Can't preheat PLA

[xenopaul 0]

Hi guys I posted this in my welcome note but thought it would be more practical here.

Basically I recieved my ultimaker 2 days ago and all was great it was assembled and there were samples on the print bed. Naturally I wanted to print a demo so loaded my PLA and secured it, navigated to the Ulticontroller's preheat PLA and sat back and waited. ...and waited ... The temp didn't rise and it displayed 25 / 000 where there is meant to be 25 / 180.

I took some pics of the bottom as I noticed that the heater plug was missing is this normal? :???:

Any help would be great as I'm dying to try out my new toy and it's been a while now :-P

Paul

 

[illuminarti 18]

I don't have this same version of the electronics, so I can't compare directly. I do know that the brown-orange-green connection that is hanging loose there is for a second temperature sensor if you add a second extruder - it should correspond to a brown-orange-green connector that is hanging loose on the head.

I think that's the only connector or wire that can be unconnected. The heater is indeed a two-wire connection... but it's the fabric covered one that is supposed to connect to one of the green terminal blocks on the board.

Do you have any other loose wires? It would be a good idea to make sure all the connections are seated tightly on the electronics board, and at the head.

Do you get any messages on the Ulticontroller when it fails to heat?

Also, I presume you do have the printer power supply plugged in, and aren't just trying to run it over USB power.

Another thing to try might be to connect the computer over USB, and connect with Cura or Pronterface/Printrun and see if you get any error messages displayed when you try to print?

Also, if you haven't already, go ahead and open a ticket with Ultimaker Support.

 

[illuminarti 18]

Oh, and yes, I think that the thing labelled 'heater' in your picture in fact isn't. At least on my slightly earlier electronics there isn't a connector there, just some solder pads labelled 'LEDs' (and that's where I have my LED light strip connected to).

 

[gr5 2,192]

No. Heater wires should be screwed in. Try pulling on the two cables gently. One wire will probably slip out. Put it back in and tighten it down better. You should be familiar with the web pages that talk about assembly as you can refer to them if you want to take apart your UM or learn more about it. Here's the heater wire part:

http://wiki.ultimaker.com/Ultimaker_rev.4_assembly:_Mounting_the_electronics#Step_4:_Connecting_the_Heater

 

[xenopaul 0]

No. Heater wires should be screwed in. Try pulling on the two cables gently. One wire will probably slip out. Put it back in and tighten it down better. You should be familiar with the web pages that talk about assembly as you can refer to them if you want to take apart your UM or learn more about it. Here's the heater wire part:

http://wiki.ultimaker.com/Ultimaker_rev.4_assembly:_Mounting_the_electronics#Step_4:_Connecting_the_Heater

Thanks. Do I unscrew the panel that says "do not remove while power on"? As mine came assembled It was built by the Ultimaker team I expect that this isn't the problem. Could it have happened in transit? Norway to the UK is a long way

I'm getting a bit concerned now as it obviously printed before being sent.

Thanks guys

Paul

 

[illuminarti 18]

Yes. Just loosen the screws and slide the cover off.

Bear in mind that most of us with these printers built them ourselves. Use reasonable caution when adjusting things, and don't go poking live electrical things, but in general there's no need to be scared of the printer. It's designed to be taken apart and put back together, adjusted, updated, and general messed with.

UM has built the printer for you, saving you about 15 or 20 hours of work. But it also means you've lost a huge learning experience to really understand what's going on, and how it works. And you're probably coming at it now with more of a black-box domestic appliance mindset, where you expect it to just work, and panic when it doesn't. :-)

And yes, since its new, and you paid for it to be assembled, it SHOULD work. But the point is, there's no reason to panic when it doesn't. It's still the same printer everyone else has, and you can still tinker with it and troubleshoot.

So take the cover off and check the wires. Also try connecting from a computer and see if you get any error messages when you connect or try to heat up the print head.

And do open up a support ticket with UM on their support site. With the exception of Daid, UM folks almost never seem to read or respond on the forums, and almost never to new user/totally broken printer problems. A ticket is going to be the best way to get their attention.

Quite a few recent purchasers of ready-built printers seem to be having problems lately. I wonder if maybe UM needs to reconsider their packaging? (And it's the Netherlands, nor Norway, unless they're outsourcing the build now, btw). :-)

[xenopaul 0]

 

No. Heater wires should be screwed in. Try pulling on the two cables gently. One wire will probably slip out. Put it back in and tighten it down better. You should be familiar with the web pages that talk about assembly as you can refer to them if you want to take apart your UM or learn more about it. Here's the heater wire part:

http://wiki.ultimaker.com/Ultimaker_rev.4_assembly:_Mounting_the_electronics#Step_4:_Connecting_the_Heater

Thanks. Do I unscrew the panel that says "do not remove while power on"? As mine came assembled It was built by the Ultimaker team I expect that this isn't the problem. Could it have happened in transit? Norway to the UK is a long way

I'm getting a bit concerned now as it obviously printed before being sent.

Thanks guys

Paul

 

 

It worked! There was one white wire out so I trimmed it and installed it in the terminals. Thanks so much to you both

Paul