Periodic maintenance for the UM2

[Geva 0]

Besides lubricating the axles I couldn't find any official information about periodic maintenance to the printer. I've been working with my UM2 for more than a year on an almost daily basis, what else is there to do to make sure it keeps running smoothly?

Thank you.

[cloakfiend 995]

I'm the same as you a year on, not sure either, but I'm pretty sure we're gonna have to tighten the pulley screws at some point. the belts need to stay tight.

[krys 206]

Hi there,

I am more than a year on and my belts are still tight.

For maintenance, I find it useful to clean out the nozzle from time to time. I atomic pulls using nylon, ideally, but PLA does a decent job too. I also occasionally put that eSun cleaning filament through, just for good measure. It catches stuff that even the nylon misses. This kind of stuff is good to do when changing from dark colours to light colours and/or when switching materials. But I do not always do that. If I see dark specks show up in my light prints, this is the solution to that.

Cleaning the bed with alcohol periodically is good for a fresh reset of the build plate. Some people just leave the glue on, for example, and keep adding more. I have found that too much glue can also cause bad adhesion, so periodic cleaning is good.

And lastly, it is good to check on the TFM coupler (UM2+, no spring) once and a while. Doubly so if you still have the PTFE coupler (UM2, with spring). If it looks warped or very burned inside, then it might be due for replacement. It is considered a consumable part, though the TFM ones last considerably longer.

For the most part, that is it for maintenance. Most of these things I only do with I think they need it or when settings that used to work, are not so perfect anymore.

I suppose this is just stuff I picked up from reading the forums, reading about the issues/problems others have and see what answers come. I agree that it should be all written down in a proper document though.

Anyway, hope this helps. Happy New Year!

[cloakfiend 995]

Fair enough I suppose, I do little retractions so Im still using the same coupler it shipped with but have a few issues now with uneven layers. I was meaning to buy new bearings and change the PFTE coupler, but never got round to it and that was months ago. I think Ill try and get some TFM ones, do they work with the UM2 btw?

[krys 206]

Fair enough I suppose, I do little retractions so Im still using the same coupler it shipped with but have a few issues now with uneven layers. I was meaning to buy new bearings and change the PFTE coupler, but never got round to it and that was months ago. I think Ill try and get some TFM ones, do they work with the UM2 btw?

 

Well, I got mine with the 2+ upgrade and so I also switched to the Olson block. If you have that then certainly they should work. If not, then I am not sure.

I would imagine it might be possible to request the correct one, or at least confirm it with your local supplier and/or ask on the forum.

3DSolex has their own version, not sure if it is the same, but I think they will adjust the size if you ask. (I think I got the idea from them!)

If you do get TFM, I suggest you replace the spring with the spacer ring (again 2+). I am pretty sure you can get it too. The spring puts a lot of pressure on the coupler and can contribute to it deforming faster, that is why they switched to the ring, I believe.

There are 3D printable spacer rings too, though. But metal is better.

Anyway, wordy answer. But hope it helps.

[fbrc8-erin 283]

If you're putting heavy wear and tear on your printer, in addition to the coupler the other soft parts to keep an eye on are your belts and bowden tube.

The belts shouldn't just come loose on the UM2/UM2+/UM3. They're held into place pretty tightly the way the pulley system is set up. If you find your belt to be a little slack, the odds are, it's been pulled over by a tooth or to on the pulley (happens most often if you catch the belt with the printhead shaft when removing the printhead for any reason). Loosen 1 pulley where the belt looks slack, and it'll correct itself.

If you've put a lot of wear and tear on the machine (say 3k or 4k print hours) and start to see deteriorating quality on the XY axis and a lot of belt debris on the motors, then you may want to go ahead and replace the belts. Belts probably won't be visibly slack.

With the bowden tube, if you print with abrasive materials, you might see damage to the interior of the tube; you can test for it by pushing a fresh piece of filament through the tube by hand and feeling for any spots of resistance. If there's resistance/damage inside the tube, I'd go ahead and replace it. You can also check for wear and tear at the feeder end of the tube; if you remove it from the feeder end and it looks chewed up, I'd recommend trimming a couple millimeters off of the end and widening it out. The tube on the end looks good; the one on the right needs replacing or fixing.

In addition to lubricating the axes and Z-screw, they may need cleaning, just to make sure all the dust and debris it out. Particularly with the Z-screw after a while it can start to look pretty rough. I'd use a cloth for wiping out the Z-screw instead of a paper towel to clean the threads; paper towel kind of shreds.

[krys 206]

I had a bit of a small world story happen to me yesterday. Just on a whim I looked at the Ultimaker App. It turns out it has a maintenance section and a few maintenance articles, along with troubleshooting, etc.

So maybe this stuff is written down somewhere!

Anyway, hope it helps.