Ultimaker S5 Quality Disappointment

[Gabriele 8]

Hi, 

after some years using Zortrax printers I decided to buy an UMS5. 

After some weeks of test I'm quite disappointed by the results. 

At the moment my old Zortrax M200 is better than the UMS5 in any possible aspect, overall quality, details, dimensional accuracy, material presets. 

After lot's of test I think that the main problem my S5 suffer is lot's of ringing. The only way I can manage to have acceptable print is to stay under 40 mm/s.

I noticed that the print head suffer from mechanical backslash.

I attach you a slow motion video where you can clearly see that the printhead vibrate badly every time it change direction. 

Is this the expected mechanical quality for a printer that declare to have a 6.9 micron XY resolution and cost 5.5k or do you think my machine has some problems?

When the direction is inverted I also hear a "clicky" sound.

I'm using Cura 3.5.1 and the latest firmware, only Ultimaker original materials with respective Cura profiles. 

 

 

Slow Motion Video: 

 

 

Edited October 28, 2018 by Gabriele

[Smithy 1,144]

Hi

You should check if you have some play on the y/x axes. Check the Ultimaker website for instructions how to check it and if you have play, how to remove it. It is not hard to do and can help in some cases.

 

My S5 makes no click sound when changing the direction, but I had play on one axis right after unboxing, which I have solved before the first print.

 

The click sound can come from such an axis when the pulley bumps against the enclosure on the sides or front/back.

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

In addition to what @Smithy already wrote about the axles, please do not use the Magnalube on them but the Unilube.

[yellowshark 153]

Hi @Smithy I tried to send you a message but got a 502 Bad Gateway error.  I was interested in your post above. I went to the Ultimaker site but could not find the info you referred to. Could you be a bit more specific so I could find it. I looked under resources/troubleshooting/hardware but could not find it. Should I be looking somewhere else?

[Smithy 1,144]

I got your message, but I post the links here again.

 

Here you find the instructions how to check the play:

https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/52606-check-for-play-on-the-axles

 

And here the instructions how to fix it: (It is for the UM3, but it is the same for the S5)

https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/50871-check-for-play-on-axles

[ultiarjan 1,223]

And while you're checking axis, please also check if the xy axis are properly aligned.

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/ultimaker-s5-axis-alignment-tool

 

[Shadowman 53]

I read your post, watched your video, and read the numerous replies; I can’t speak from a technical position but rather share that my S5 does not sound or operate as yours.

 

I suspect that as mentioned; a minor adjustment and you will be experiencing great prints.

[HardWater526 4]

I set my S5 up Friday, and had a clicky x axis bar. Run through the calibration that was posted above, and that should take care of the mechanical part. I have also learned that the default profiles included with cura are in no way appropriate for engineering level work. Right now i have it set up on the tough PLA with a .3 layer height, .35 line width, 99% flow, 40mm/s speed on everything except the first layer, and acceleration and jerk control turned off, and uncheck infill before walls. This is producing beautiful prints that are within 0.001" for me. This could probably use some more tweaking, and YMMV, but it's miles better than the stock profiles, and really makes the printer worth the cost. 

 

If Ultimaker is going to market a printer in this price range for engineering type work, they really do need to set up profiles for dimensional accuracy right out of the box. Had I not found another post detailing most of those settings, I would be sorely disappointed in the performance as well. 

[Smithy 1,144]

The default profiles are a compromise between both worlds, dimensional accuracy and beautiful prints.

 

But I agree, I would be a good idea to make an engineering profile and an "art" profile or with whatever naming. Then it should be clear for everyone looking the first time to Cura, what to choose.

[Shadowman 53]

1 hour ago, HardWater526 said:

I set my S5 up Friday, and had a clicky x axis bar. Run through the calibration that was posted above, and that should take care of the mechanical part. I have also learned that the default profiles included with cura are in no way appropriate for engineering level work. Right now i have it set up on the tough PLA with a .3 layer height, .35 line width, 99% flow, 40mm/s speed on everything except the first layer, and acceleration and jerk control turned off, and uncheck infill before walls. This is producing beautiful prints that are within 0.001" for me. This could probably use some more tweaking, and YMMV, but it's miles better than the stock profiles, and really makes the printer worth the cost. 

 

If Ultimaker is going to market a printer in this price range for engineering type work, they really do need to set up profiles for dimensional accuracy right out of the box. Had I not found another post detailing most of those settings, I would be sorely disappointed in the performance as well. 

 

Well stated......

 

I would appreciate knowing the tweaks that you made or if able a copy of the profile that you created for Tough PLA because I too have mentioned dimensional accuracy; or lack thereof in a previous posts.

 

I am not the tech guy when it comes to the laundry list of tweaks but rather the guy that loads a print and trust the profile.

 

Thank you 

[HardWater526 4]

The main improvements came from turning off acceleration and jerk control, and setting all the speeds the same (at 35-40mm/s). For what I use it for (making jigs, gages and samples for plastic extrusion) the 0.3 layer height gives the best combination of strength, speed and detail.

 

I still need to tune out some vibrations showing up in that profile, but I have a bunch of 1-2 hour prints to do, so hopefully I can get something solid enough to post soon. You will still probably need to tweak it a bit for your individual machine for best results, but it should get you in the ball park. 

 

 

[Gabriele 8]

Hi everybody, thank you for the tips.

I checked the axes play but I didn't noticed anything strange. 

I think that the mechanical play is generated between the linear bearing and the shaft in the print head. 

At high speed/acceleration the head vibrate and I noticed that also the build platform tremble a little bit. 

I did lot's of tests with different filaments, I'm mainly printing PLA Tough, Nylon, PETG. Dimensionally speaking Nylon and PETG provided me the best results so far but i need more tuning of the PLA Tough.

At the moment I also reduced the speed significantly around 30/40 mm depending on the materials and I'm building my custom profiles and materials in order to achieve best performances. Coming from Zortrax world I was used to plug and play profiles but as you already stated this is not how Ultimaker works. 

 

One thing that I don't understand is if there is a possibility to equalise filament flow during accelerations. 

I made some test and I'm pretty sure my Zortrax equalise it because use higher printing speed with smooth acceleration and you don't have the blobby corner at sharp edges. 

 

@HardWater526 don't you have ringing issues with 40 mm and no acceleration control?

+1 To uncheck print infill before walls, I totally missed it!

[Shadowman 53]

1 hour ago, HardWater526 said:

The main improvements came from turning off acceleration and jerk control, and setting all the speeds the same (at 35-40mm/s). For what I use it for (making jigs, gages and samples for plastic extrusion) the 0.3 layer height gives the best combination of strength, speed and detail.

 

I still need to tune out some vibrations showing up in that profile, but I have a bunch of 1-2 hour prints to do, so hopefully I can get something solid enough to post soon. You will still probably need to tweak it a bit for your individual machine for best results, but it should get you in the ball park. 

 

 

Thank you 

[HardWater526 4]

Here is the profile that I have had very good dimensional results with. The ringing in this one is no worse than the stock "fast" profile, at least for me. It's good enough for the parts I print, where dimensions are far more important than looks. If you find any tweaks that improve upon this, please let me know. 

DIMENSIONAL PROFILE.curaprofile

[Shadowman 53]

11 minutes ago, HardWater526 said:

Here is the profile that I have had very good dimensional results with. The ringing in this one is no worse than the stock "fast" profile, at least for me. It's good enough for the parts I print, where dimensions are far more important than looks. If you find any tweaks that improve upon this, please let me know. 

DIMENSIONAL PROFILE.curaprofile

Thank you again.

 

I will try it in a few days as I am in the midst of a multi day print.

 

Takes care