Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade

[Whom 7]

Hey guys, I've tried to piece together the answer to my question but can't get myself confident so here goes:

 

If I buy an Ultimaker 2 to convert to Mark2, how easy is it to switch between using a single extruder with the full build volume, and the dual extrusion with reduced build volume?

 

Do I simply load the standard Um2 profile in Cura and slice like that?

Do I also have to reflash the printer firmware back to standard?

 

And I loaded the profiles into Cura, shown below is what looks to be the reduction in build volume. Have I done this correctly, and if so, why we we lose volume at the left side of the print bed and what's with the little strip in the middle at the front?

 

Thanks everyone and anyone!

 

[tinkergnome 927]

21 hours ago, Whom said:

(1) Do I simply load the standard Um2 profile in Cura and slice like that?

(2) Do I also have to reflash the printer firmware back to standard?

 

Quick answers:

(1) Yes, easy-peasy

(2) Hell no ☺️

[Whom 7]

2 hours ago, tinkergnome said:

 

Quick answers:

(1) Yes, easy-peasy

(2) Hell no ☺️

 

So.... what you're saying is... there is literally no reason NOT to go Mark2! Thank you.

[dfrez 21]

Hi all, recently purchased a used UM2+ with most of the parts for this upgrade including the expansion board. Had to buy some wires and print some missing parts, like the feeder mount. Just finished the wiring. Need to sort out my cable management since there’s no hole under the second feeder like shown in the instructions. Ended up feeding the wires for the head through the hole for the first print head wiring. But now that means the second print head wires are too short to reach the expansion board with it installed in the Mark2 board enclosure. 

 

Edit: I was able to get the firmware installed. Turns out I was downloading files from github incorrectly. 🤦‍♂️

 

I downloaded just the files I needed using right click and “save link as”. Strangely enough the files appeared to save fine in file explorer, etc. but whenever I dropped an STL saved that way into Cura it told me it was an invalid file. 

 

Long story short I just downloaded all the files as a zip that way and works just fine. 

Edited August 30, 2019 by dfrez

[roromiao 0]

我不知道我能否在这获得帮助

   我在给我的第三方UM2机型实施Mark2计划的时候。遇到了一些问题。。

由于我得机器比较特别。。我想我可能需要修改Tinker的代码 来适应当前的机器

该机型是基于UM2制作的 主板为2.1.1  控制器为2.1版

我把热端升级成了UM2+ [UM2O] 

机器上当前使用的代码仍然为Umtimaker2Marlin

我想我需要给Tinker做一些修改 才可以让Mark2 搭配的Tinker 固件工作起来

From Google Translate:

I don't know if I can get help here.

I am implementing the Mark2 program for my third-party UM2 model. I have encountered some problems. .

Because I have a special machine. . I think I might need to modify the Tinker code to fit the current machine.

This model is based on UM2. The motherboard is 2.1.1 controller version 2.1.

I upgraded the hot end to UM2+ [UM2O]

The code currently used on the machine is still Umtimaker2Marlin

I think I need to make some changes to Tinker to get the Tinker firmware that Mark2 works with.

   

 

[rajilpahuja 38]

8 hours ago, roromiao said:

我不知道我能否在这获得帮助

   我在给我的第三方UM2机型实施Mark2计划的时候。遇到了一些问题。。

由于我得机器比较特别。。我想我可能需要修改Tinker的代码 来适应当前的机器

该机型是基于UM2制作的 主板为2.1.1  控制器为2.1版

我把热端升级成了UM2+ [UM2O] 

机器上当前使用的代码仍然为Umtimaker2Marlin

我想我需要给Tinker做一些修改 才可以让Mark2 搭配的Tinker 固件工作起来

From Google Translate:

I don't know if I can get help here.

I am implementing the Mark2 program for my third-party UM2 model. I have encountered some problems. .

Because I have a special machine. . I think I might need to modify the Tinker code to fit the current machine.

This model is based on UM2. The motherboard is 2.1.1 controller version 2.1.

I upgraded the hot end to UM2+ [UM2O]

The code currently used on the machine is still Umtimaker2Marlin

I think I need to make some changes to Tinker to get the Tinker firmware that Mark2 works with.

   

 

What issues are you facing .... nice build btw 😊 

[roromiao 0]

16 hours ago, rajilpahuja said:

你面临什么问题....很好的建设顺便说一句😊 

由于我的机器是非标准的第三方UM2机型。。 我注意到2.1.1主板和2.1.4 似乎有点不同

  此刻发帖 我已经 成功的修改了Mark2的模型和码头 以适应我的特殊机型。

在不知道该选择什么固件得情况下。。我给机器上传了Tinker-Mark2-dual-19.03.1 的固件。。

然后根据自己的实际情况。修改了 XYZE 的 脉冲值。。 

我目前的问题是。。我原来对Ultimaker2Marlin-master源码进行了一些修改。。

由于我的主板是2.1.1 并不是 2.1.4  我修改了热端风扇和电源主板散热风扇。

 Configuration_adv.h  中增加了热端温控风扇和电源主板散热

 

 

另外。我的第二个头计划使用NTC100K 而不是PT100

 我想我需要一份可以修改的 Tinker Mark2 源码 来完成这些操作。

 

总结目前遇到的问题就是。。Mark2提供了一个 很棒的Tinker 固件。但是它似乎无法修改

如果使用了Tinker-Mark2固件 那么我不得不放弃 之前对机器的所有改动。。包括 【温控热端风扇 驱动器散热 和 改用传统NTC100传感器。。。】  不知道Tinker-Mark2 是否有源码公布。我想我得修改一下传感器类型 和 指定新的HOT FAN 我的机器才能更好的工作起来。

 

上传的图片包含了我对代码做的一些修改。和 制作的NTC100适配线。。

 

[roromiao 0]

我似乎没有在magnetic-tool-changer.com 找到Mark2项目的联系方式。。

我的英文几乎毫无基础。。。希望交流上不会有太大问题。。

[yyh1002 60]

3 hours ago, roromiao said:

我似乎没有在magnetic-tool-changer.com 找到Mark2项目的联系方式。。

我的英文几乎毫无基础。。。希望交流上不会有太大问题。。

https://github.com/TinkerGnome/Ultimaker2Marlin/tree/Mark2

这里是mark2固件源代码

[Whom 7]

Firstly, wow you guys! I sent you some beer money, but it wasn't so easy to find the donate button. Make it bigger and flashing? Love the work, love the thought and care and awesome solutions to all the problems. Like angling the head so the nozzle lifts etc etc. 

 

I do have a couple of questions, and you are surely the best to help me if you have a minute.

 

1 - "machine_disallowed_areas". 

I was going to ask how to change these areas, but then I dug around inside the .JSON and spotted them. 

I am trying to maximise the print area, so I ran the heads around while "moving material" to mark out the limit of their ability. You can see my traced results in the attached image. It looks like my end stops might be a little away from normal, but it also shows that I could end up printing in areas I shouldn't be. 

Can I set extruder specific disallowed areas? e.g. a big print, but only one corner requires the second extruder. I was to position it such that part of the print is outside of the area for head 2, but that area doesn't use head 2 so it's fine anyway.

Can I adjust these areas inside CURA without editing the JSON file?

 

Black - Original Nozzle

Red - Mark2

 

2 - extruder 1 position

Kind of related to the first question, what stops me from putting Nozzle 1 on the other side of the main head in the spare hole, so that it is on the same X position as the second nozzle? The benefit of this would be matching up the X limits, so that a bigger dual colour print would be possible? I realise that the bowdens miigghhttt clash, is that the reason why this wasn't done? 

 

3 - gCode flavour

I did search for this too, and understand that the gcode flavour being NOT UltiGcode is related to the temperature profiles? You get more control using cura settings than the machine settings? That popup about overriding machine settings sure is annoying though haha! 

 

4 - Priming, wiping etc

I can't seem to get a consistent and reliable prime when switching nozzles, if it primes too much I get blobs that build up and almost cause the head to fall off the magnets, and if I prime too little then I get missing areas on the print. Am I missing a secret trick or do I just have to keep fiddling until I can dial it in for each specific nozzle head/plastic combo? 

Any info greatly appreciated, and thanks again for all the amazing work. 

 

[roromiao 0]

21 hours ago, yyh1002 said:

https://github.com/TinkerGnome/Ultimaker2Marlin/tree/Mark2

这里是MARK2固件源代码

非常感谢！！  帮了我一个大忙。。 谢谢

 

[tinkergnome 927]

11 hours ago, Whom said:

Can I set extruder specific disallowed areas? e.g. a big print, but only one corner requires the second extruder. I was to position it such that part of the print is outside of the area for head 2, but that area doesn't use head 2 so it's fine anyway.

Can I adjust these areas inside CURA without editing the JSON file?

 

Not that I'm aware of...

But it seems that you know what you're doing, so what about making a second profile without disallowed areas. You have to be a bit more careful while placing the model, but Cura will be satisfied and slice it as usual.

 

11 hours ago, Whom said:

what stops me from putting Nozzle 1 on the other side of the main head in the spare hole, so that it is on the same X position as the second nozzle?

 

You can do it with the old (UM2) print head. The "plus" models don't have the "spare" holes anymore (at least not in the plastic parts).

 

11 hours ago, Whom said:

I did search for this too, and understand that the gcode flavour being NOT UltiGcode is related to the temperature profiles? You get more control using cura settings than the machine settings? That popup about overriding machine settings sure is annoying though haha!

 

Yes, with gcode flavor "Ultimaker" there's the one and only printing temperature configured on the printer itself. Cura will not insert temperature commands at all. And because the "temperature magic" of Cura is so useful for multi extrusion projects, "Marlin" is the far better choice.

You will get used to the "override" message 🙂, or attach an OctoPi and print via USB - that will solve it too...  🙂

 

11 hours ago, Whom said:

I can't seem to get a consistent and reliable prime when switching nozzles, if it primes too much I get blobs that build up and almost cause the head to fall off the magnets, and if I prime too little then I get missing areas on the print.

 

I'm not sure what you're trying to configure? The "extra prime amount" or something like this?

I never changed the zero value there. It's a task of the prime tower to even out the material flow before traveling to the model. There may be one or another bug in regard the prime tower in recent Cura versions though....? Others may be know more.

 

 

[Whom 7]

Thank you for such a speedy and helpful response. It may seeeeem like I know what I am doing.... butttt..... no.

 

I realised that if the extruder 2 offset is set in cura under machine settings, then it automatically shifts and applies a second disallowed area when you have a dual extrude print set up. If that doesn't make sense, I'll add pictures at a later stage. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem smart enough to differentiate between disallowed area for extruder 1, and extruder 2, but rather applies the whole area as disallowed for both regardless of what extruder is being used on each part. 

 

I think I might try shifting nozzle 1 over to the other side, as I have the ability to do that with my parts. My thoughts are to try and align the disallowed areas as closely as possible. I guess then I can simply adjust the X offset to 0 in the settings, then print the amazing calibration gcode? Then I can map out the disallowed areas using the "expert" move axis feature (which is awesome by the way). And then edit the JSON file.

 

I am also considering removing the side fans from the extra head to gain some room and simplicity. Hopefully enough air makes it over from head. 

 

I'll update with my findings once I've maximised my print area, if that's useful and appropriate for this thread?

[tinkergnome 927]

1 hour ago, Whom said:

I realised that if the extruder 2 offset is set in cura under machine settings, then it automatically shifts and applies a second disallowed area when you have a dual extrude print set up.

 

Well, the extruder x/y offsets in Cura and the ones on the printer will be added together in the end. That means: i would use one of them and set the other one to zero, not both at the same time.

The Mark2 printer definition for Cura is made with the intention to use only the extruder offsets on the printer (all offsets are zero in Cura).

 

Or you can probably do it like it is made on the UM3, if it better fits your needs:

- remove the disallowed area on the left
- configure the main part of the x offset in Cura (18.0mm)
- use the offset setting on the printer for fine tuning of the last few fractions of a mm (+-)

 

(no guarantee, but that's how it works on the UM3 - and i hope it does not sound too confusing... 😏)

 

And for single extrusion prints with the main print head: use the normal UM2 printer definition as usual, not the Mark2 one.

 

1 hour ago, Whom said:

I guess then I can simply adjust the X offset to 0 in the settings, then print the amazing calibration gcode?

 

In general... yes. But take sure that you set proper starting values for the extruder offset on the printer first (if you've changed those). IMHO x = 18.0 and y = -25.0 are the defaults of the firmware.

And be aware that the provided calibration gcode is in "Ultimaker" gcode flavor fro 0.4mm nozzles. So take sure that you have configured proper material settings for both extruders on the printer.

(you can slice your own gcode with the stl files from GitHub at any time though)

 

 

Edited September 1, 2019 by tinkergnome

[yyh1002 60]

2 hours ago, tinkergnome said:

Well, the extruder x/y offsets in Cura and the ones on the printer will be added together in the end. That means: i would use one of them and set the other one to zero, not both at the same time.

The Mark2 printer definition for Cura is made with the intention to use only the extruder offsets on the printer (all offsets are zero in Cura).

 

Or you can probably do it like it is made on the UM3, if it better fits your needs:

- remove the disallowed area on the left
- configure the main part of the x offset in Cura (18.0mm)
- use the offset setting on the printer for fine tuning of the last few fractions of a mm (+-)

That’s not how I find it works. I think the XY offset in cura is only for reference to see available print area. It makes no change to gcode coordinates, at least for Ultimaker 2+ machine type. Only the firmware Mark2 offset will take effect at the end. I set rough XY offset in cura and real offset in firmware and it works without problem. 

 

@Whom you can take a look at the cura machine for DXU to see how to get the dynamic print area working. DXU has a X offset of 19mm. I changed the X dim of printer from 220(?) to 239 to be able to shift the area for both nozzle 1 and 2. I think I also changed the buildplate shift in json to re-center the larger print area. 

DXU is based on Mark2 firmware and the cura offset has been working well for us. 

https://github.com/yyh1002/DXU

Edited September 1, 2019 by yyh1002

[tinkergnome 927]

10 hours ago, yyh1002 said:

I think the XY offset in cura is only for reference to see available print area. It makes no change to gcode coordinates

 

There's one more thing to do. The setting "Offset with Extruder" has to be enabled. It's easily accessible with the "Printer Settings"-Plugin, or set the value of "machine_use_extruder_offset_to_offset_coords" in the json file.

As mentioned - it's not the originally intended way for Mark2, but may be handy for your ideas someday.

 

And be aware that Cura "automagically" compensates the extruder offset in the preview mode. You'll need a different gcode-viewer to actually check it before printing (CraftWare is quite nice for those things).

Here is a screenshot from the Simplify3D gcode viewer - sliced with Cura, extruder offset 18mm (just to prove it 😏)

 

[tinkergnome 927]

11 hours ago, yyh1002 said:

I changed the X dim of printer from 220(?) to 239 to be able to shift the area for both nozzle 1 and 2. I think I also changed the buildplate shift in json to re-center the larger print area.

 

BTW: that's a smart idea. I think, someone should copy this for the Mark2 definition...

[Whom 7]

Ok, I don't know how to quote properly so I'll just respond as best I can! 

 

I've been playing with the disallowed areas, and found a few interesting things.

- it is possible to crash into Head 2 when using Head 1 using the default .json file from github

- under my circumstances, I can have an offset applied in CURA and on the printer and CURA is NOT applying the offset to the gcode. I don't know why your finding was different tinkergnome?

- using the default ultimaker profile, with the second head removed and parked outside, could still result in a clash with the internal parking thingy. 

 

I made myself a new .json file, and I upped the bed size to it's physical size and I created an excel sheet to allow me to quickly edit the areas then copy them into the json file. I also have the nozzle offset in CURA, but I can only apply the same shape disallowed area to both nozzles, but it's pretty close so not too much lost. I'll compare everything below.

 

Original Mark2 .json file

 

 

My new .json file, using only extruder 1

My new file using extruder 1 and 2.

 

And below is the actual prints. Blue is the original file disallowed areas, white is my new using only extruder 1, and black is using extruder 1 and 2 on my new file. You can see everything shapes up nicely between cura and real life in terms of the glass usage. And you can see the room I gain when I don't use extruder 2. 

 

I think I'll make another .json file for when I have the Mark2 nozzle removed and parked on the outside. I am also still considering if I should move nozzle 1 over to the other side, making the X offset 0

 

 

 

 

 

[Whom 7]

I don't know why I keep writing here but it feels like the right thing to do incase it helps anyone.

 

I did switch nozzle 1 over to the other side, which has increased my dual build area. The offset in CURA doesn't apply to the gcode is creates, just to the disallowed areas (I think there is a setting in the json file to make this true or false). I think I will keep tuning the build area, there's a few mm all round to gain. The only thing I can't solve is to get the area in CURA to be shown on the correct part of the glass in the software. But it's the right shape, and it prints fine, just shown too far to the left. 

It was trivial to calibrate, I created my own gcode as tinkergnome suggested for the calibration, and set offset in X to 0 on the printer and it calibrated easily. There is no clashing between bowdens or wiring.

 

And I have removed the fans from the second extruder, for my purposes I don't mind if the cooling is substandard on nozzle 2. 

 

I also found that the default start Gcode was retracting extruder 1 back twice, but pushing the filament back forwards only once resulting in the first 20 seconds of printing giving out no plastic. And the problems I was having with the initial priming poop catching on future nozzle priming I solved by moving the initial priming poop. I also copied the UM3 style and made it dump plastic right up close to the glass, now I don't have to monitor the first 20 minutes of every print as it doesn't have loose poops flying all over the place.

 

 

Thanks again @tinkergnome and @yyh1002 

 

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask! 

[dfrez 21]

I got my cable management situated a little better. I was hoping to not have to drill any holes, but drilled one for the printhead and feeder wires to pass through since the UM2+ doesn’t have one. 

 

I was hoping to get the calibration finished now that all the hardware is done. But when I tried to check the docking position (first step on the website), I got a X and Y limit switch error... I double checked all my wires everything looked good. Tried lowering and raising the buildplate, got a Z limit switch error. Tried homing all axes, moving the printhead, etc. nothing works and eventually throws a limit switch error of some kind. 

 

I figured I would load the factory firmware back on and see if that worked. The printer doesn’t show as being connected via usb in Cura. The buttons to load/update firmware are grayed out.  Great. I happen to have a spare board (China clone) and plugged that in, shows up fine in Cura. 

 

Is there anyway to check the board or load the original firmware back onto it? Or is it too late for that? 

[dfrez 21]

Finally back up and running after installing a new main board. So far I've got the docking position and offsets tuned. But one thing that doesn't make sense to me is that docking/picking up the second head in the printer menu works fine but when running the calibration print, the main head misses the dock when it goes to pick it up (maybe 10-20mm short in Y). This is with the gcode file from github. I still have the default print area set in the firmware. 

 

For the second bowden tube, are we supposed to use a standard length or a longer one? Current one has a nice smooth curve to it, it's only a problem when trying to move to the right rear corner of the printer and the second head pops off. Perhaps the magnets I got aren't strong enough. 

 

Does anyone know of a good place to buy a single thumbscrew for the second head? I didn't buy the extrusion upgrade from UM so I don't have any extras. I can see the one corner of the mark2 pushed out slightly by the bowden pressing on the teflon coupler. 

[danielkrice 4]

7 hours ago, dfrez said:

For the second bowden tube, are we supposed to use a standard length or a longer one? Current one has a nice smooth curve to it, it's only a problem when trying to move to the right rear corner of the printer and the second head pops off. Perhaps the magnets I got aren't strong enough. 

I struggled to get the head to stay in place, whatever length of tube I used, when the feeder was fitted up high, even with the adjustable mount. Once I fitted the feeder lower (To mirror the stock feeder), all worked fine.

[dfrez 21]

6 hours ago, danielkrice said:

I struggled to get the head to stay in place, whatever length of tube I used, when the feeder was fitted up high, even with the adjustable mount. Once I fitted the feeder lower (To mirror the stock feeder), all worked fine.

 

I see, must be the lower mounting puts less of a bend on the bowden when the printhead is in the back corners.

[fseider 2]

Hi,

is it possible to use duet boards? Are there any experiences with Mark2 and these boards?

[only_36 0]

Hi

I have just finished the Mark2 conversion. What an amazing job you did guys ! 

So first of all I wanted to thank the team for sharing this and still supporting the community. 👍

 

I have 2 issues : 

I bought a UM2+ head set from china (quality OK) with 12v fans. With the fan control menu, the fans were producing very few air until 99% and then they were stopping a 100% ! Voltage was 24v a 100%, the fans are mounted in serie. In order to solve this, I had to change for 2 fans 24v in parallel...  Is it normal ? Maybe I have missed a recommendation !

 

The second issue is probably linked to my magnet provider as I suffer some head disassembly at Xmax/ Ymin location. Magnets not strong enough or extruder orientation not correct ? I have temporary improved it thanks to a bungee cord pulling the bowden tube to the rear... Any advice is welcome !