Jump to content

Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade


Recommended Posts

Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade
4 hours ago, tinkergnome said:

 

It depends...
Is this a setup with the optional expansion board or without?
If expansion board is present and connected properly: the matching firmware variant is installed as well?

 

Yes. I have the expansion board and the firmware is  Tinker_Mark2_19.03.1

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade
    4 hours ago, CCA1 said:

    I have the expansion board and the firmware is  Tinker_Mark2_19.03.1

     

    OK, but there are different hex-files with this version number and the symptoms are exactly the same as if the variant without 'expansion-board' in the name is installed.

    That's why this question came to my mind...

     

    My recommendation is to double-check that "Tinker-Mark2-expansion-board-19.03.1.hex" is used

    (or "Tinker-Mark2-extended-expansion-board-19.03.1.hex" if you use an UM2 extended+)

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade
    27 minutes ago, tinkergnome said:

     

    OK, but there are different hex-files with this version number and the symptoms are exactly the same as if the variant without 'expansion-board' in the name is installed.

    That's why this question came to my mind...

     

    My recommendation is to double-check that "Tinker-Mark2-expansion-board-19.03.1.hex" is used

    (or "Tinker-Mark2-extended-expansion-board-19.03.1.hex" if you use an UM2 extended+)

     

    OK thanks! I will download "Tinker-Mark2-extended-expansion-board-19.03.1.hex" and install it just to be sure that is the one that is in the machine.

     

    How exactly do I do that again? I don't see a way it will let me "copy" or download" that particular file from Github. (I don't remember how I did it before. It's been too long. And looking online it simply sais to click on "Raw" and then right click and "save as" but I do not get this option when I do that. Only to "save page as" and that obviously isn't what I want.)

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade
    4 minutes ago, CCA1 said:

    OK thanks! I will download "Tinker-Mark2-extended-expansion-board-19.03.1.hex" and install it just to be sure that is the one that is in the machine.

     

    How exactly do I do that again? I don't see a way it will let me "copy" or download" that particular file from Github. (I don't remember how I did it before. It's been too long. And looking online it simply sais to click on "Raw" and then right click and "save as" but I do not get this option when I do that. Only to "save page as" and that obviously isn't what I want.)

    Download the whole project as a ZIP folder from the main page and grab the file you need. When you download the hex file separately it won't load onto your printer properly. Believe me, been there, done that.  

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade
    3 minutes ago, dfrez said:

    Download the whole project as a ZIP folder from the main page and grab the file you need. When you download the hex file separately it won't load onto your printer properly. Believe me, been there, done that.  

    OK. Got it. I downloaded the whole thing, extracted it, and then copied the firmware file to my SD card. Or are you saying I need more than just the firmware file on the card for it to work properly?

     

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade

    Not remembering correctly. Guess I need to move my, now partly disassembled, printer over to my computer in order to plug it in to it to update firmware. (where there is obviously no room to put the printer)

     

    Time to clean the desk..... lol

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade
    Just now, CCA1 said:

    Not remembering correctly. Guess I need to move my, now partly disassembled, printer over to my computer in order to plug it in to it to update firmware. (where there is obviously no room to put the printer)

     

    Time to clean the desk..... lol

    Yep, you update the firmware with the USB cable. You select the update file after you connect to the printer in Cura. 

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade
    14 minutes ago, dfrez said:

    Yep, you update the firmware with the USB cable. You select the update file after you connect to the printer in Cura. 

    That did it!!  Fans seem to work as they should now. Cant say "Thank you!!" enough.  Gonna retry soluble support printing again and see if that makes any difference.

     

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade
    On 4/12/2020 at 1:24 PM, danielkrice said:

    Hi @Whom,

     

    Any chance you could share the modified head and coupling files?

     

    Many thanks,

     

    danielkrice

      

      I too have had a difficult time because of the extended version being taller and therefore the bowden tube being "stiffer" and forcing the clamping fixture apart when the head gets too close to back right corner of the machine. (not even THAT close to the back right corner lately, since the magnets have lost some of there force)

     

       I do have an alternative design similar to this one, however it is simply just the original design with more magnets added to it. I couldn't see exactly how @whom was doing his design, so I just came up with my own. I have printed it, but not assembled or tried it out yet, so you would be doing so at your own risk. If you would like the files I have, I would be happy to share them. Let me know what format you would like.

     

    Not sure if we are allowed to put our own email addresses on here? Otherwise, click my profile, go to my website and choose the "contact me" option. That works too.

     

    clamping assembly.jpg

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade
    20 minutes ago, CCA1 said:

    That did it!!  Fans seem to work as they should now. Cant say "Thank you!!" enough.  Gonna retry soluble support printing again and see if that makes any difference.

     

     

    don't thank me, TinkerGnome did most of the work helping. lol. 

    9 minutes ago, CCA1 said:

    danielkrice

      

      I too have had a difficult time because of the extended version being taller and therefore the bowden tube being "stiffer" and forcing the clamping fixture apart when the head gets too close to back right corner of the machine. (not even THAT close to the back right corner lately, since the magnets have lost some of there force)

     

       I do have an alternative design similar to this one, however it is simply just the original design with more magnets added to it. I couldn't see exactly how @whom was doing his design, so I just came up with my own. I have printed it, but not assembled or tried it out yet, so you would be doing so at your own risk. If you would like the files I have, I would be happy to share them. Let me know what format you would like.

     

    Not sure if we are allowed to put our own email addresses on here? Otherwise, click my profile, go to my website and choose the "contact me" option. That works too.

     

     

     

    I would try getting some magnets from a reputable source first. I found the strength of N52 magnets varied a lot between a random eBay seller and the reputable seller I bought mine from. With the eBay seller the head would pop off easily and all my problems went away with the quality magnets. Side by side you can just feel how much stronger they are even though they're both supposed to be N52 rated. 

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade
    4 minutes ago, dfrez said:

    don't thank me, TinkerGnome did most of the work helping. lol. 

     

    I would try getting some magnets from a reputable source first. I found the strength of N52 magnets varied a lot between a random eBay seller and the reputable seller I bought mine from. With the eBay seller the head would pop off easily and all my problems went away with the quality magnets. Side by side you can just feel how much stronger they are even though they're both supposed to be N52 rated. 

    I did buy all new magnets from the source you gave me. Apex Magnets. Although they list those magnets as N48 and not N52.

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade
    3 minutes ago, CCA1 said:

    I did buy all new magnets from the source you gave me. Apex Magnets. Although they list those magnets as N48 and not N52.

    I didn't realize you were the same person I recommended them to earlier. Whoops. Yeah, you're right. They are listed at a lower strength. 

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade

    They still "feel" strong. 🙃

     

    I haven't had the opportunity to try them out yet though. Got the head parts printed and then found the fan problem and tore the machine apart. (apparently for no reason since it appears it was just a firmware issue all along)

     

    Once I get the machine back together and the heads switched out it will be fun trying the new setup. For now, work got busy (which is a good thing since it was pretty slow for the last couple weeks) so the printer is on the back burner.

     

    And yes, Thank you Tinkergnome!!    😄

    • Like 1
    Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted (edited) · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade

    Hi, I have been an happy user of the mark2 with the expansion board for many years. Now I had to replace the ulticontroller (front board) and front OLED screen because... well I do not know exactly, but at some point on power on it smelled like electrical smoke and went dark. Now I could get a new ulticontroller from Ultimaker (via @Dim3nsioneer's shop) and I am on my way putting everything back together.

    But now the nozzle fan of the second printhead does not work.

    I mean, it never turns on, even if I warm up the nozzle above 40°C (or even 70°). I have the same modified thinkergnome firmware that used to work before (where the fan came online above 40°). I obviously checked all connections but could not see anything abnormal. The part fans with PWM on extruder #2 work as expected.
    With a multimeter I measured a mere 0.05 volt (but could be my multimeter running out of battery) at the "hotend fan" connector on the mark2 board. 2 questions:

    is anybody aware if recent revisions of the ulticontroller are still compatible with the mark2 expasion board?

    I did some more diagnostics...

    measured voltage on "hot end fan" socket with the cables to the hotend *disconnected*:

    below 40°C: 4.87v (but it should be 0?)

    above 40°C: 0.05v

    and with the hotend cable *connected*:

    below 40°C: 0.91v

    above 40°C: 0.02v

    So I'm a complete noob in matter electronics, but could it be that when the ulticontroller gave up (see above) it somehow affected some component on the mark2 board?

    I attach below the (I think) relevant part of the board diagram from https://github.com/foehnsturm/Mark2/blob/master/Mark 2 expansion board/Expansion board schematic rev1.jpg

    Is there a way to ascertain that the issue is with the mark2 board? If I could be sure that the problem originates from the mark2 board and not from something else down the chain (at this point that would be the mainboard, since the ulticontroller and the screen are brand new..), I'm almost ready to buy a new mark2 card ...


    UPDATE: thanks to the eagle files on github, I could physically locate the #4 pin on J1 : it is the one in the middle of the second row. I also checked that the fan works correctly by connecting it to the #1 hotend fan socket.
    I could do the following measurements on the pin4 of the cable coming from the ulticontroller:
    with fan cable *disconnected*:
    0v below 40°C

    4.85v above 40°C

    with fan cable *connected*:

    0.08v below 40°C

    4.85v above 40°C

     

    The signals 0v / 4.85v coming from the ulticontroller seem to be consistent with a pin low/high on the mega, thus a sign that everything is good on the side of the mainboard/ulticontroller, or am I wrong?

    If this is correct, is there any chance that this problem can be traced down precisely to one of the 4 components involved (2 transistors, 1 diode and 1 resistor)?

     

    Thank you in advance for any advice...

     

    technolazy

    mark2.png

    Edited by technolazy
    Added schematics
  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade

    Update: I've finally chosen the lazy option and bought the last mark2 board the swiss reseller had in stock. Replacing a couple of transistors would probably have cost 60x less, but I consider this as a last tribute to this excellent project.  Incidentally, I also realized later that my original mainboard's stepper were not working anymore. Eventually the only option was to install a clone UM2.1.4 mainboard from China, with the driver for the #2 extruder still installed. That solution seems to work but I won't leave the machine printing unattended, which limits considerably the kind of work I can do with it.  As soon as I have some time to play around, I'll hopefully install a duet3d and have the tool changer work. Maybe.

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted (edited) · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade

    Does anyone have any tips on tuning the toolchange retractions so that you don't need to print with a prime tower? I searched this thread for specific advice and it pretty much boiled down to: 

     

    1. use the default settings of 16mm @ 20mm/s 

    2. change the speed and not the length

    3. depends on material(s)

     

    Is the goal to have it just barely extrude material before switching nozzles? My main concern is avoiding underextrusion after a toolchange... 

     

    A few of the dual extrusion test prints I've done still have a few boogers on the print from nozzle changes and it also makes a huge mess after a long print with the little strands everywhere.

     

    I'd be more apt to use a prime tower instead but the Cura 3.2 square tower is annoying. 

    Edited by dfrez
  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade
    On 12/19/2017 at 10:41 AM, TheFox said:

    I had this issue too...

     

    i changed my power budget to 100W/180W/80W/80W to get it to work.

    In the end, i got a new PSU and used the original values.

    Some users switched to another PSU with higher wattage, but had to make a new plug.

     

     

    Hi, do you still have the original values? 

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade
    6 minutes ago, joris said:

    Hi, do you still have the original values? 

     

    The original values are 140/170/40/40

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade

    Hi Dfrez, THNXalot!

    😀

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade

    After almost three years i'am still enjoying the mark2 upgrade of the UM 2+.

    Recently I'am looking into laser cutters but due to the lack of space I thought to use the Ultimaker also for this purpose. 

    I know there are some hacks to make the Ultimaker into a laser cutter (e.g. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3022126), but I was wondering if somebody already tried it with the magnetic printhead concept of the mark2? So that you do not have to rebuild the complete printing head but have the laser available at the left corner of your machine?

     

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted (edited) · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade

    Hi guys,

    After years of following the evolution of the mark2 project, I finally got my hands on relatively cheap second-hand Ultimaker 2 (non plus that wasn't in the best shape to be honest) and did the upgrade a week after receiving the machine!
    As a UMO veteran - not even the Ulticontroller was around when I first got my machine xD- I am super amazed how well the mark2 does!
    While I have been playing around with the original dual extrusion upgrade, I must say that the mark2 is lightyears ahead in every concern!!


    I created a magnetic head for my e3d-hotend that I'll be sharing any time soon :
    1387575579_Screenshot2020-09-14at14_58_39.thumb.png.c3545b04c8cd9113510c91d27a928c76.png
    As well as a basic blade-holder for a vinyl-cutter to mimic a design I found here: 

     @IRobertI
    1572849000_Screenshot2020-09-14at14_58_02.thumb.png.39ad879f16b71353cd78e32176ef9b62.png
    With all of this being WIP, I am looking forward to try the cutter as soon as the blade arrives and give the e3D Hotend a try (all cables on the second head are already equipped with molex connectors to enable a very quick head-swap)!!

    Update: Turns out, that the mark2 penholder is a much besser way to attach the blade to the printer, as it exactly fits the 11m diameter of Roland-like blade holders AND also holdes a pen firmly!
    I adapted the design by making is little longer and tried it on the printer just yesterday, as I am still in the gcode generation process, there are no pics or upload yet.. -> I'll update you soon!

    Thanks again to every one involved in the mark2 project, @foehnsturm and @tinkergnome specifically!

    Cheers,
    JI

     

     

    Edited by ji11
    added info
    • Like 3
    Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted (edited) · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade

    I recently upgraded my Mark2 with a 280W Meanwell PSU (GST280A24-C6P) as described earlier in this thread. I initially tried lopping off the original 6 pin Molex and then attaching the Kycon connector for a cleaner install. But the solder cups on the Kycon connector were much too small for the 16AWG wires. After struggling with that, I got frustrated and just cut off the end of my original 220W PSU and spliced the 4 wires together. 😅

     

    Not as pretty as I would have liked, but it works so far. 

     

    Any suggestions for the power budget settings? Since the new PSU is 60~W more powerful, I simply added 60W to the budget. So my new settings are: 235/150/35/35. 

     

    I still notice some slight LED flicker... 

     

     

    Edited by dfrez
  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade

    Hi there, 

     

    Does the Mark2 also work with Cura 4.10?

     

    And which flavor are you using in Cura?

     

    Best, 

     

    Georg

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade

    The printer definition is called "Mark2 for Ultimaker2".

    It's still included in a default installation of Ultimaker Cura (as far as i can see).

    It uses gCode-flavor "Marlin"

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Ultimaker Mark2 - The Smart Dual-Extrusion Upgrade

    I’ve been using my Mark2 with Cura 4.8, works fine. 

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now

    • Our picks

      • Introducing Universal Cura Projects in the UltiMaker Cura 5.7 beta
        Strap in for the first Cura release of 2024! This 5.7 beta release brings new material profiles as well as cloud printing for Method series printers, and introduces a powerful new way of sharing print settings using printer-agnostic project files! Also, if you want to download the cute dinosaur card holder featured below, it was specially designed for this release and can be found on Thingiverse! 
        • 0 replies
      • S-Line Firmware 8.3.0 was released Nov. 20th on the "Latest" firmware branch.
        (Sorry, was out of office when this released)

        This update is for...
        All UltiMaker S series  
        New features
         
        Temperature status. During print preparation, the temperatures of the print cores and build plate will be shown on the display. This gives a better indication of the progress and remaining wait time. Save log files in paused state. It is now possible to save the printer's log files to USB if the currently active print job is paused. Previously, the Dump logs to USB option was only enabled if the printer was in idle state. Confirm print removal via Digital Factory. If the printer is connected to the Digital Factory, it is now possible to confirm the removal of a previous print job via the Digital Factory interface. This is useful in situations where the build plate is clear, but the operator forgot to select Confirm removal on the printer’s display. Visit this page for more information about this feature.
          • Like
        • 0 replies
    ×
    ×
    • Create New...