Jump to content

UM2 - First Problems, Successes


illuminarti

Recommended Posts

Posted · UM2 - First Problems, Successes

After a frustrating first week of issues that had to be fixed (incorrect and physically broken fan wiring, mostly), I finally got my new UM2 up and running properly this past weekend, and I've been pretty impressed with the results in my limited testing so far. My first test piece was http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:53451, and it came out pretty much flawlessly - needing just a touch of clean up to free the very first layer:

Emmett Gear Bearing

I printed a few more things, all turning out pretty well, but then I also ran into the axis-shifting problem that Ian highlighted. My front axis rod gradually slipped leftwards, to the point that it actually fell out of its bearing on the right side.

Interestingly the print carried on, almost flawlessly - the only effect was that it looked like the printer skipped a few steps on the y-axis when it happened, so the print shifted backwards about 0.25mm from that layer on. Once I realized what happened, I stopped the print, and repaired it. The front left pulley that caused the problems was still seemingly very tight, but I loosened it, pushed everything back into place, and tightened it up hard again. I'll keep an eye on it, but I didn't see any signs of it moving in subsequent prints.

 

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · UM2 - First Problems, Successes

    From my experience with the rod failing, in particular, I had a couple of thoughts about the streamlined user interface on the UM2 - it would be very helpful if the following maintenance features were available:

    1) Abort print should pull the head up off the print, and maybe even home it in X and Y, or perhaps move it to front center for maintenance - and release the steppers.

    2) I couldn't seem to find a 'release steppers' command, so after the abort, the head just sat on the print, and I couldn't easily move the head off it.

    3) There needs to be finer control over bed height than just 'raise' and 'lower'.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · UM2 - First Problems, Successes

    i really miss a "pause print" option and "change filament" during the print,also an option to turn off the led lights(during print), and manual feed material just before print in custom options (after press print)and cud feed material just a little before the print starts cud be amazing... :-P

    dont really necesary but home head after bed leveling cud be good too.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · UM2 - First Problems, Successes

    I'm still in the buying, or "decision making", process between the original UM and UM2.

    I'm a little confused - are these features that are present with the original Ultimaker that have somehow been removed? Is it removed through the updates to Cura or by hardware changes?

    (i'm referring to "pause print", "change filament", "release steppers", etc.)

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · UM2 - First Problems, Successes

    The UM2 has a totally new control panel, so the old 'Ulticontroller' user interface has been replaced with a new design.

    Currently it's lacking some features compared to the old one. There's no reason that the firmware can't be changed to add these features back.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · UM2 - First Problems, Successes

    Hoping to receive my UM2 next week, i was wandering.

    -Do you use the "ULTI G-code" standard generated by Cura, or did you switch to "Rep/Rap" for more control? (Cleary preferable from my point of view).

    -And if you switched to "Rep rap" or want to generate programs using Slic3r or something similiar, do you need to change the steps per E firmware settings? (E in cubic mm or E in mm filament length).

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · UM2 - First Problems, Successes

    Hello illuminarti im sure when I abort a print my Um2 homes the head and lowers the bed. Being a newbie I have aborted a fair few prints.

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · UM2 - First Problems, Successes

    Currently it's lacking some features compared to the old one. There's no reason that the firmware can't be changed to add these features back.

     

    Can and will. It's a simple case of time and priorities.

    Cancel should home the head for example, but this does not always happen due to buffering issues. Pause always has been a troublesome thing.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · UM2 - First Problems, Successes

    I use the Ultigcode so far - I like some of the things that it does, such as directly volumetric extruder coordinates, and firmware-based retraction.

    The main disadvantage of Ultigcode is that you can't add your own start and end gcode. The other 'lack of control' issues relate to the control panel, and that doesn't really change based on the flavor of gcode.

    I don't know the answer about steps-per-e...

    Daid - if the UM2 is given a traditional gcode file, does it revert to expecting e-coords in linear mm of filament? More generally how does it decide if its being given a normal v. ultigcode file to work from?

     

    Hoping to receive my UM2 next week, i was wandering.

    -Do you use the "ULTI G-code" standard generated by Cura, or did you switch to "Rep/Rap" for more control? (Cleary preferable from my point of view).

    -And if you switched to "Rep rap" or want to generate programs using Slic3r or something similiar, do you need to change the steps per E firmware settings? (E in cubic mm or E in mm filament length).

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · UM2 - First Problems, Successes

    I know it will come with time... :-) It can just be a bit frustrating if you know your way around a UM1 - it feels like there's a barrier between the user and the mechanism. I understand it's easier for new users, but it's now hard or impossible to make the finer adjsutments I'm used to.

    FWIW, I don't think I've ever had it do anything but sit dead on the print after selecting 'abort' on a print with the UM2.

    One thing I'd really like is preheat options - I know I can turn the bed and head on separately, but then I'm stuck twiddling the knob forever... I like being able to do 'Preheat PLA' and have everything heat up while I go copy the gcode onto the SD card. Then I can come back with the SD card, hit print, and the print starts pretty quickly.... I can check that the first layer is ok, and then leave it.

     

    Can and will. It's a simple case of time and priorities.

    Cancel should home the head for example, but this does not always happen due to buffering issues. Pause always has been a troublesome thing.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · UM2 - First Problems, Successes

    I agree with your comments Illuminarti.

    Also I'd like to add that when heating the head manually, it should not start at 0 as it takes way too many turns of the wheel to get it up to 180 and above.

    In the repetier firmware for our Delta Tower, when you heat up manually it starts at 170 (once your start turning the wheel) so you do not have to turn to many times. I think it's a very small change and smart :)

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · UM2 - First Problems, Successes

    I have only been using my UM2 for a couple of hours and I already found the "start at 0" thing annoying. Many micro wave ovens have the same problem and there it is usually solved by the increase in value increases the more you turn and by that speeding up the increase of the temperature value. The user interface on most phones do the same these days.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · UM2 - First Problems, Successes

    when you heat up manually it starts at 170 (once your start turning the wheel) so you do not have to turn to many times

     

    Great idea!

    Please add this as a feature request for Cura gadgetfreak. You can do this here:

    https://github.com/ErikZalm/Marlin/issues

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · UM2 - First Problems, Successes

    I got hold of an Ultimaker 2 yesterday, and I would echo Illuminarti's comments.

    One thing I found worrying was when I aborted a print on the first layer, and hit the home button, this of course took the print head back to 0,0 in X & Y but did not move in Z. so the nozzle missed the metal clip that holds the glass down by millimeters.

    Of course from now on I will always lower the bed first!

    It would be great if when you abort a print the bed would lower by 5mm or so.

    I am really impressed by the printer, i have not encountered any of the problems that some other users have found. Although my Ultimaker Original prints slightly better at the moment, but I am sure the UM2 will catch up as I get used to it.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · UM2 - First Problems, Successes

    Hello Illuminarti

    My front axis rod has also dropped out today (mine decided to go right). I have pushed it back but am not sure how to make sure it stays there. The rear rod was also on the move.

    Along with the print bed scraping the unsecured shielding at the rear right and screws dropping out of the print head this machine is keeping me on my toes.

    The Cura multiple print option not preventing the print head colliding with previous prints means that I will not be using that again.

    Nevertheless I am enjoying the results when the machine does work so hopefully there will come a time (in the not too distant future) when these bugs are fixed and it will be able to achieve its full potential.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · UM2 - First Problems, Successes

    The rod slides because the pulleys gradually work their way along the rod, even though they seem tight. What you need to do is loosen the pulley closest to where the rod sticks out, by undoing the grub screw in the pulley slightly. Then push the rod back in properly, and push the pulley as far as it will go towards that side of the printer. Except where the x & Y motors attach, there should be a spacer next to the pulley: push the pulley and spacer up against the bearing in the wall of the printer. Then tighten the pulley grub screw again, really tight. The rod is then held in place by the pulleys and spacers on each end being locked in place so that there's no room for the rod to slide in either direction.

    I haven't had problems with the print head scraping on the motor covers, but I know some have; check that the fan ducting is bend squarely, and properly attached to the print head.

    Finally, I'm surprised that Cura isn't getting multiple prints working correctly - I thought that was long since fixed; are you using the latest Cura? (13.11.2)

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · UM2 - First Problems, Successes

    Thanks for the help.

    The scraping issue wasn't actually the print head but the print bed, but Ultimaker are going to do something about it. My attempts with tape are not successfully holding the shielding back for any length of time.

    I have run a little multiple print test using Cura 13.11.2 rather than 13.11 as before and nothing got hit so I think this has been fixed. (It isn't listed in the overview of changes on the web page so I didn't think anything had been done).

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now
    • Our picks

      • Introducing Universal Cura Projects in the UltiMaker Cura 5.7 beta
        Strap in for the first Cura release of 2024! This 5.7 beta release brings new material profiles as well as cloud printing for Method series printers, and introduces a powerful new way of sharing print settings using printer-agnostic project files! Also, if you want to download the cute dinosaur card holder featured below, it was specially designed for this release and can be found on Thingiverse! 
          • Like
        • 10 replies
      • S-Line Firmware 8.3.0 was released Nov. 20th on the "Latest" firmware branch.
        (Sorry, was out of office when this released)

        This update is for...
        All UltiMaker S series  
        New features
         
        Temperature status. During print preparation, the temperatures of the print cores and build plate will be shown on the display. This gives a better indication of the progress and remaining wait time. Save log files in paused state. It is now possible to save the printer's log files to USB if the currently active print job is paused. Previously, the Dump logs to USB option was only enabled if the printer was in idle state. Confirm print removal via Digital Factory. If the printer is connected to the Digital Factory, it is now possible to confirm the removal of a previous print job via the Digital Factory interface. This is useful in situations where the build plate is clear, but the operator forgot to select Confirm removal on the printer’s display. Visit this page for more information about this feature.
          • Like
        • 0 replies
    ×
    ×
    • Create New...