Fragile poor quality parts

[tojiero 8]

I have owned my Ultimaker 2 for a few years now and have become very frustrated and disappointed. The parts I print are always very fragile with appalling surface finish. I can only assume there is something fundamentally wrong somewhere. At the moment I am using a 0.4 nozzle and NGEN Co-Polyester. Parts are fibrous and seem to have very poor layer adhesion. They crack & split apart. Also the exterior surface, except where bonded to the build plate, is like velcro. any detail is impossible. 

Can somebody help me get something at least half decent from this machine?

[Torgeir 212]

Hi tojero,

 

Your printer must be a UM2+, right?

Ok. First thing first, get read of this filament, use a good known or “recommended” brand of PLA!

What you describe here is not a printer issue, -but more likely a filament issue!

In fact all of your issues point to filament property deviation. (as high water content. etc)

Make sure that there is no remains in the heat block or nozzle when using other type of thermoplastic.

 

At this site you will find material types recommended for Ultimaker printers:

 

https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/49799-material-compatibility

 

I’m sure you will see that an UM2+ can really deliver good quality 3D prints.

 

Good luck.

Thanks

 

Torgeir

[tojiero 8]

Thanks for your help. Unfortunately because I'm trying to create functional prototypes, it is important to me that I use a CPE material. Colorfab NGEN was recommended to me by the Ultimaker vender and has a good reputation. Howeve, following what you have said I have installed a brand new reel.

I have improved the fragility and wall finish by running a finer layer height. I cannot get a decent part from a 0.4 nozzle and 0.15 layer height. Printing is slow but at least I'm not getting horribly fibrous parts that fall apart.

Surface finish on a 'supported' face is still very poor and has to be heavily sanded. Any clues on how to improve this would be gratefully received.

Thanks

[Josnoww 14]

Hi Tojiero,

 

To me it seems like the problem you are describing could be caused by a number of things. From my experience the main things causing fragile crumbly like parts are;

• Under extrusion.
• Old filament / Improper storage.

 

Under extrusion itself could also be caused by a number of things;

• Extruder jamming or skipping.
• Incorrect material profile, or slicer settings.
• Clogged or contaminated nozzle.

 

To identify the root cause of the problem I need some more information. 

1. Have you always had this problem printing this material?
2. Do you have the same problem when printing other materials?
3. Have you ever printed with any abrasive materials?
4. How old are the materials you are printing? And how are they stored?
5. What kind of slicer settings do you use?
6. Did you experience any issues with the extruder while printing? Material grinding, or step skipping?

 

Thanks,

 

Jos