Brand new UM2 owner: a few observations

[jbeale 0]

I was very pleased to receive my new UM2 in the USA this morning, only 5 days after I ordered it direct from ultimaker.com. I thought it would take many weeks, in fact my confirmation email said up to 10 weeks.

In the box was a printed version of the UM2 manual, which is also online here: https://www.ultimaker.com/spree/uploads/36/original/Ultimaker_2_User_Manual_V1.08.pdf

Note 1: Look at the manual, page 13, in the description of parts figure labelled "Ultimaker 2 at a glance". There are two "12" callout circles, but no "15". The "12" circle on the left should read "15" (filament guide hole).

Note 2: I see how the filment guide fits into the keyed slot in the case, and it is intended to rotate 90 degrees so the smaller end tab fits and locks into the small slot above. My black plastic filament guide will fully insert into the keyed slot, but it will not rotate up to meet the smaller slot using any reasonable amount of force.

Note 3: On p.12, the manual states the accessory box contains "Test print done by this Ultimaker 2" but no such sample was included with my unit. I looked carefully. When I did my first test, I saw the printhead was already filled with a red material, different from any I ordered, so it had been tested in some manner, but the output never made it into the box.

EDIT: Oops! Found it; the red print was hiding under a cardboard flap in the bottom.

Note 4: I did my first test print using the blue coil of PLA provided, and set the menu option to "PLA" but did no other adjustment (temperature, etc). When attempting to print I got a very thin red line at first, from whatever was in the head before, and then nothing at all. At that point I aborted the first print attempt and tried another, with the same result. Then I went into the menu to manually heat the head to 248 C, then run some material. A large gloop of red, then purple, then blue came out. After that I was able to start a test print of the Ultimaker robot without further incident.

 

[eldrick 65]

248C is 25-40 degrees too hot for the Ultimaker PLA sample, which is why you got melted-looking layers in the print shown. The sample robot file I got with mine sets the temp to 203C, which worked for me. Try it at 205-215C and set the fan speed to 100% for much better results.

 

[jbeale 0]

Good to know. I was just going from the label on the reel, which lists a large temperature range, in fact up to 260 C. I am wondering if my initial head clog was due to a higher melting-temp material left in the head to start with (perhaps ABS ?)

 

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi jbaele,

Welcome to the community!

Im glad to hear you received your Ultimaker 2 so fast. The lead time did decrease to 2-4 weeks so a lot of improvement!

I can tell you it was certainly not tested with abs, we never do that.

It is quite a hassle to switch back from abs to pla..

Finding the right temp requires some experimenting but also depends on your speed.

I usually print at 220/230 but you should not have to go any hihger..

Remember this: higher speed isa higher temp!

 

[jbeale 0]

> "It is quite a hassle to switch back from abs to pla.."

I did not realize it was a hassle; I am going to need to learn how to do this. Is there a description of what needs to be done, beyond using the menu to select "ABS" / "PLA" ? Is the hassle just working out the calibration curve of head temperature and fan speed vs. extrusion layer thickness and mm/s for each material, or is there something beyond that?

Do I need to remove and disassemble the head to clean it each time when switching between materials? I did not see this mentioned in the user manual.

 

[SandervG 1,521]

Because ABS has a significant higher melting point then PLA you can not afford to have any ABS residu left in the print head when you are going to print with PLA.

When the PLA will drag the ABS-remains down through the nozzle these will most likely clog the nozzle because they will not melt.

For that reason, when you switch from ABS to PLA, leave the printhead at ABS-temperatures and flush it with a couple of cm of PLA. This should usually do the trick

Not that complicated, but just using PLA is much easier..

 

[jbeale 0]

Thank you for that clarification, it makes sense. Probably many new users don't know that, so I think the UM2 User Manual should have a section with information like this. (Or does the UM2 automatically feed through several cm when you change the material type menu selection from ABS to PLA? I haven't tried doing that yet).

 

[stevegt 1]

Hi jbeale, and welcome!

Since you just got the machine, you'll probably want to also check your firmware version -- there are a couple of bugs that we've recently fixed, one of which seems to affect the newer machines more. I just got my UM2 in May, and both of these fixes greatly improved the consistency of prints for me, particularly the first layers.

Go into Maintenance|Advanced|Version, and make sure you've got at least 14.06.1 installed. That will take care of a z homing bug that was causing a lot of folks (including me) all sorts of confusion.

If you want improved priming (so you don't have to grab the thread at print start), and another z-related bug fix, go get the pre-release firmware Simon/illuminarti posted later in that same topic. If you'd rather wait for an official release, keep an eye on http://goo.gl/s6OuYX -- specifically, you want something after pull request #35. I don't know if Daid's going to keep the 14.06.02 version number, or increment it further; either way the official release build date should show Jun 23 or later for these fixes.

I was able to get the filament guide to click into place on mine, but yes, it did take a lot of force. The consensus around here seems to be that it's not needed in the first place. I've not seen a difference between printing with and without looping the filament around it. I like the idea of putting the spool on a lazy susan on the floor, but haven't tried that yet.

I've swapped back and forth between PLA and ABS several times so far -- never any issues. I think Sander was just trying to scare you into making sure you really do purge all the ABS before you turn the head temp down to PLA temp. :-P

I'd be curious to find out what version of firmware your printer shipped with, and if your z axis shows the same low friction as mine -- does yours also fall to the floor when power's off, or am I one of the few lucky ones? :wink:

Edit: Oh yeah, and where was your glass packed? Was it under the bed, or was it over on the left side, with the second piece of rod cardboard stuffed under the bed instead?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[jbeale 0]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your replies! My UM2 says it is version 14.06.2. With the power off, it is pretty easy to move the platform Z axis by hand. It will just barely stay up when lifted and I think it would fall down by itself if there was any weight on it, or with a slight vibration. The glass was bubble-wrapped and packed against the left side, and there was a folded piece of cardboard underneath the platform.

...and credit where credit is due; I didn't look carefully enough for the sample printout. I just found the small red geometric print, hiding under a flap in the bottom of the box. I edited my original post to add that info.

 

[SandervG 1,521]

I've swapped back and forth between PLA and ABS several times so far -- never any issues. I think Sander was just trying to scare you into making sure you really do purge all the ABS before you turn the head temp down to PLA temp. :-P

 

haha ohh the countless times I have had to troubleshoot a machine that had abs-residue in it and was trying to print PLA.

 

[stevegt 1]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your replies! My UM2 says it is version 14.06.2. With the power off, it is pretty easy to move the platform Z axis by hand. It will just barely stay up when lifted and I think it would fall down by itself if there was any weight on it, or with a slight vibration.

 

Ok, at 14.06.2 you have the z homing fix, which is good, because with a falling bed you'll have needed it. You have the new priming behavior, where it deposits a blob on the front left as an anchor before print start. Whether you have Simon's later priming and calibration height fixes would depend on the build date; I don't know whether Daid built the official 14.06.2 before or after pull #35. If you have a build date earlier than Jun 23, then you don't have the #35 fixes yet. If you don't have those fixes, then:

 

• You'll hear about three skips of the feeder stepper motor during priming, you'll want to make sure your feeder is adjusted tight enough to cause those skips, not grinding, and you'll notice other odd priming behavior at times.

• You'll also want to use the thinnest possible shim for bed height calibration, and then always cycle the power after calibration, before starting a print.

Details on both of these things are in the more recent posts of that topic I referenced.

Steve

 

[stevegt 1]

The glass was bubble-wrapped and packed against the left side, and there was a folded piece of cardboard underneath the platform.

 

Ah Hah! Sander, this is the third printer I've heard of (including mine) which was packed with the glass on the left side and axis rod cardboard under the bed. It sounds like this is standard packing now. It didn't cause any problems with mine, and it sounds like jbeals' is okay, but ZReed's printer sounds like it may have a broken y limit switch, possibly from the bubblewrap snagging on the switch lever. I don't remember seeing anything in the packing method that would prevent this. It might be worth looking into.

I'm trying to remember -- is the glass bouncing around on the bed temperature cabling when packed this way, or is there a horizontal piece of cardboard across the top of the bed that would prevent that?

Steve