Ultimaker S5 - one material appears to be empty

[ConnectDER 0]

Just started getting this issue on my S3. The only difference between today and yesterday is that I loaded a 1kg spool of generic PLA instead of the 350g spool of ultimaker branded PLA we have been using. My initial inclination is that the motor is having a hard time unspooling the heavier spool. The spool 1 attachment is too short to fit through the 1kg spool so I just put it on the end of the arm behind my PVA spool. Maybe it's too much friction?

[ConnectDER 0]

After watching it finish a layer to find out when the error is happening, it's the PVA extruder that's triggering it. It has been raining and there is an open window near the machine, so this lends some support to the wet PVA theory.

 

edit: I swapped in a brand new spool of PVA and the error stopped

Edited February 26, 2020 by ConnectDER

[dorlik 0]

I was having this "material empty" issue, too.  I turned off the flow sensor but the print got so filled with webs that I had to turn it back on.   I am printing with ordinary PLA from MatterHackers on a spool in back of the machine on a roller mechanism. In my desperation to deal with the material empty problem, I decided that the S5 wanted the spool to hang from the back.  I took off the Ultimaker "tough PLA" spool and set it directly in back of the machine (for no reason other than I was too busy to put it away) and put the MatterHacker PLA hanging off the spool holder.  Since then, I haven't gotten the error message. (It's been about a week.)  

 

 Is there a sensor in the Ultimaker spool?  I have no idea.  But no error message is good enough for me.  (Fingers crossed that I haven't jinxed the whole thing now.) Of course, that spool of tough PLA is going to go bad from just sitting around there...

[PKlemm 0]

I mentioned earlier in this thread that the cause of the transportation problem is often contamination in the pipe or inside the feeder. I have had these failures more often in the last year and it was always because a crumb got stuck with the filamet and thereby blocked the feeder.
This takes place e.g. sometimes when changing the filament, which is automatically withdrawn. If you take a closer look at the end of the filament, there is sometimes a drop-shaped thickening attached to it, which tears off when it is removed from the feeder and remains undetected in the feeder. The particle then sticks to the filament in the feeder. The feeder must then be opened and cleaned in order to remedy the situation.
At first I found it strange that some materials happen more often than others. As it turned out, it is because this end drop on the filament either holds better when pulled out or breaks off faster.

 

[robobartz 3]

To answer the question about the sensor. Yes, the ultimaker brand materials have a rf chip in the paper of the spool and the sensor to read it is in the spool and there is a plug that connects it to the mothership.

 

Regarding the crumbs in the tube from PKlemm.  Agree- first thing we try after the message.  we've had that issue and it works to blean out the bowden tube.  The issue we were originally having is we bought a 5kg  spool of PLA and the traction motor is not rated to turn a spool of that mass. We verified that with Ultimaker technical support. It might work for you, but touch and go. Also we had some poorly wound spools where the material was binding and it couldn't pull out the snag.

 

REQUEST TO ULTIMAKER: Please, if you can, include the specific spool# of this error  in your error message in your next firmware update(if it can interface w/hardware that way). 

[Carla_Birch 116]

1 hour ago, robobartz said:

REQUEST TO ULTIMAKER: Please, if you can, include the specific spool# of this error  in your error message in your next firmware update(if it can interface w/hardware that way). 

 

Really don't think that's needed. The error will always be for the core that was active at the time of the error is given.

 

So whatever core is lowest it the core thats given the error, in other words if core 2 is in the down placement than its that core, if core 2 is in the up placement then its core 1.

[GoncaloLaranjeira 1]

Hello,

I'm getting the "One or more material appears to be empty" error message too and it's completly random (I think).. Sometimes it print very big models (like 11 hours printing jobs), other times it starts the error message in simpler models (3 hours print job). All this times if I keep pressing "resume printing" the S5 keeps doing it's job, sometimes in a range of 1 hour I press 5-20 times and the print job keeps going, sometimes it actually passes by the hard part, other times it keeps getting the error...

I'm currently doing a print job of 8 hours and the printer is "jamming" always in the same spot (first image), if I keep pressing the "resume printing" the printer prints more 1-10 minutes and then gets the error message... I canceled the print job 1 time with a old spool because I couldn't be on the printer and I know I would loose 1-2hours just waiting and pressing "resume printing".
Today I placed a brand new spool (PLA), a brand new nozzle (AA 0.4) and changed the print job to be printed on the extruder 2 only so I would discard if it was an extruder 1 "sided" problem.. But nah.. Same, same.. 😞

Is it about some models, is the printer?
Some help would be apreciated...

 

I attached also the Cura project file.

 

In this print job it get's the error always in the finishing layer of the center.

UMS5_e8e7246b-02a8-4ea9-9fe3-54fe777a13c3.3mf

Edited June 17, 2020 by GoncaloLaranjeira

[Guest maht]

1 minute ago, GoncaloLaranjeira said:

Hello,

I'm getting the "One or more material appears to be empty" error message too and it's completly random (I think).. Sometimes it print very big models (like 11 hours printing jobs), other times it starts the error message in simpler models (3 hours print job). All this times if I keep pressing "resume printing" the S5 keeps doing it's job, sometimes in a range of 1 hour I press 5-20 times and the print job keeps going, sometimes it actually passes by the hard part, other times it keeps getting the error...

I'm currently doing a print job of 8 hours and the printer is "jamming" always in the same spot (first image), if I keep pressing the "resume printing" the printer prints more 1-10 minutes and then gets the error message... I canceled the print job 1 time with a old spool because I couldn't be on the printer and I know I would loose 1-2hours just waiting and pressing "resume printing".
Today I placed a brand new spool (PLA), a brand new nozzle (AA 0.4) and changed the print job to be printed on the extruder 2 only so I would discard if it was an extruder 1 "sided" problem.. But nah.. Same, same.. 😞
In this print job it's always in the transition from the support to the layer itself..

Is it about some models, is the printer?
Some help would be apreciated...

 

I attached also the Cura project file.

UMS5_e8e7246b-02a8-4ea9-9fe3-54fe777a13c3.3mf 309.07 kB · 0 downloads

 

This is the result of a false positive from the filament flow sensor in the feeder of the S5. You can disable it in the menu of the printer as a workaround if needed. I'll also let the team know about this.

[aag 6]

I had one feeder replaced on warranty, and that eliminated the issue. The filament channel within the feeder can become worn out pretty badly: the knurled wheels of the feeder are of hard metal but everything else is wobbly plastic. It would be nice if some third-party would be a more sturdy replacement feeder, all in metal.

Edited June 17, 2020 by aag

[GoncaloLaranjeira 1]

Just now, maht said:

 

This is the result of a false positive from the filament flow sensor in the feeder of the S5. You can disable it in the menu of the printer as a workaround if needed. I'll also let the team know about this.

I tried this workaround once and the final result was pretty visually bad 😕

[GoncaloLaranjeira 1]

1 minute ago, aag said:

I had one feeder replaced on warranty, and that eliminated the issue. The filament channel within the feeder can become worn out pretty badly: the knurled wheels of the feeder are of hard metal but everything else is wobbly plastic. It would be nice if some third-party would be a more sturdy replacement feeder, all in metal.

Will check with them to get a new feeder 😄 but I don't think my printer is still on warranty 😕 It's my company printer..

[covers911 0]

This isn't solved.

 

Whatever else the cause, it also seems to be dependent on the particular model I'm printing. I.e.:

 

I try both extruders. They both fail.

 

I print a different model with identical print settings, once with each extruder. They both succeed.

 

I switch back to the original model. Both extruders fail.

 

I switch back to the other model. Both extruders succeed.

 

Etc, etc.

 

Could someone help me out by trying to print the attached model? It's tiny..

 

Thanks,

 

-- Anthony

umma95_vista_mount_TOP.stl

Edited September 16, 2020 by covers911

[SandervG 1,521]

23 minutes ago, covers911 said:

This isn't solved.

 

Whatever else the cause, it also seems to be dependent on the particular model I'm printing. I.e.:

 

I try both extruders. They both fail.

 

I print a different model, once with each extruder. They both succeed.

 

I switch back to the original model. Both extruders fail.

 

I switch back to the other model. Both extruders succeed.

 

Etc, etc.

 

Could someone help me out by trying to print the attached model? It's tiny..

 

Thanks,

 

-- Anthony

umma95_vista_mount_TOP.stl 731.63 kB · 0 downloads

 

Hi Anthony, which filaments do you have loaded on your Ultimaker, and which print cores are installed? Can you tell us what message you received when you say 'both extruders fail'? Could it be that there was a configuration error?

[covers911 0]

Both cores are AA 0.4, both loaded with Ultimaker brand black TPU95A.

 

Cura version is 4.7.1, firmware version is whatever the latest is as of today.

 

By fail I mean that I receive the error message that is the subject of this thread: "One material appears to be empty..."

 

Not a configuration error.

Edited September 16, 2020 by covers911

[dorlik 0]

Covers911: I printed your little part on my S5 in PLA.  It printed just fine.  Nothing wrong with your file.

 

When I first got my S5 machine (I have 5 Ultimaker 2+ machines), I experienced the "One material appears to be empty" error message frequently.  (So aggravating!)  I solved the problem by putting 2 spools of the S5 filament on the spool holder.  This seems to satisfy the printer's need to sense its own filament.  I print (using whatever PLA I get from MatterHacker) from a separate spool holder.  I haven't had that error message since.

 

I hope I've been of some help.

Edited September 16, 2020 by dorlik

[covers911 0]

Hi dorlik,

 

Thanks very much for checking the model. Appreciate it. Can you confirm that you printed it with TPU? If so, can I have your settings?

 

Are you saying that you usually put a couple of Ultimaker reels on the S5's spool holder, and then print from a reel on a separate spool holder? If so, that's interesting. I was printing from a separate spool holder too, but with only one Ultimaker reel on the S5's spool holder.

[SandervG 1,521]

2 hours ago, covers911 said:

Hi dorlik,

 

Thanks very much for checking the model. Appreciate it. Can you confirm that you printed it with TPU? If so, can I have your settings?

 

Are you saying that you usually put a couple of Ultimaker reels on the S5's spool holder, and then print from a reel on a separate spool holder? If so, that's interesting. I was printing from a separate spool holder too, but with only one Ultimaker reel on the S5's spool holder.

 

I think he is saying to load two spools on the spoolholder, even if you only use one. 

[Smithy 1,144]

It makes no difference if you have a spool on the back on the holder or not if you print from an external spool holder. The NFC reader is only used during loading to detect the correct spool. After loading the NFC reader is not used anymore. 

 

The message that one material is empty comes from the filament sensor in the feeder. When you print with both cores, the message is the same, so you have to check which nozzle was currently printing, then you know which of the two feeders has notified the filament error.

 

The filament sensor UM is using, is quite good, not much false alerts, but it can happen. Specially when you print with PVA or transparent or semi-transparent materials and could also be the case with TPU. The sensor is not just a switch as you have it in other printers, the sensor detects also if the filaments moves or not. So in case of TPU which is flexible, it can happen that the sensor detects that the filament is not moving or not moving enough and you get that error. So best solution is, to disable the sensor when printing TPU, but enable it again when printing with other materials.

[dorlik 0]

Covers911:  I did not print in TPU. Your model is an STL so...no settings for the printer?  

 

I appreciate what Smithy is saying. He's clearly more knowledgeable than I am.  I can only tell you about my experience.  When I got my S5, I got the one material empty error message constantly and the machine would not print.  I disabled the the sensor in the settings but that didn't help. Then I put the S5 filament on the spool holders and started printing from another spool and I haven't had any problems since.  I have printed in TPU

 

Perhaps Smithy is correct and the filament sensor in the feeder righted itself.

 

 

[Hops 3]

I have this same issue since firmware update, i just updated 2 days ago and it giving me this error. im on firmware 5.8.0

[arkelec 1]

Just had this error, with only one material loaded.  I just pressed resume, after checking the feed.  Another 90 minutes to go to completion.

 

Firmware was updated to 5.8.0 around 9th September & I'm sure I printed this file after that date without issue.

[arkelec 1]

Printed the same items from Cura another 4 times, no repeat of the issue.

[CWD_london 0]

We been  getting this annoying message as well.  ( one material appears to be empty) 

Really annoying as it effect our work flow / projects. I was wondering if it's something to to do with the feeder tensioner . The small hole in top the feeder where you can adjust tension?

What do people think?

 

[CarloK 203]

@CWD_london  Please provide more info.

What is your system setup?
- What printer model do you have?
- What firmware version is on your printer?
- What material are you printing with?
- What nozzle size is mounted?
- Is this a recent problem? Did it work correct before? What changed?
- Did you change anything to the printer setup (moved or replaced the Ultimaker spool holder?)

 

Many things can go wrong with the flow sensor and I both hate and love this feature. I still feel bad for the print I restarted multiple times because of a flow sensor error, only to discover later that the filament was entangled and the sensor was correct.

What did you already check?

 

Here a list of potential problems and solutions collected from this thread (semi random order):
- Perhaps the sensor is correct... Verify your filament at the feeder position. If there is a large dent, then the feeder wheel did slide over the filament because of too large resistance. Perhaps your filament was entangled or the nozzle is clogged.
- Printing too fast is another legit error cause. The extruder can't keep up with the requested extrusion rate (for this nozzle size).
- The nozzle is clogged. Did you try cleaning with the cold-pull method?
- Some 3rd party material spools are wound poorly with binding at the sides of the spool.
- Material quality degradation. PVA is a known difficult material regarding moist sensitivity (it should break easily when bending, i.e. be rigid and break without bending. If it bends before breaking it's not sufficiently dry).
- A too flexible material. Materials like TPU have limited support on the Ultimaker printers. Only up to TPU-90 is supported I think.
- The feeder might be clogged with material shreddings. Open the feeder and clean it out.
- The feeder wheel is slipping because of wrong tension. The indicator should be in the middle of the gauge. See also Robobartz post about the screw popping out:

 

- The feeder wheel is worn out. The feeder wheels in the S3/S5 (not UM3) are treated to have improved wear resistance for abbrasive materials (like carbon fills but this has its limits.

- Firmware 5.2.11 has problems on some networks (very busy analysing traffic). Disconnect the ethernet cable or wifi.
- The Bowden tube might create extra friction, perhaps by loose filament particles. Test by decoupling the bowden tube from the print head and releasing the lever on the feeder. When the filament is difficult to pull you've found a problem. Try cleaning it out / replace a worn out tube.
- Some people move the filament from the back of the printer to other locations. This affects the curvature/angle at which the filament enters the feeder causing the flow sensor to have less contact with the filament. Move external spools to the opposite side of the bowden tube which they feed into.
- Some people use non-Ultimaker spool holders, for example for holding extra large 5kg spools. This is outside specifications. At least ensure these spool holders spin with low friction.

 

 

When all fails, disable the sensor (on the main screen hit the gear icon, then go to the settings button. Flow sensor is second from top.)

[robobartz 3]

As a design improvement I think the flow sensors should have 2 modes- or warnings vs. errors. The "warnings" would display a message but continue the print. The "error" would stop the machine. The "error" mode detects weather there is filament/no filament, the "warning" mode monitors the "flow" of the filament. The user could select weather they want the warnings to stop the machine-definitely want the machine stopped when filament runs out. The Creality CR10 V2 has a filament "presense" sensor it only tells you if the filament is present or run out.(at least thats how mine works) This works really well (KISS principle). I think in a lot of cases all people want to know is if the filament is out and thats the only reason to stop the machine. A lot of our issues, and the issues I've read above are caused by the sensor reporting a false condition that really doesn't exist.

 

For example, in our case when we get this message we just acknoweledge it and the print continues fine. If it were a real problem the print would be bad, and its not. So therefore the message is stalling the machine for what would be an acceptable print.

 

Regarding the spools. i think haveing the spool in the back of the printer is not the best idea (especially double wide)

Reason is because you have these on a stanard 24" or 32" table/counter/desk sometimes wall behind it and you have to pull out the machine to get at the spools. If the machine is already close to the edge the person has to hold on to it so it doesnt topple onto the floor.  Ultimaker might consider an optional side mount, 1 material on each side. Or you could put slots in the side for that, and sell it as an accessory. (both could have a material sensor it just Y's to a single connector like you have)