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Heat Capacity Limits Performance


LesHall

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Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

When I run my 0.8mm nozzle at a layer height of 0.4mm, I have to slow the speed down to about 20mm/s because the healer just can't keep up with that volume of filament. This is a major limitation in the performance of the Ultimaker.

On the other hand, the Taz 6 now has the MOAR tool head with it's 1.2mm nozzle and upgraded heating and cooling components. It lays down filament like nobody's business.

So my question is: Can the next model of the Ultimaker have an increased heating capacity?

Les

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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    What heater do you use in your um? Maybe you can replace it to a higher wattage

    I use the one that came installed in it. I have a UM2+. I did not know an upgrade was possible?

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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    What heater do you use in your um? Maybe you can replace it to a higher wattage

    I use the one that came installed in it.  I have a UM2+.  I did not know an upgrade was possible?

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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    I'm not really sure what the wattage of the pre-installed heater is. It might be the most simple solution to just replace the heater.

    http://3dsolex.com/product/40w-heater-um2/

    I never used a volcano, so can't help you there. Just in general I'm not a big fan of full metal hotends (tried the V6) as a general all purpose hotend, the V6 sucks on PLA.

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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    I'm not really sure what the wattage of the pre-installed heater is.  

     

    The UM2+ has a 35W stock heater. I can't remember where, but I'm pretty sure I've seen 50W ones for sale.

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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

     

    I'm not really sure what the wattage of the pre-installed heater is.  

     

    The UM2+ has a 35W stock heater. I can't remember where, but I'm pretty sure I've seen 50W ones for sale.

     

    Edit: the 50W heaters are 3dsolex ones as well.

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    Posted (edited) · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    from the website:  

     

    Individually tested heater cable. We know how horrible it is to change it.1 Year guarantee. Not for use on clone blocks.

     

    http://3dsolex.com/product/50w-heater-um2/

    "we know how horrible it is to change it" is not promising... and I'm not overly mechanically inclined. I'll stick with slow for now.

    Les

    Edited by Guest
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    Posted (edited) · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    Come to think of it, since I'm getting slow performance out of a 0.8mm nozzle, why not use a 0.6mm nozzle, get full performance for the nozzle size, and higher resolution?  Will probably do that.  

    Les

    Edited by Guest
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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    The heater cartridge is not that difficult to replace. The PT100 is a bit more sensitive. Perhaps it is some fiddling getting all the wires through the hole, but if your current heater is restricting you I would definitely consider replacing it for a 40 or 50W heater.

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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    Sander, can you suggest a tutorial that will be close (though likely not exact) to that area of the print head so I can see what will need to be done?

    Les

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    Posted (edited) · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    I found this:  

    https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/252-disassembly

    for a tutorial on heater cartridge removal and replacement.  

    Les

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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    That would be pretty accurate ;) How does that look to you, does that give you the confidence you need to consider replacing your cartridge heater?

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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    Here is the 50W heater cartridge at an American reseller of 3dSolex:

    http://thegr5store.com/store/index.php/ultimaker2-hot-end-heater-50w.html

    Les

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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    That would be our very own @gr5! Perhaps he has some additional tips for you :)

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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    /me awaits additional tips! :)

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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    If you've never gotten "heater error" and if your temperature is able to stay close to the temperature you ask for then there is no need for a more powerful heater.

    It doesn't matter if it's 200W or 20W. If the head is at 210C while printing and that's the goal temp then it's irrelevant what nozzle size you have. Your heater is good enough.

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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    In general a 0.6mm nozzle prints twice the volume of a .4 and a 0.8mm nozzle prints double again. But to achieve those speeds it's easiest to increase the layer height also. Around .2mm to .3mm layer height for .6mm nozzle and .3mm to .5mm for the .8mm nozzle. That makes for fast prints.

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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    Hi gr5,

    The situation is that running a 0.8mm nozzle at 0.4mm layer heights and printing PETG, not sure the temp as I am away from the machine for a while, the plastic forms poorly above 20mm/s travel speed. I want to go 40mm/s but I cannot go above 20mm/s and still maintain print quality. So I am limited by the energy put out by the heater core.

    Les

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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    It may be true that you are limited by the energy output from block to filament. However if the block is at a particular temperature, putting in a larger heating element and printing at the same temperature will make no difference.

    Note that the block v3 from 3dsolex has better heat transfer from block to nozzle and also from nozzle to filament. There is I think 40% more surface area between block and nozzle (more threads, chamfer, flat area). And the 0.8mm "race" nozzle has internal structure to get the filament warmed thoroughly everywhere.

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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    Yes I agree gr5, and I was wondering about that solution. The wattage rating on a resistor tells how much heat it can survive dissipating, not how much heat it will develop for a given voltage. If the resistance of the resistor is the same, then a higher voltage would be needed to take advantage of the higher wattage.

    I was holding off saying this because I was unclear as to whether the 50W heater had a lower resistance or not, I guess not, which makes it perfectly understandable.

    My solution? Run my UM2+ stock and wait for a later model such as the UM3 to provide greater heating capacity (if it ever does). Either way, my UM2+ will last me a good long while!

    Les

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    Posted (edited) · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    @LesHall: I would actually say that the main limiting thing is the thermal resistance of the plastic combined with the length of the melt zone. This is why the E3D Volcano offers a much longer (+10mm) melt zone to get better throughput. The heat simply cannot reach into the center of the filament fast enough.

    The dual channel of the 3DSolex "matchless" nozzles are attempting to reduce this problem by splitting up the filament into two thinner channels, so the heat can get to the center of the melted plastic faster, but it also introduces some more back pressure (but it may very well allow you to print faster). The extra contact area of the block->nozzle is not a huge thing since the nozzles already has pretty decent thermal transfer, the dual channels is the main thing.

    The best way to go for a printer that could print with high volumetric extrusion rates would be to have a thicker "Olsson Block" that extended the melt zone as much as needed to get full throughput with the regular nozzles. Of course you would also need a higher power heater cartridge (or dual cartridges) to be able to keep up the temperature.

    A longer melt zone is not always a good thing tough, if you are using a smaller nozzle where the the throughput limit will be from back pressure rather than melt speed, the longer melt zone will lead to more oozing and less control over the extrusion, since you at any given time will have a larger amount of liquid filament.

    I have been discussing another way of creating a longer melt zone with Anders, and i might whip up a prototype of it some day, just to see if it works :-)

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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    medusa: ty for info, you know your printing very well i see!

    Les

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    Posted · Heat Capacity Limits Performance

    @LesHall - I completely agree with @Meduza and I think you are missing my point. The heater in the UM2 is controlled by a thermostat algorithm. Like your house. If you set the thermostat in your house to 70F and the house is at 70F even though it is -30F outdoors then your furnace is good enough. Putting in a larger furnace isn't going to help as you are already achieving the goal temperature of 70F. Similar with your printer - if the printer is reaching your goal temperature then your heater has enough watts. If it isn't reaching the goal temperature then you are probably getting the "HEATER ERROR" error which halts your print (or you have an older version of the firmware from a few years ago). In which case, yes, update your heater.

    The wattage of all these heaters I have been talking about in posts above is the wattage for a 24V power supply. That's a side issue and not relevant. Waiting for the UM3 does not seem relevant since it only has a 25W heater in the cores that come with the UM3 (so far - who knows what the future holds).

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