Various issues with new S3?

[donogh 2]

Hi all,

 

I received and set up a new Ultimaker S3 yesterday.

 

On first load of the AA 0.6 core with tough PLA black, it got stuck and wasn't extruding. So I removed it, and ran the cleaning procedure for the print core, and then it started extruding.

 

With that 'fixed', I printed 3D Benchy at 60% scale, 0.1mm [default]. Even though I'd read it was unnecessary, I used the glue that came with the printer, and I turned off Adhesion in Cura, for a smoother print. It came out okay -- see attached. There were quite a few damaged layers, and stringing in the gaps. I was expecting better out of the box, given that I was using Ultimaker filament and it's a brand new machine. I put it down to maybe needing supports, or that I should try a finer print next time.

 

The next test was this toothpaste squeezer: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2618317

 

Decided not to use black, and instead replaced material 1 with Ultimaker CPE White. I didn't use glue on the bed, and I printed at 0.2mm with no supports. This time, there was a lot more stringing, and the cogs in the model nearly completely failed. (Not shown in the attachment is lots more stringing I'd removed after the print.)

 

I thought, okay, my fault, I should have used supports. So I went to print just the cogs with PVA support (which had been loaded during initial set up).

 

However, as soon as I started the print, I could see it was running into trouble quickly -- the CPE White was curling up in the print head, not adhering to the bed, and generally making a mess. It was then I noticed that the core was pretty clogged up with black PLA -- it was all over the sides of the nozzle, some had gotten under the silicone, etc. Rather than trying to clean it in situ, I replaced the core entirely with the second AA core that came with the printer.

 

(In the third attachment, you can see there is still some black PLA residue stuck to the core I removed. I'm sure it won't be too hard to clean, and looks like the core will be okay?)

 

This led me to my next problem: having replaced the core, the printer asked for an XY calibration. I tapped okay and let it run. The fourth attachment shows how it came out -- The Y axis calibration was deformed in the corner, and on both the X and Y axes the BB core had printed barely any of the calibration lines (with PVA, which had been extruding well earlier).

 

I ended up abandoning calibration and went back to trying to print the cogs again.

 

Before starting, I reloaded the materials into the cores, and made sure they were extruding successfully. The only point worth noting is that the PVA was extruding *very* slowly (though consistently).

 

With that done I restarted the print and.. well, quickly stopped it again. Lots of stringing, bad adhesion, and I had to manually wipe the nozzle on the AA core to clear it of white CPE. (It didn't even get to extruding with the second core/PVA) -- see fifth attachment.

 

At this point, I'm a bit stuck. I must be doing something wrong? I assume the printer uses the correct temperatures based on the selected materials? Is it just a matter of always using glue? Is it really that easy to clog a print core per with the black PVA, or was I just unlucky? Any general tips/advice, please?

 

(I should say that I'm pretty new to 3D printing and naively[?] was expecting a more plug'n'play experience than this..)

[donogh 2]

I tried one more print with the same materials but a completely different model.

 

You can see a video of it just after starting here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/dr5s8e1i9r4czxv/bad print.MOV?dl=0

 

Before that, while calibrating, it was continually extruding small amounts of white CPE, which I wiped off a couple of times in a bid to help it progress.

 

I then aborted the print. Please see two more images attached: [1] the bed showing the failed start and [2] the AA core showing quite a lot of material adhered to the print head.

[donogh 2]

Quick update: I RTFM'd the Ultimaker CPE page and glue on the bed is recommended.

 

I tried one more print with just glue, and the print lifted from the bed halfway through, so I aborted.

 

It's re-printing now with glue and Adhesion ticked on in Cura, and it looks good!

 

Nervous to add PVA into the mix; that's up next with the cog model from the toothpaste squeezer..

 

[Diary of a 3D printing noob/new S3 user..]

[Framar 38]

OK something is wrong here. Your prints look horrible.

Please confirm that you were using 0,6mm print core beacause usually the printer comes in with 0,4mm ones. 

Then I would make the assumption that the printer is in good condition and the bad prints come from not optimal settings. I would suggest you print with PLA using the default Cura settings and print a test cube. If that fails then maybe the printer is at fault.

 

Keep us updated.

[donogh 2]

Thanks for the reply Framar.

 

Yes, I can confirm it's the 0.4mm core, my mistake.

 

I will switch back to black PLA and print a test cube. Would this work or something simpler, please? https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1278865

 

Edit: I'll go with this one I guess, keep it simple: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:38108

 

Will provide an update soon as it's done.

Edited April 29, 2020 by donogh

[donogh 2]

In the process of printing the cube, I installed Cura 4.6.1. When I started it, it prompted me that some existing settings for the printer were invalid, and it forced a reset. I'm not sure if that made any difference.

 

Anyway, I loaded UM Tough PLA Black into core 1, and made sure it was extruding okay. With the default settings in Cura 4.6.1, using the 'Visual - Fine - 0.1mm' preset, I printed the attached file.

 

The cube seemed to print fairly well. The attached images show the result from a few angles. I checked with a digital calipers and all sides are approximately 20mm, +/- 0.1mm basically.

 

Seems okay?

 

Any thoughts on where to go from here, please? I have 3 spools of CPE filament (black, white, and transparent) and would love to be able to print with those.

 

Thanks!

UMS3_20mmTestCube.gcode

[Framar 38]

Hi Donogh, 

 

Your test cube looks great so the printer is not in cause here. Need to focus on the print settings for CPE. I'm just starting printing CPE myself so I don't know how I can guide you on the settings side. That being said, I would print the same test cube in CPE material using the same print core as the one used for PLA  and using CURA's default print settings for CPE.

 

For the bed adhesion I use 3DLac spray. For 3" x 2" rectangle shape prints the corners tends to loose adhesion of the glass but overall the prints are OK.

 

Good luck!

[donogh 2]

Hi Framar,

 

That's a great suggestion, thank you. Will try the cube on CPE next.

 

I will definitely get some 3DLac spray too. I tried both Magigoo and UHU already; UHU seemed to work better.

 

As an aside, I tried to print this whole model at once last night: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3681512

 

I thought I had printed it with PVA supports, but found out in the morning that I hadn't ticked on the box. Most parts still turned out okay. I'm re-printing a few now with PVA support on, but I'm seeing quite a lot of stringing of the PVA [the black PLA is fine]. See attached.

 

Only doing skirt adhesion and using UHU this time. I'm going to let it run, see how it turns out.

 

In general, with this 3D printing work, it seems like I'm going to be experimenting much more than I thought I'd have to! Still fun!

 

Oh and I need to order more PLA since it's more straightforward to print with. Ordered the Ultimaker CPE thinking that the "fancy stuff" would work better !

 

Thanks again,

Donogh