Where to buy spare / upgrade parts??

[battzilla 1]

Are there any reputable websites where I can buy AUTHENTIC Ultiaker parts? I just bought a .4mm nozzle from amazon and turned out to be complete junk! Spend 8 hours and a lot of filament to figure it out.

Link: (DO NOT BUY!!!)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I508ZTA/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Im looking for parts which need replacement once a while, like the nozzle or parts on the hot end. I dont mind paying a higher price if it means higher quality parts that dont cause me days of work and headaches. I just want to enjoy my printer for once, so can anyone share some info here?? Thanks!

 

[valcrow 144]

That's good to know... Thanks for sharing.

I'm glad I got an extra hot end kit with my UM fearing heavy shipping costs from the EU. Turns out that was a good move when one of my nozzles died.

Just curious if you have any pics of some of the failed prints? I did some tests a while ago with some nozzles and my busted one.. just want to see how they compare.

 

[battzilla 1]

Here are some shots..

Things would get better than worse..

The one to the left was the last print I did until I swapped them back. The one on the right was literally after I put on the old nozzle!

Basically some layers would load way up and spill out, and some would miss out. So a lot of back and forth on the issues, but everything cleared up after. But yea, extra parts are always a good idea and never skimping out again.

 

[gr5 2,172]

And I was so sure it was a Z issue. I'm glad you figured it out.

I heard a rumor of a US based official UM parts center coming soon. I hope it's true. If you can wait a little longer...

 

[aaron 2]

Is the general shape of the new nozzle the same as the UM one?

 

[illuminarti 18]

It's weird that the QU-BD nozzles performed quite that badly. They aren't that different from the UM ones, although they do have a slightly larger surface area at the tip.

[battzilla 1]

Is the general shape of the new nozzle the same as the UM one?

 

These things look IDENTICAL, check them out! I ordered these two and im returning them.

To the left is the one I used which produced all the issues. And to the right is the extra one I ordered as a future replacement part.

The look like the real thing, and even fit perfectly. I thing the issue was in the hole of the nozzle. I dint bother to play around and see what is was. I just wanted to enjoy my printer for once.

 

[valcrow 144]

I think the original nozzle has a smaller face.. which I'm convinced makes a big difference in printing quality.

Here's a fresh super-macro of an original nozzle.

 

[gr5 2,172]

Maybe the one you bought was a .35mm nozzle and cura thought it was .4mm and you got heavy overextrusion?

 

[battzilla 1]

Maybe the one you bought was a .35mm nozzle and cura thought it was .4mm and you got heavy overextrusion?

 

Yea thats probably it. It was advertised at .4mm so thats what I plugged in. Oh well, not y problem anymore! hahah!

So, what would be the reason for switching to a smaller nozzle size? Bette print quality? Or to achieve lower micron resolution?

 

[aaron 2]

Also more fibers per square inch if your are looking for strength. This is an interesting mystery.

 

[gr5 2,172]

The smaller the nozzle the better the quality. People always talking about 50 micron layers and I'm like "wtf?" You got 200 micron radius on the nozzle (400 micron diameter) why you going all high res on the Z and ignoring the X,Y?

Also it prints slower. Much slower. And is much more likely to clog.

Here are some examples of .25mm nozzle printing:

http://www.printrbottalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=2755

 

[illuminarti 18]

At the Maker Faire stand we ran some prints of the transamerica tower in San Fran for a little local flavor. We deliberately ran it fairly fast at a 0.25mm layer height, so people could see some tangible results as they watched. Folks - including experienced users of other brands - were amazed how good the results were: very smooth finish with great layer-to-layer registration. I think the key take away is that while the UM2 can get good results with a 20 micron layer height, that same accuracy that permits that also improves the quality of thicker-layer prints such that you really don't need to go as thin as you might on other printers. That's where the 'speed' of the UM2 really comes from: it's not so much that you can print as 100mm/s or more (which you can) but that you can go with thicker layers at slower speeds and get better quality results than thinner layers on other printers. Personally, I still haven't seen a need for layers thinner than 0.1mm for any of the things I print.

[nallath 1,120]

The print face does influence prints. If it's bigger, more heat is pushed into the prints, which can ruin them.