UM2+ Connect Quirks

[dfrez 19]

I recently purchased a UM2+ Connect and have found a few "quirks" with it. I have owned and used many UM2+'s over the years and figured it would be a good upgrade. However, I've been feeling conflicted after a couple weeks of using it. 

 

There are many things that I like about it. The air manager is great, especially since I use the printer in my home office. The ability to upload files via the cloud is really convenient, no more fiddling with SD cards. The model preview when selecting a file from USB is helpful. The touch screen is good too but could be more responsive, it seems to not register my taps sometimes. 

 

First major annoyance is the new material loading/unloading procedure. Why do we have to manually feed material now? This is a huge pain for me because of where I have my printer located I basically have to hug the printer, load the spool onto the holder, insert the end into the feeder and push it all the way in basically by feel. The automated load/unload is a feature for all the other machines even the current S3/S5 which has the same feeder housing with the locking lever. Is this an attempt to make the Connect feel "cheaper" compared to others in UM's lineup? 

 

Second is the new buildplate adjustment. The old procedure initially did a rough adjustment at three points and then went around again with your calibration card or feeler gauge. But now the nozzle simply moves to the fine adjustment points, no rough adjustment. Which is fine in a perfect world, quicker and easier. But on my particular machine, the front right nut bottomed out and the nozzle was still pushing down on the glass (other UM2C users have posted about this before as well). I ended up swapping the limit switch screw with a shorter one to address this. But this wouldn't be an issue in the first place if the rough adjustment step was still there. I wanted to add a BuildTak magnetic base but that easily adds another 6-8mm of thickness and I don't think I can use a screw short enough to accommodate that without the adjustment knobs colliding with the floor of the machine. 

 

Third is the UI which has been discussed here before as well. I understand many users don't want to fiddle with different settings, which is fine but at least with the UM2+ the tune menu was there if you needed it. 

 

These are all issues that could be addressed in firmware updates but unlike the older UM2+ which at least has options like the Tinker FW, it's up to UM now to fix... 

[dfrez 19]

No one else with these issues? 

[Smithy 1,141]

I can only fully agree with you, I have the same issues, all of them.
I would also prefer the automatic loading/unloading, because my printer is also placed where it is hard to feed the filament manually. Same for the front right screw, maybe only a half turn more and the screw falls out.

 

On the other hand, the print quality is great, I really like the printer.

If we will ever see a firmware update to address these issues? I don't know....🤷‍♂️

[dfrez 19]

20 hours ago, Smithy said:

I can only fully agree with you, I have the same issues, all of them.
I would also prefer the automatic loading/unloading, because my printer is also placed where it is hard to feed the filament manually. Same for the front right screw, maybe only a half turn more and the screw falls out.

 

On the other hand, the print quality is great, I really like the printer.

If we will ever see a firmware update to address these issues? I don't know....🤷‍♂️

 

Good to know it's not just me then! 

 

It's interesting that your front right screw has the opposite problem to mine. Mine bottoms out before I can get a feeler gauge in there, but yours can't "loosen" enough to close the gap between nozzle and glass. Regardless, the rough adjustment step I was talking about would certainly solve both of these situations. 

 

I agree, the print quality is awesome. Can't beat a brand new machine with new motion components, etc. 

 

I surely hope there'll be a FW update to fix it. That's the most disappointing thing about all this, they all feel like artificial limitations due to FW changes after coming from a UM2+. 

[kupfeli 9]

I also have the same problems, but the print quality and much more important: the print RELIABILITY is soooo good with the UM2+ Connect, I just love it.

I can simply run a job during the night and dont have to be worried to find spaghetti in the morning.

Reliable prints, each and every time, that is ... when using Cura and without fiddling around with settings yourself. Cura default settings are perfect, almost for all situations.

 

What I totally dislike about the Connect: the lack of the features you are describing and the lack of material change gcode commands, but then again, reliability is more important for me.

[dfrez 19]

On 12/25/2022 at 5:29 PM, kupfeli said:

I also have the same problems, but the print quality and much more important: the print RELIABILITY is soooo good with the UM2+ Connect, I just love it.

I can simply run a job during the night and dont have to be worried to find spaghetti in the morning.

Reliable prints, each and every time, that is ... when using Cura and without fiddling around with settings yourself. Cura default settings are perfect, almost for all situations.

 

What I totally dislike about the Connect: the lack of the features you are describing and the lack of material change gcode commands, but then again, reliability is more important for me.

Agreed. The reliability is what I've come to expect from an Ultimaker and the print quality is even slightly better than my older UM2+, likely due to the brand new motion components like the belts and bearings, etc. 

 

Regarding the the g-code commands, I tried putting in a layer pause to insert some magnets into my print and it totally ignored it. Come to find out the Connect doesn't recognize g-code scripts like pause and material change. I believe this is something they are working on. 

Edited December 27, 2022 by dfrez

[kupfeli 9]

Yep, well I created my own “pause” command in a post-processing script by simply moving up and then in a pattern, so you have time enough to press the pause button. That works for being able to change material on a certain layer

[kupfeli 9]

Here is the snippet that works perfectly:

 

old_x=re.findall(r'(X[0-9][0-9]*\.?[0-9]*)',data[layer_num-1])
                    old_y=re.findall(r'(Y[0-9][0-9]*\.?[0-9]*)',data[layer_num-1])
                    old_z=re.findall(r'(Z[0-9][0-9]*\.?[0-9]*)',data[layer_num-1])
                    if len(old_x) == 0:
                        raise Exception('No previous X position found, cant create correct Pause code!')
                    if len(old_y) == 0:
                        raise Exception('No previous Y position found, cant create correct Pause code!')
                    if len(old_z) == 0:
                        raise Exception('No previous Z position found, cant create correct Pause code!')
                    
                    pause_code = ";BEGIN Ultimaker 2+ Connect Emulated Pause plugin\n"
                    pause_code = pause_code + "G0 F6000 X10 Y10 Z100\n"

                    i = 0
                    travel_count = 10
                    while i < travel_count:
                        pause_code = pause_code + "G0 F2400 X50\n"
                        pause_code = pause_code + "G0 F2400 Y50\n"
                        pause_code = pause_code + "G0 F2400 X10\n"
                        pause_code = pause_code + "G0 F2400 Y10\n"            
                        i += 1                    
                    pause_code = pause_code + "G0 F6000 " + old_x[len(old_x)-1] + " " + old_y[len(old_y)-1] + " " + old_z[len(old_z)-1]+"\n"
                    pause_code = pause_code + ";END Ultimaker 2+ Connect Emulated Pause plugin\n"                        
                    old_data = data[layer_num]
                    data[layer_num] = pause_code + old_data

 

Obviously I could also go into relative mode instead of storing the old absolute position, but the problem is that this doesn't work when you pause the print by pressing on the touchscreen, before the set to absolute mode is restored, you will then run into a ER206 because the firmware does not correctly handle this situation (it does not restore to the relative mode and instead goes into absolute mode and then potentially the given coordinates are outside the build volume. Ultimaker should correct this in my opinion.

Edited December 28, 2022 by kupfeli

[dfrez 19]

On 12/28/2022 at 6:36 AM, kupfeli said:

Here is the snippet that works perfectly:

 

old_x=re.findall(r'(X[0-9][0-9]*\.?[0-9]*)',data[layer_num-1])
                    old_y=re.findall(r'(Y[0-9][0-9]*\.?[0-9]*)',data[layer_num-1])
                    old_z=re.findall(r'(Z[0-9][0-9]*\.?[0-9]*)',data[layer_num-1])
                    if len(old_x) == 0:
                        raise Exception('No previous X position found, cant create correct Pause code!')
                    if len(old_y) == 0:
                        raise Exception('No previous Y position found, cant create correct Pause code!')
                    if len(old_z) == 0:
                        raise Exception('No previous Z position found, cant create correct Pause code!')
                    
                    pause_code = ";BEGIN Ultimaker 2+ Connect Emulated Pause plugin\n"
                    pause_code = pause_code + "G0 F6000 X10 Y10 Z100\n"

                    i = 0
                    travel_count = 10
                    while i < travel_count:
                        pause_code = pause_code + "G0 F2400 X50\n"
                        pause_code = pause_code + "G0 F2400 Y50\n"
                        pause_code = pause_code + "G0 F2400 X10\n"
                        pause_code = pause_code + "G0 F2400 Y10\n"            
                        i += 1                    
                    pause_code = pause_code + "G0 F6000 " + old_x[len(old_x)-1] + " " + old_y[len(old_y)-1] + " " + old_z[len(old_z)-1]+"\n"
                    pause_code = pause_code + ";END Ultimaker 2+ Connect Emulated Pause plugin\n"                        
                    old_data = data[layer_num]
                    data[layer_num] = pause_code + old_data

 

Obviously I could also go into relative mode instead of storing the old absolute position, but the problem is that this doesn't work when you pause the print by pressing on the touchscreen, before the set to absolute mode is restored, you will then run into a ER206 because the firmware does not correctly handle this situation (it does not restore to the relative mode and instead goes into absolute mode and then potentially the given coordinates are outside the build volume. Ultimaker should correct this in my opinion.

Thanks for the snippet! How do you go about using it? Do you paste this into the pause script tool in Cura? 

[kupfeli 9]

Ah, you will need to edit the complete Plugin code for that. I didnt want to post the complete Plugin code, as it is rather a big hack and people might expect too much from it.

[dfrez 19]

6 hours ago, kupfeli said:

Ah, you will need to edit the complete Plugin code for that. I didnt want to post the complete Plugin code, as it is rather a big hack and people might expect too much from it.

That explains why it didn’t work for me, lol! I just pasted your snippet into the pause at height plug-in in Cura. It did move the printhead at the correct layer but after it moved the touchscreen froze and wouldn’t let me pause or resume the print myself. The printhead just sat there.