Weird Error 15

[mrGokhann 0]

hi all

I had error 15 issue for long time and i havent been using the printer for a month.

 

During this month, my collagues printed several times and they never seen this issue.

 

Today i have printed again and faced the same issue.

 

So i deleted the cura and restartet the pc and installed the latest version again and printed again but again same issue.

 

Whats happening? I need help.

 

Printer: Ultimaker 3 extended

People who is using the printer are : 4 people

People facing the error 15 : 1 ( ME 🙂 )

 

 

[gr5 2,235]

Did you go to the suggested web page to see what it said?

 

http://ultimaker.com/ER15

 

Go there.  The instructions there are very helpful.

 

If you follow those instructions and it's definitely not the print core then try heating the core manually and if the temp is accurate for your room temperature (typically 20-25C) and if the heat won't rise, then in addition to the instructions above, try reseating the print head cable.  You can search for video instructions on doing that at fbrc8.com support.

 

Or come back to the forum with an update of what you tried so far.

 

[gr5 2,235]

By the way it has nothing to do with Cura and more to do with the nature of intermittent (randomly occuring) problems.

[mrGokhann 0]

@gr5

Thanks for the reply.

Yes i have checked that page before.

 

We bought new print core and cleaned everything and checked all the cables also to the sensor.

 

If my collague print the same file on the same printer i use, than everything works. But when i print, i get the error 15 . Sometimes after 15 min or 30 or 45min.

[gr5 2,235]

This error occurs if the head is at full power (which is rare while printing and only happens when the nozzle is significantly colder than the goal temp) and it still won't heat up by at least X degrees in Y seconds.

 

I believe Y is 30 and X is 2.

 

So the nozzle is at a lower temp than desired (according to the sensor) and even at full power it won't heat up.

 

I've seen this happen on working equipment when printing with AA 0.8 cores at very high volumes and high temp materials.  Is it possible that you are doing that?  Even a 0.6mm core printing Nylon might be enough if you are printing pretty fast.

 

So yeah it's possible it's your profile settings.  What is your:

speed, layer height, line width, fan speed, and printing temp?

 

More likely it's a bad connection somewhere.

 

Did you remove and re-insert the cable in the top of the print heat?  That's a common issue.  It's super easy to do and once you know how takes about only 1 minute.

 

Instructions (skip the part about removing the bowdens and stop once the cable is disconnected, then reverse the step):

https://www.ultimakernasupport.com/hc/en-us/articles/360039150672-Printhead

 

[mrGokhann 0]

@gr5

Thanks for the reply.

 

 

 

Let me give you some information about the printer.

Printer:  Ultimaker 3 extended version.

Nozzle: AA 0.4

Filament: 2.85mm PLA MAX 3de Premium, Gun Metal, Print temp: 205-220C

Printer Firmware: Updated to the latest version for 6 month ago.

 

I use standart settings and the only thing i have changed is the infill which i have set to 100%.

The file size is : 118mm * 74mm * 7.5mm

 

 

Im adding a few pictures so its easier for you to see.

 

Pic 1-2-3 shows the settings of the printer.

Filament shows the filament 😄

Last picture shows the object my collague is printing today and as you see it printed a lot and  will be finished in 7 hours.

 

Its like the printer doesnt want to deal with me 🙂 

 

Regarding the removing bowdens , cable and so on, we have done it last time i had an issue. Since then my two collagues printed perfectly, no error at all, so i do not believe thats the issue, because they would have faced the issue since then. 

 

Let me know what do you think about the settings. 

 

Edited September 4, 2023 by mrGokhann

[gr5 2,235]

Great information, thanks.  Now I have moved from 80% sure to 99% sure it's not cura, not you, not your part.  Other than that the part may be slightly larger than other people's parts and it may stretch the cable that is attached to the bowden above the printer a little more.  It's just random coincidence it happened to you more than your colleagues.  I know this is statistically unlikely which is why I was down to 80% sure before.  Or maybe something about your profile uses just a few watts more than your colleagues.  You could slow it down by 10% and that would in theory stop your heater errors but that doesn't fix the underlying problem.

 

Like I said before, this error only has to do with temperature sensor and heater.  One or the other (usually the heater) failed at least briefly.  It's usually due to a bad connection somewhere.  For the heater it's usually at that connector in the head.  Please spend the 60 seconds it takes to remove the cover, remove the connector (be careful there is a clip holding it in) and putting it back in.

 

The UM3 is notorious for issues with that connector.  I recommend additionally adding a shim (some sheets of paper) around the cable where the cover holds the cable firmly in place.  The S5 fixed this issue with a better clamping force here somehow.

 

I'm 80% sure that the heater cables for left and right slot go directly all the way from the core to the underside of the printer and don't pass through any transistors, relays, switches, etc.  Just "wiring".  However the temp sensor I believe is read in the print head and temp is sent back digitally and so any failure with the temp sensor would be unrelated to cabling (as you would get a different error - communication error or something.

 

There is a temperature graph you can look at.  If you go to the home page of your printer - you have to know the ip address of the printer - go to that page and there should be a link to the temperature data.  If not you can try googling this forum.  Keep the temp graph up or look at it within a minute after failure and you should see the power for slot 1 reach 100% for an extended time but the temperature should be failling or drifting very slowly downward just before failure.  If the temp jumps around quite a bit (like 3-100 C temp changes instantly) then the problem is with the temp sensor.  But if it's the heater it will be a gradual problem because <see above where I mention the X and Y>.

 

 

[gr5 2,235]

I've seen some UM3 print heads where that connector in the head gets pulled so hard over many months that the part stretches out.  The pins inside, that go in the cable connector, get shorter and so you have much less surface area for the heater power to go through.  It's a lot of power (25 watts - about 1 amps) for such a little pin and the pin may be getting hot as well which is heat that isn't making it to the heater.

 

The symptom of this would be that you are only getting say 15 watts out of the heater.  It would take longer to heat up (versus slot 2 - hey try slot 2 instead?) and would be more likely to get heater errors.  And yes, some print parts and profiles would need just 1 watt less and some might need 1 watt more and those profiles that print slightly more filament (e.g. thicker layer height) would be much more likely to fail.