything can work! Will it clog hard if you don't do Atomic after every print? Most definitely!

So please... Until Simplify3D releases a new heat/cold sequence on his profile, stay away from it for PVA as second core or you can actually damage your core or clog it hard (and that's not easy, but leaving it hot without extruding for long periods of time isn't how Ultimaker intended it to work).

[Zwakie 21]

Thanks @neotko for the warning, for the time being only carefully using S3D then (only for single extruder prints and making sure the second nozzle stays cold.

Can you please also confirm my suspicion where to go look for possible loose connectors for the USB port?

[neotko 1,417]

Sure but remember that this can damage your printer if there's a ESD on the A20 board. Since Ultimaker made me moderator I must take my advices carefully, I don't want anyone to damage his printer and I must say I don't have technical training to repair this machines like others like @IRobertI

So please, don't do this =)

This is the USB cable extender

It plugs on the front panel (screws to open the cover are on the other side. I had to take them all out to remove the white panel (and one was longer than the rest so mind the size and remember where each one goes).

This is the A20 small UM3 cool sexy brain. As you can see the miniusb cable is plugged in. Also you can see that there's a HDMI port (that if you plug a monitor you see how the system bootup) and there's a SATA port, I suppose that this could be used on a future future to slice from the printer itself or for something cool.

Disclaimer. Don't do this, ask your technical service for assistance.

[Zwakie 21]

b]Disclaimer[/b]. Don't do this, ask your technical service for assistance.

 

Thanks for the information @neotko, I clearly hear your disclaimers and will not not do this myself

[Zwakie 21]

Disclaimer. Don't do this, ask your technical service for assistance.

@neotko The USB connector was not fully seated in the A20, all that was required was a gentle push without touching the board and the font connector came to life

I have not yet checked the NFC issue as I am currently quite busy testing the Polymaker PC-MAX. I will address this in due time...

FWIW: No way QC can be held responsible for this as the connectors can come (partly) unseated during transport because there is no strain-reliefs around the A20 board. Maybe UM Development or Production can have a look at this as there is a bit of room for improvement here so it seems

Edited November 12, 2016 by Guest

[SandervG 1,521]

Thanks Neo for your great tips, this has been an interesting read.

@Zwakie, how is your Ultimaker 3 running now?

I will pass on the feedback about the shipment and your cables so it can be taken into consideration!

[Zwakie 21]

@Zwakie, how is your Ultimaker 3 running now?

Hi @SandervG, thanks for passing on the feedback, others may benefit from it

My UM3 is getting close to running perfect.

I have not yet checked the NFC recognition, and the 'drooping' X-belt aft of the front panel need to be fixed (see another topic on the forum for details on this).

The ticking noise is (almost) gone by manually leveling the build plate (I did that in a bit of a rush, so for now I am assuming that the last tiny bit of kicking noise will disappear once I have done that accurately.

In summary: I'm quite happy with the UM3 apart from the few minor issues remaining that hopefully will be fixed shortly. Thanks for asking!

Edited November 14, 2016 by Guest

[SandervG 1,521]

 

@Zwakie, how is your Ultimaker 3 running now?

Hi @SandervG, thanks for passing on the feedback, others may benefit from it

My UM3 is getting close to running perfect.

I have not yet checked the NFC recognition, and the 'drooping' X-belt aft of the front panel need to be fixed (see another topic on the forum for details on this).

The ticking noise is (almost) gone by manually leveling the build plate (I did that in a bit of a rush, so for now I am assuming that the last tiny bit of kicking noise will disappear once I have done that accurately.

In summary: I'm quite happy with the UM3 apart from the few minor issues remaining that hopefully will be fixed shortly. Thanks for asking!

 

Cool! Very happy to hear that. I'll check out your other post and make sure to reach out if you need help fine-tuning those last tweaks. Any prints you can share with us that you made with your Ultimaker 3?

Edited November 14, 2016 by Guest

[Zwakie 21]

I'll check out your other post and make sure to reach out if you need help fine-tuning those last tweaks.

 

The NFC recognition still does not work. Any suggestions @SandervG for what I can do myself to troubleshoot/resolve this?

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi Zwakie, thank you for your reply.

My first guess is that the cable is not properly inserted.

It is not the most convenient angle, but do you think it is possible to post a photo on how you inserted the cable into the socket?

It has a flat side, to what side is this pointed to?

Is it all the way in?

Looking forward hearing from you!

Edited November 17, 2016 by Guest

[Zwakie 21]

My first guess is that the cable is not properly inserted.

Yes @SandervG, that was my first thought too the first 10 times or so that I checked this (just kidding).

Even though I was convinced there was nothing wrong there, I decided to have another thorough look, and found what was wrong: I must have bend one of the little male pins during one of those inspections (probably first time over I think), and it was hardly visible this pin was off because it almost 'fused' with a neighboring pin. Needed a loop to spot this. Hmmm, I thought I saw it all, but shame on me for being so stupid all this time :(

Anyway, problem solved with a little less sturdy connector in my posession now, haha. Thanks for your help!