Ultimaker - Black Edition

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

I think you might run into trouble with the exactness of the rod positioning if you weaken their mechanical support (meaning the mounting of the bearings). The standard solution with the bearings firmly in place inside the precision-cut frame walls is probably hard to match with printed parts that are somehow attached to the frame.

But please prove me wrong! I'd love to have a solution with the stock rods.

I know a Swiss metal trader (metall-laden.ch) who does have stainless steel rods with 5mm,8mm and more diameters. But I don't think these are precision "shaft" rods. I'll have to check though; will visit them when I have time.

 

I see some chances as my backplane has significantly too big holes for the bearings and I had to wrap Teflon tape (thickness 0.13mm I think) around to fix it. I never had a problem with that fix. But it's something to have a really close look onto.

Stainless steel might be an overkill for the rods (as long as you don't run it outdoor), Calum suggests C45 (1.0503 I think). Tolerance h6 is the crucial number.

 

[jonnybischof 60]

Hmmm... I don't have the slightest clue about materials. C45 says nothing to me. Tolerance h6? Yeah, cool. I don't know what that means...

metall-laden.ch has states the alloy is "4301I / 4301F". "property" of the stainless steel rods is "H9-S". Great, now I know more.

They also have "blank / black steel" rods. Alloy is S235JR", property says "WRMWLZ". Again, now I know everything...

I emailed them describing what I want in normal words, we'll see about the answer. Maybe they can get the right stuff, should still come cheaper than importing something from the US.

About timing belts / pulleys:

It seems that MXL belts in general are actually not suitable for the UM because there is some backlash regardless of whether you use good pulleys or not (square pattern vs. rounded pattern). So I guess I'll switch to GT2 belts & pulleys anyways. I can still use my good MXL pulleys for the first machine once the second is up and running. Right now I don't want to touch my only running system...

I found robotdigg.com as a supplier of some of the hardware I'm going to need. They make promising statements about quality, but it's all chinese stuff (and we all know what that means in this industry...). Anyone has experience with their products?

/edit:

Found another one: http://openbuildspartstore.com/

Also seems to have everything I need (except for rods :(). Anyone knows this store?

 

[SandervG 1,521]

I also strongly recommend Owen's hot end bowden clamp http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:11864.You get a positive grip on the tube, but can remove it easily if you have to get to a clog from above, or if you sometimes swap in an oversized ID bowden for oversized PLA of swollen Nylon. I made the slight mod of cutting a short section of bowden that runs the length of the wooden hot end cage. I hold it in place with a M4 washer captured between the top of the wood cage and the bottom of the base-and-riser part.

 

 

I actually always advice against this mod.

I understand the idea, but you get the same result with a normal functioning tightner and horse shoe clip.

Besides, the biggest reason for me to advice against this is that there is a rather high chance you are putting too much force on the bowden tube. Onto a level where you will be squeezing it, i.e. changing the inner diameter and create under extrusion.

Only very little friction is required to change the normal flowrate.

 

 

1. Colors

I have black and "white" (natural smart ABS by Orbi-Tech) ABS, plus clear BendLay as well as access to red ABS. I'd like to stick to one of these because I don't intend to have a big variety of ABS colors. I don't like ABS and will only use it when necessary, so I don't want to have too much of it laying around.

 

So, my next approach would be red frame with black printed parts. Is that far enough away from the company-we-don't-mention color scheme?

 

Lol I was just joking about the colors. Paint it black and red if you want to

 

[jonnybischof 60]

...

Lol I was just joking about the colors. Paint it black and red if you want to

 

Yeah, but you've got a point. I don't want it to look like a product of the-company-we-don't-mention

We'll see. I really like black with red details...

On a side note:

Digitec.ch, Switzerland's biggest online computer stuff shop, has recently added the Replicator 2 to their product lineup.

They sell filament for 100 CHF per kg o.O. Is the Makerbot stuff really that expensive or are they just hoping no one will notice??? All the products are marked as best-sellers...

I've already protested, but I guess it won't have much effect. I want to encourage other Swiss people to also comment there! I may have some influence there (some people seem to recognise me being a long time customer and commenter) but it's always good to be backed up by other people.

 

[SandervG 1,521]

I once made a custom printer that was black on the outside, but was ultimaker blue on the inside.

It looked rather bad-ass. Unfortunately, the blue was just 1 grade different from the UltiController screen and another grade away from the blue tape. If you can find a more matching color that would probably look cool

 

[jonnybischof 60]

I don't know about blue. I've always been more the red type... Especially since Titan Colossus Armor from Mass Effect 1

But the blue Ulticontroller screen kinda kills the black - red scheme. I'll have to do some sketches, or maybe someone else wants to? I'm about as skilled as a chimpanzee when it comes to drawing...

I also like the Crysis-style hexagon paint. Being a geometric pattern, I might actually be able to reproduce that... Anything that is not drawing shapes by hand

Oh, and about the posts that I ignored up until now:

Thanks for mentioning everything! I did read everything and will also consider everything. There is just not enough time at the moment to consider all the stuff at once, and for some things it's too early to decide...

 

[jhertzberg 19]

I actually always advice against this mod.

I understand the idea, but you get the same result with a normal functioning tightner and horse shoe clip.

Besides, the biggest reason for me to advice against this is that there is a rather high chance you are putting too much force on the bowden tube. Onto a level where you will be squeezing it, i.e. changing the inner diameter and create under extrusion.

Only very little friction is required to change the normal flowrate.

 

Lol I was just joking about the colors. Paint it black and red if you want to

 

I understand your point, but my original UM bowden is long gone, and the replacements are of various ID ranging from true 3mm, up to 4mm. I use the 3mm one for good 2.85mm filament, and the 4mm for stuff like nylon. I suppose a further refinement that would address your concern would be to tap a blind rivet of sufficient ID into the end of the bowden.

 

[3dcase 37]

I've always been a fan of combining any dark grey / black with very vibrant yellow accents.

It always remainds me of those industrial looking safety rails with the slanted black and yellow bands but in this case it also has a 'BumbleBee-thingy' look going for it, which should work well since it's going to be buzzing with productivity like any good worker-bee should :-P

(I appologise if I come of as rambling, I just recieved some very happy news :

Dear Customer,

Your order has been shipped

==============================

Shipment Summary

============================================================

ultimaker-2-eu Ultimaker 2 Power cord: EU

9030 PLA Silver-Grey PLA Silver-Grey

============================================================

Thank you for your business.

I'm afraid I won't be able to wipe this grin of my face for the rest of the night :grin: )

 

Heeze? man.... I would have jumped in the car. I hour up one hour down, 1 to hour unbox.

Could have been printing yesterday :cool:

 

[chopmeister 0]

I see you've mentioned the MicroWave tensioners. I really suggest you try printing a few. You will be pleasantly surprised how small and effective they are. Also they weigh almost nothing.

I sincerely apologize if this post sounds like self advertising, but think about my TwisterBlocks. I've tried almost all the alternatives to the stock blocks and none of them worked for me as well as these. I prefer the nut and bolt approach to any other where the screws thread into the plastic, if for nothing else than because it's so much faster to assemble and tighten. Also, I really think the clamping forces for the 8 and 6mm rods should be separated. I've never managed to get rid of the print head wobble with two piece designs like Reptar and Banana blocks (or the stock blocks).

As for the colors, although black/red are MBI colors, they really didn't invent that color scheme, and black and red will always look cool.

For the upgrades, I agree with what's already been said, direct drive is something you will love. And of course, Z adjusters are a must. Dual fans will do wonders for more effective cooling. I didn't believe it was such a difference until I tried.

Like Sander said, I would also advise against bowden clamp upgrades, until you actually have a bowden clamp problem. I've never found that necessary on my UM. And if I'm not mistaken it ships with better clamps now that what mine had a few years back.

With the direct drive there is a way of using just one new shaft and reusing one from the UM, without changing the position of the bearings. I'm using that on my printer, but I have yet to upload the finished design.

 

[jonnybischof 60]

There's nothing wrong with advertising something if it's worth being advertised

I didn't know your blocks existed, so thanks a lot for showing me!

I noticed the printhead carriage is quite unstable and wobbly. It doesn't seem to hurt as I actually get pretty good results with my Original UM1 printer, but it's something I'll be happy to improve if possible.

So I'll definetly give your blocks a try. They seem a bit complicated in comparison to the very simple and stylish Reptar blocks, but if they improve the XY carriage then it's exactly what I want to have

Do you use the standard belts & pulleys? I'll switch to GT2, hope that won't be a problem...

My Summer-2013 UM1 doesn't seem to need anything fixed on the Bowden system. Works like a charm. I don't expect having to make any modifications there...

I'd be happy to hear about any kind of instructions / installation material about direct drive! I'll definetly do direct drive, but haven't decided yet which solution to use. As this will be an external mod, there is one more challenge to it: I don't want it to ruin the clean appearance of the UM, so style also matters here! Nick Foley's approach is very appealing.

 

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

[...]

I'd be happy to hear about any kind of instructions / installation material about direct drive! I'll definetly do direct drive, but haven't decided yet which solution to use. As this will be an external mod, there is one more challenge to it: I don't want it to ruin the clean appearance of the UM, so style also matters here! Nick Foley's approach is very appealing.

 

If you put design as first priority you probably shouldn't realise Calum's approach or any derivative... they definitively put function over design. But at least for me it works fine (well, 50% of it...I'm still waiting for some offerings of straight rods).

 

[jonnybischof 60]

Well of course the not so pretty motors will stick out, but that can't be avoided anyways. Maybe I'll design some sort of cover (with fan) or something for them. I'll see that if I don't like the looks...

metall-laden.ch yielded no results... They don't offer precision rods.

I'm contacting a Swiss steel trader (www.hertsch.ch). I found this which looks interesting:

http://www.hertsch.ch/-pdf/H-Cf53-1.1213.pdf

I expect a horrendous price (or maybe they don't even do small orderes at all), but maybe they surprise me...

I'll get an offering for some different quantities, maybe someone else wants some new rods, too? I'm talking mainly Switzerland, but Europe could be managed if necessary.

 

[IRobertI 520]

I bought my rods from conrad. Would that work for you? (I think this is the right link for your country) http://www.conrad.ch/ce/de/product/237205/?insert=I5&insertNoDeeplink&productname=Silberstahl-Welle-500-mm-8-mm

I don't understand the language and I can't be arsed to check conversion rates so I don't know what the price would be for you

 

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

It might work if you buy it from Conrad. But you have to cut it. With the cutting you might deform the rod and it will not fit anymore into the bearings.

Another important factor is the maximum deviation of the axis. Precision rods have something like 0.05mm which is fine. Standard rods, even with h6 toleranz have higher deviations. The company I bought my 'banana' from (@JonnyBischof: die waren von Pestalozzi in Dietikon) told me afterwards that the axis can deviate up to 1mm per meter. I had a deviation of 0.4mm in one of the rods which is not suitable for such a fine machine like an Ultimaker (imagine your print head going up and down by several tenths of mm). If no maximum axis deviation is specified I guess you have to accept such a banana. But maybe other people are luckier than I am usually... :wacko:

 

[jonnybischof 60]

The price of the Conrad rod is like 5 Euros, that's really cheap.

I guess if you buy these it's just good or bad luck - this is definetly no precision stuff.

I think the material I posted above is top quality stuff - it's meant for actual precision industrial equipment. But I guess one rod will cost somewhere around 100 Euros including cutting and chamfering. But we'll see, I hope they'll contact me soon.

At least the rods are something everyone can buy as he wishes - be it a 100 Euro overkill-rod or a 5 Euro standard-rod that will, with some luck - yield pretty much the same results...

@Dim3nsioneer:

How did you measure your banana rod error?

The only thing I can do is roll it on the table which will probably tell me more about the flatness of the table than the straightness of the rod..

 

[IRobertI 520]

It might work if you buy it from Conrad. But you have to cut it. With the cutting you might deform the rod and it will not fit anymore into the bearings.

 

I used that rod from Conrad and it worked fine for me, maybe I got lucky. One thing that was a bit annoying was that the ends weren't sawn off but rather "snipped" off so I had to saw a couple of times extra. I used a Dremel (because I was lazy) and then simply gave the ends a slight chamfer with a file so that they would slide into the bearings easily.

 

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

[...]

How did you measure your banana rod error?

The only thing I can do is roll it on the table which will probably tell me more about the flatness of the table than the straightness of the rod..

 

First estimation was exactly that way on a work bench and a table at different locations. That was actually sufficient to see it is a banana. In addition I compared it with the original rods from Ultimaker (of which one also had a very slight bend, but not as much it has to be called after a fruit...)

But for the real measurement I put the rod into the Ultimaker through the sliding block and put an indicating caliper gauge on top of the sliding block while turning the rod and looking for the highest and the lowest point. It's certainly not precise up to the micrometer but it gives an idea in which range (below or above 0.1mm) the deviation is.

Another idea might be to put the rod on a very flat surface (such as the Basalt bed from QU-BD which I think is quite familiar to you) and to check with feelers how large the maximum gap is.

 

[jonnybischof 60]

Don't these feelers cost a fortune?

Sadly, I don't have access to a fully equipped workshop anymore like I used to.

Gotta pay for every tool I need...

Didn't get a reply from Hertsch yet.

I'd strongly prefer getting a rod already cut to the right length and chamfered with professional tools, even if that costs a lot. It will give the best possible result...

By the way:

 

Dear Customer,

Your order has been shipped

==============================

==============================

Shipment Summary

============================================================

UltiController Kit UltiController Kit

1054 Nozzle 0.4mm Nozzle

ultmaker-original-kit Ultimaker Original kit

ultimaker-eu Ultimaker Power cord: EU

============================================================

 

 

One thing I love about the UM1, no waiting time

 

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

Don't these feelers cost a fortune?

...

 

No, just about 2 Swiss Francs per piece. E.g. here. Nothing compared to a spare nozzle from Ultimaker for €15. :wink:

 

[mastory 44]

A good source for precision rods is Misumi. I think they ship worldwide. Pricing is competitive +. Quality, delivery, professional. They have an ultra precision series that I would buy if I were upgrading to direct drive. The 6mm shafting there (correct series) is slightly larger diameter. It could reduce the gntry backlash.

If I upgrade to direct drive, or replace bushings, I will replace with shafting from Misumi.

[jonnybischof 60]

Looks great!

The prices are very cheap and they supply exactly the lengths you specify o.O

I guess I'll give this one a shot if I don't get a reply from Hertsch soon...

I may need some help choosing the ideal settings, but first I should look a bit closer into it myself.

Anyone knows a link that explains the "h5", "h6" etc. tolerance system? That's gotta mean something a normal person understands...

Oh, and have you tried contacting them?

OMG

They have GT2 belts and EVERYTHING http://de.misumi-ec.com/eu/ItemDetail/10302190510.html (may come out in german but you'll get the idea...)

You're my hero chopmeister!! I guess I have my supplier for most parts I'll ever need for the printer

 

[chopmeister 0]

OMG

They have GT2 belts and EVERYTHING http://de.misumi-ec.com/eu/ItemDetail/10302190510.html (may come out in german but you'll get the idea...)

You're my hero chopmeister!! I guess I have my supplier for most parts I'll ever need for the printer

 

Although I do like being the hero now and then, mastory provided you with the link to misumi. But a nice typo it was, I thought for a second I did something very useful I didn't even know about.

Be advised though that Misumi will not (AFAIK) ship to individuals, they only work with companies.

As or the H6 and the like, all those tolerances are explained in the Misumi catalogue.

 

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

Chopmeister is right about Misumi not delivering to individuals. Fortunately there are ways around that restriction. However, they also claim not to sell to resellers which might make things complicated.

And thank you also from my side, mastory!

@JonnyBischof: I saw the GT2 belts and pulleys as well. :smile: However, the smallest pulley has 20mm diameter which is 3mm more than the original Ultimaker pulleys. :eek: But maybe it will work. Btw: I haven't heard anything from two of the three companies I asked for offering precision rods. The third company just sent me an offering but their axis deviation can be up to 0.3mm per meter.

 

[jonnybischof 60]

Ooops, fail (usually I read more thoroughly...)

Ok so, I'm sorry but I have to correct that: mastory, you're my hero!

If necessary, I can place orders in my company's name. It says on their homepage that there are no MOQ and no extra charges for small quantities. So at least it should be possible to make non-bulk orders..

/edit

I didn't take a closer look on the pulleys yet, just saw the belts...

Well, it would kinda suck if they don't have the right pulleys, but at least they have the belts in correct length - didn't find these anywhere else, and I'm not really keen on clamping belt ends together.

/edit:

They also have bearings, bushings and whatever other stuff for linear motion

 

[jonnybischof 60]

Little update:

Got the "go" for ordering at Misumi from my company - coincidentally we need stuff from them anyways (building a needle-test adapter for electronic circuit boards atm).

And I received my UM1 kit today, now I'm ready to take measurements and get this thing started