Ultimaker S5 screen ghosting

[Nurbs 0]

Our company got a UM S5 for our RnD efforts and have been using it for about half a year.

When I turned it on today, the touch screen are moving by itself. I'm guessing the touch gesture is ghosting.

 

Is it possible to do a hard reset? I've turned it off and on for a few times but it seems futile.

Anyone have similar encounter with the touchscreen, please share with us or I'll have to talk to the distributor.

Thanks in advance! Best- Nurbs

[AdamSFX 0]

I have the exact same issue with my S5 printer, the screen has phantom touches and input which randomly changes settings and does things like unloading material mid print and changing the language etc....

Did you find a solution for this?

[Curven 28]

Often this kind of problems come from a connector getting loose, a pinched wire or something of this sort.

 

Howewer, I do not myself own an UM S5 but I do no it is not authorized to open the covers under the printer. There is mains Voltage going on down there, it is dangerous!

Maybe you know how to handle such devices but as far as I know if you do something ther your guarantee will be lost.

 

Best to do is to make some picture or a short video wich shows the issue and send it to Ultimaker support (or you local reseller) They should be able to help you with good and precise advise on what you can or canot do on the printer.

[AdamSFX 0]

Hi Curven,

 

Thanks for the swift reply, I've uploaded a video here: https://youtu.be/5y4xfUyr0PY

 

I was thinking along the same lines, also double checked the earth connection in case there is any loose voltage flying around inside (but it hasn't cured it).  I'm heading home now but will perhaps have a look inside tomorrow to see if I can see anything obvious.

 

I'm in Malaysia and my re-seller is 4 hours drive away in KL - so I'm pretty keen to sort this out without them if I can....

[uncle_bob 21]

Hi

 

Email is a pretty good way to interact with support. They often can recommend a quick way to get to this or that fix. 

 

Bob

[AdamSFX 0]

Hi Bob,

 

Unfortunately, support in my country are closed until next week.  I could really do with a faster fix if anyone is able to offer a solution to this? 

 

Was wondering if the OP might be able to offer some insight as to what the fix was in his case....

 

Adam

 

[uncle_bob 21]

Hi

 

I'm not 100% sure that you *have* to use support "in country". That may well be the case, or it might not be for email contacts.

 

In my country, it is a "9 to 5" Monday to Friday sort of thing on the books. Indeed I have occasionally received support from them outside those hours. You *might* try an email to them even though they are closed ....

 

Bob

[AdamSFX 0]

Just an update, after speaking with support in Malaysia and Singapore, the consensus is that it's likely to be a firmware issue and the SD card needs to be replaced with a new one and new disk image.

 

I will try this procedure tomorrow and let you know how it goes!

 

[AdamSFX 0]

Update #2

 

I have had 3 technicians from the local reseller come and look at this problem today, they have re-flashed the firmware and checked all the internal connections - but the problem is still occurring.

 

They are now going to speak with Ultimaker central to see if they can shed any light on what the problem could be.

 

The screen seems to start stable - but then the ghosting gets gradually worse as time goes on.

 

The machine is still unusable as it can randomly abort or unload material at any time during the print due to the ghost input.  It has done this every time I have tried to print now 😞

 

The touchscreen is connected via a single HDMI cable, so must be receiving power and sending the touch input over that connection (direct to the Olimex A20 Lime2 board). 

 

Any ideas anyone?....

 

 

[uncle_bob 21]

Hi

 

Sounds like a defective screen. (as in a manufacturing defect at the supplier of the screens).

 

Bob

[Torgeir 242]

Hi Folks,

 

To me this looks as a faulty pressure detection overlay mat failure. Can occur due to rough pressing on the screen / defect overlay mat or detector logic failure.

The screen itself seems OK.

 

Thanks

 

Torgeir

 

[DrCeeVee 19]

There seems to be a problem with the screen's capacitive touch sensor.

 

Have you dropped any liquid on the screen, or hit it hard with your hand or another object? Is there a film/protector on the screen? Usually the capacitive touch sensor has a little flexible ribbon cable on the back of the screen, that connects to the main board and carries touch signals via I2C. Could it be that this ribbon cable has somehow been partly detached? Probably not, as these can't be detached so easily.

 

I hope I'm wrong, but it looks like you'll have to ship the unit to your reseller for a screen/touch sensor replacement.

[AdamSFX 0]

No, the machine is in an air conditioned room on a custom built bench in my clean area and hasn't had any rough treatment of anything spilled on it. 

 

I had a look at the back of the screen and nothing seemed loose or damaged.  I've attached a photo of the back of the unit as that's one of the things I checked for.  

 

I will double check tomorrow to see if there is still protective film on it, that is possible.  I will also try to swap out the HDMI cable, just in case that's what the issue is.

 

The reseller said that they would need to order a new screen from Ultimaker in order to see if that's the problem - so it looks like another few weeks with it out of action - unless I can possibly connect another monitor and a mouse to it (and detach the troublesome touchscreen).

[DrCeeVee 19]

In your photo, the capacitive touch sensor ribbon cable is the one on the left, with the label "Touch" under it. You could try to carefully remove and re-insert the ribbon cable. To remove it, you may need to push/pull or lift up some pieces or plastic on the edges of the connector, or to lift/move the black piece of plastic on top of it. You need to see the type of connector and make sure you understand how to remove and re-insert the ribbon cable. Google it. If you're not sure of what to do, don't do anything, as these ribbon cables are very delicate and can tear easily.

 

About the screen film/protector, what I meant was to remove anything that you have added on top of the screen, just in case if interferes with the touch sensor. I'm not saying the screen has to have a protector.

[AdamSFX 0]

Thanks everyone for your help with this!

 

It seems that uncle_bob is correct and it's a hardware issue with the touchscreen.

 

I tried DrCeeVees' suggestion and disconnected then reconnected the touch connector.  This didn't help BUT leaving it disconnected does completely stop the ghosting (although it also means I can't interact with the system).

 

There is no protective film on the screen that I had failed to notice or remove.

 

Therefore, I assume the ghosting is being generated by the touch panel and the fault is there.

 

I did try connecting a USB mouse into the USB port where the camera is normally connected, in the hope that it would allow me to operate the machine - but it doesn't work unfortunately.

 

So now I'm waiting for costs from the local reseller for a new part.

[AdamSFX 0]

My local reseller has finally got back to me with a quote of over $1000 and three weeks delivery for the spare part....

[DrCeeVee 19]

@AdamSFX:

 

I would look at the back of the screen / sensor to see if there is a part number of some sort, and Google it. Maybe the exact same part is available on its own (not through Ultimaker), even on eBay, for much less. Give it a try.

 

Over $1000 for this part is way overpriced! Its actual cost as a separate part is closer to $100 in my experience.

[uncle_bob 21]

Hi

 

I think I would push back a little on the "20% cost of a new printer" price for the screen. It may be that somebody is ordering in the entire electronic "guts" of the printer and tossing in a charge for 8 hours of labor.  The printer isn't that old, you might do the old "how about the warranty" rock and roll 🙂  As long as the discussions stay polite and non-confrontational, there is no real downside to asking.

 

Bob

[AdamSFX 0]

@DrCeeVee

There is an ultimaker board in the module but the actual display appears to be made by DLC Display in China (where else!), I have emailed them, so let's see if they reply.  I did have a look at a similar touchscreen I have here for Raspberry Pi, but the ribbon cable connectors are different.

 

@uncle_bob

Yes, you are correct, turns out they quoted to replace the main board and some of the wiring as well as the display module.  Just the display module is $300 without fitting it (I can do that - I'm getting very familiar with the interior of the printer now!), I have asked if they can get the part to me any faster that 3 weeks as the machine has already been out of action for several weeks due to this issue.

 

Also; I have found a small work around that might be helpful anyone else experiencing the same issue (only as a very temporary fix while waiting for the new part):  

 

By removing the 2 screws holding the back of the display module, you can lift off the module and disconnect the HDMI cable from the outside of the machine while it is operating, in that way you can stop any ghost input from interrupting your print by simply unplugging it, and only plugging it in when you need to make an input.

 

As an aside, it would be very useful modification in the firmware to be able to plug a USB Mouse into the USB slot on the outside of the machine.  I have found that if you do that, clicking the mouse will dismiss the screen saver but it doesn't give a cursor on the screen allowing you to interact.

[AdamSFX 0]

Update.

 

After the local Ultimaker agent never bothered getting back to me (or getting the part for me), so I ordered the bare display from the manufacturer, DLC in Hong Kong.

It cost half the price of the ultimaker part ($100 + shipping), took about a week to arrive and completely fixed the problem.

The old display was a little tricky to get out, but a scalpel and a bit of force was all it took, I thought it would be held in with hot glue but actually seems like black silicone sealant and double sided tape.

The connectors are fiddly, but not so difficult to connect.

 

DLC display can be contacted at: sales@dlcdisplay.com

The part number is: DLC0460AZV18RF-C-1

Edited December 1, 2020 by AdamSFX