1.75mm Filament on Ultimaker 2

[conny 2]

I'm using Roberts Feeder - so i can Change the Tension easy when i use the 1.75 or 2.85 Filament :-P

 

[emilio2 2]

Conny, do you use 1.75 without making any changes on the firmware, and using the original UM2 head ?

Just changin feeder tension ?

 

[conny 2]

@emilio2: no changings of the firmware or printerhead - just the Bowden tube and feeder :-P

 

[neotko 1,417]

 

@Conny thanks for all the info. Finally my printer it's fully working at 1.75mm. Used a 2 compound glue specialfor ptfe and used the ptfe so it goes just to the end of the heater barrier but not into the nozzle. Now the retractions are super clean and after 2 prints of 5 and 7hours I'm very happy. This printer kickass

[mape 1]

I am still waiting my Ultimaker to arrive, so the steps to do this don't seem so clear.

Could one of you provide a list of what materials to acquire (or print) and idiot-proof instructions with pictures on how to do this?

 

[gr5 2,167]

Strongly not recommended to use 1.75mm filament. You want the path to be 1.75mm all the way from the feeder to the tip of the nozzle. If you use a regular 3mm nozzle then it's hard to get up the pressure in there as the melted filament would rather go *up* than down through that tiny .4mm hole.

 

[neotko 1,417]

Basically it comes to 2 thinks IRobertsI feeder and a bowden 3mm id 2mm glued inside the normal bowden. On my UMO+ it working great but I had to adjust the lenght ofthe bowden so it don't go all the way in. Because the 500€ in filament rolls it's worth the throuble but if you don't really really need it better don't do it.

[mekmek 1]

yeah- I really woulden't recommend this mod- personally shocked that it works- but it might be the high temps that help-

The reason I woulden't recommend this is due to the fact the whole hot end is not optimised for 1.75... when extruding it would cause a type of blooming effect- and retractions most likely will be effected negativly -

on the other hand- if you replace the hot end and extruder to systems designd for 1.75- you extruder will work less hard- and there will be less weight on your hot end for higher quality movements in theory-But also in theory- 3mm fillament has lower diameter error per extrusion so- its really a strage trade off that will probably land you back where you started in terms of quality-

If i were to design the ultimaker- id probably design it with 1.75 bowden - simply because you can just buy tight tolorence fillament and run the extruder motor at almost half the current.

 

 

[neotko 1,417]

On my UMO+ after almost a kilo of filament finally I was able to tune everything and print really nicely with only the bowden and the robert feeder. On umo+ the trick was adjusting the retract speed/acceleration and specially the length of the 3mm/2mm ptfe that goes inside the heater throat. If it goes passing the circle middle area then it literally burns a bit and filament goes up but when the small ptfe don't goes futter then it work perfectly. I think my main issues where finding the perfect spot for the ptfe and the speed of retractions. I even thought of buying 1.75 version of the heater block/nozzle head (from china ofc) but after fiddling with the configuration it can work.

[neotko 1,417]

For UMO+ users. In the end This mod has problema. Being the filament that isn't pushed through the heat barrier and nozzle the main issue. The filament will leave and stay there and burn. So I just ordered a heat barrier 1.75 from china that fits perfectly and changed the nozzle. After 2 kilos of pla I had to clean the heatbarrier and nozzle becuase started to have a lot of extrussion issues. Now with the full change to 1.75mm it really really works.

[gornnr 2]

I'm a 1.75mm convert. IMO, simply the best upgrade to the printer (for me).

First, 3mm here in America seems to end up with a supply of 3mm with a tolerance of 0.05mm, giving filaments that are likely to be too large to fit correctly in the stock bowden.

3mm in the 4 brands I tried ended up becoming extremely brittle. Most I couldnt leave in the bowden even overnight as they would snap just below the feeder.

3mm holds the curve of the spool which increases the chance of filament breaks in the bowden and/or increase feed resistance from fighting the bowden curve.

And, again, in America, 3mm is a fair amount more expensive than 1.75mm. Makerbot which is big here uses 1.75mm.

So, in order to try to make the prints more reliable and not waste large amounts of filament from breaks in addition to decrease in cost of filament I decided to try some 1.75mm.

The only item that HAS to be changed is indeed the bowden (and likely feeder, but I was already using a Robert's Feeder, though I printed a new, slightly longer yolk).

This is a PTFE (Teflon) tube with an OD 4.00mm and ID ~2.00mm. In order to use the UM2's 1/4" fittings two lengths of OD 1/4" with ID ~1/8th. But, Teflon does not glue to Teflon. Here is what you need - http://www.polytetra.de/en/products/special-products/tetra-etch-r-fluorocarbon-etchant.html A product called Tetra-Etch. This preps the surface to allow it to be bondable.

So, on the right side the tube extends down through the isolator and the end of the inner bowden rests on the inside of the nozzle. This allows the 1.75mm filament to be fed directly into the nozzle tip.

1.75mm is much more flexible and seems to have much less resistance feeding. No unloading filaments at night. Filament can sit around without being stored in a desiccant bin. Honestly, IMO this was the best upgrade to my printer.

 

[neotko 1,417]

I tried that patch and it worked great (UMO+ it's different that your UM2 on the nozzle so I might be wrong). The problem that I run to it's that unless you do periodic atomic cleanings, the pla that flows around the 1.75 filament inside the metal area will burn, since the filament constantly push an area lf 1.75 and the metal diameter inside it's 3mm, the pla/abs/material will flow up and around the filament. With pla I only had a problem after a kilo of filament, did some atomics and it was good to go. The problem was when using wood filament, that's an already complicated stuff to use in perfect conditions but with an open area around the filament the problems scale. So for me, the ideal solution in the end was going back to the umo+ stock feeder (doing a modification with a needle file on the plastic so it press firmly the filament, and searching on chinashops for throats that fit exactly on the peek isolator. Now I have a perfect 100% reilable umo+ with 1.75 and I can print at 7mm3 without understrusion etc.

The other problem I had before changing the throat and nozzle, was that since there's hot filament there, the amount of oozing it's brutal, so even with great/fast retracts, I wasn't able to eliminated it.

Your solution probably works great on pla/abs, but on flexibles (they will curl on the open 3mm space) on wood (they will burn and float up) I think that you might run into problems to keep kilos and kilos of printing. Ofc that works, but isn't perfect.

Again I might be wrong since I don't own an UM2 and the nozzle it's different.

 

[gornnr 2]

With the bowden that I've made and pictured above, the bowden actually fits THROUGH the isolator. The bowden actually goes right down into the extruder. There is no space in the 3mm nozzle end for extra molten PLA as the bowden is in there.

In this picture, the bowden is being held in front of the head relative to where it would be inside. You will see the bowden fits right down in the extruder up to the nozzle itself.

Also, while looking for pictures of the U2 head I found this http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/3-D-printer-accessory-parts-ultimaker-2-UM2-Nozzle-hot-end-kit-set-assembly-print-head/115344_32231980256.html Looks like who ever Ultimaker is outsourcing to is trying to sale direct.

 

[gurbymurble 1]

I had some 1.75 PLA filiment left over from my Makerbot 5th gen that I returned for a refund. I decided to try it in my Ultimaker 2. I edited my MATERIALS file and added an entry for PLA 1.75. I set the diameter field to 1.75. The rest of the settings I copied from the other PLA entry. I loaded the 1.75 filiment and proceded to print with no issues. I did not modify the printer at all. It just works. No need to change the flow rate as you have already told the printer in MATERIALS that your diameter is 1.75. It feeds appropriately for that diameter. I have printed a couple robots, some Raspberry Pi cases. No issues. Quality is comprable to the 3mm PLA.

 

[JATMN 6]

Sorry Ultimaker noob here..

I just ordered my first Ultimaker (Ultimaker v2), should be here by the end of next week.. In the mean time I loaded up Cura to get myself familiar with it.

I came across this post because like someone else mentioned.. I have about a dozen rolls of 1.75PLA for my old printer which I would like to use in my Ultimaker if possible. While reading the posts I see everyone referencing things I cant find in cura or in its folders..

I dont see a "flow" setting anywhere I looked under advanced and expert settings as well as machine settings and preferences.. gurbymurble mentioned MATERIALS file.. I looked in the install location (windows 8.1 C:\Program Files (x86)\Cura_15.04.2) only MATERIALS file i see anywhere, is a MineCraft Materials file.. Cura comes with MineCraft??

Can anyone give me additional details about the above mentioned settings and files?

Cura 15.04.2 / Windows 8.1

Thanks

[ultiarjan 1,223]

For the um2 you set material related stuff like temperature and fan% or flow% on the printer. You can save and load material profiles in the printer. It's just a text file you can export on sd card so also easy to modify on a PC and load back into the printer.

[eldrick 65]

Alternatively, rather than use the printer settings, you can tell Cura to use Marlin-flavored gcode, rather than Ultigcode, which gets you several additional settings, temperatures included.

[JATMN 6]

Wow thanks for the quick responses!

Ultiarjan, I thought that might be the case but wasn't sure so thought I would ask..

eldrick, good to know.. was it intentional for utigcode setting to limit the use of these additional settings? sorta sounds like stepping backwards switching to marlin-flavored.

[ultiarjan 1,223]

It's intentional, and it's actually a good thing (once you used to it) you can slice a object once, and print it with settings depending on the material. so lets say you have 2 machines, one you use for ABS and one for PLA you just use the same gcode.

[JATMN 6]

Interesting.

I understand one of the required mods is Roberts Extruder mod.. I feel dumb I cant find this on youmagine only mods for the mod.. and nothing on thingiverse (just thought I would check)

Also need to change the 4x3 PTFE Tube to 4x2 or put a 3x2 inside the 4x3. Im assuming the 4x2 might be the best bet? or am I wrong on this? Also how much approxmently would I need, would 1.5meter be enough?

[Nicolinux 288]

Hey @JATMN,

here is the link for Robert's extruder:

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/alternative-um2-feeder-version-two

Regarding the bowden, I have the following:

 

• 6mm outer diameter, 4mm inner diameter
  
• 4mm outer diameter, 2.40 inner diameter
  

 

Bowden tube(s) are about 720mm long.

[eldrick 65]

Gornnr - have you considered selling your modified Bowden 1.75mm tubes? I ask because the glue you used on the PTFE is costly, since it only comes in half-litre bottles.

[neotko 1,417]

Gornnr - have you considered selling your modified Bowden 1.75mm tubes?  I ask because the glue you used on the PTFE is costly, since it only comes in half-litre bottles.

 

This ptfe glue cost 8€ (works perfect)

[JATMN 6]

Hey @JATMN,

here is the link for Robert's extruder:

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/alternative-um2-feeder-version-two

Regarding the bowden, I have the following:

 

• 6mm outer diameter, 4mm inner diameter

• 4mm outer diameter, 2.40 inner diameter

 

Bowden tube(s) are about 720mm long.

 

Thanks for this. I have since recived my Ultimaker 2 a while back.. I already am running the Roberts extruder v2 with my 3mm it helps a lot.

Thanks for the Tube specs.. I have a few different ones on order. I was wanting to find a 6mm / 2.5-3mm tube but was having no such luck.. so I ordered a few different ones to play with.. I also have in hand a 1.75mm version of the nozzle and PTFE that goes under the spring to make it 1.75 thruout.. just not worked on this mod yet as I am still waiting my bowdens..

[neotko 1,417]

On my umo+ I use a bowden that's 6mm od 2mm id. Works perfectly (more than 4months with it).