Must have improvements you can print for your Ultimaker Original?

[LePaul 326]

I meant to ask this a while ago and from the many videos and pictures I have seen, many of you have some improvements on your machines.

What are some Must Have ones you found made a big improvement?

I've been tempted to print a better fan shroud. The vinyl one seems ... well, like it has room for improvement.

And...there's always a lot of new people in here and I thought this post might be a good resource once people share their ideas and examples

If you can, please include a link and picture(s)!

Thanks!

 

[printerfan 5]

Great thread, I'm looking forward to the community's suggestions.

[korneel 176]

just did a thread in the Dutch portion, let me translate;

After a month of 3 of continuous printing with my UM 2 I've had great and not-so great moments. below an overview of improvements and experiences with those improvements.

I did a larger post in the dutch section, but would like everyone to benefit.

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/ultimaker2-cable-chain

first of all the cable chain. i printed these in ABS and XT. would not print in PLA because of the very close proximity to the heated plate. i have not heard of people getting their cable in a twist, but better safe than sorry. also makes the machine look a lot better

fan mounts; i tried 2

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/ultimaker-2-fan-mount-dual--2

I used the V06. worked great, printed in ABS. also printed in XT, no heat shield and no heat issues. very easy replaceable, good shroud. did take it out since it cooled my nozzle more than my print.

changed to this mount;

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/fan-base-um2

like a charm.. directly cools the print, see more sharpness in prints. the disadvantage of this fan shroud is that you need to move the fans off if you want to take it off the head which is incredibly annoying. otherwise it's a great fan shroud. printed in ABS and XT, perfect. i did not use the iron sheet in it and no warping issues.

rail system:

must have;

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/ultimaker2-rail-system-u2rs

it dramatically improves the machine.

-it eases acces to the feeder allowing you to easily change material and diagnose any issues with thye feeder (not like that would ever happen..... )

-it allows for better ventilation for the feeder motor

-it allows for easy replacement of material

-best thing yet : it allows for a more natural flow of the material, dramatically improving feeder performance. you can get the extrusion test running perfectly with the rail system and the stock feeder

printed in PLA and XT perfectly. would not print in ABS because of the large surfaces and warping

cable clip for the railsystem

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/cableclip-for-ultimaker2-rails-system-u2rs

printed in both XT as well as PLA. manages the annoying cable on the back for the feeder motor

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/feeder-for-ultimaker-2-rail-system

Roberts Feeder with UltiArjan improvements. perfect for the rail system. printed this in all materials then switched to PLA on advise of Robert and Ultiarjan to make sure i did not get ABS particles into the feeder.

best feeder ever.

easily did the extrusion test up to 10 mm/sec with PLA and even on 210 degrees. no more underextrusion, easy material swap, perfect.

also makes the atomic method way easier, yeah, overall this was a great design and decision to add.

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/compact-low-friction-spool-holder

you need this spool holder to add your spools to the rail system. you need two of these. printed in PLA and XT, worked perfect.

OctoPrint:

so i got very annoyed by the movement of the SD card between my PC and my Ultimaker. annoyed me a lot. so i started trying OctoPrint! i installed on a Raspberry Pi, and very happy with the results

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/raspberry-and-raspicam-mount-for-ultimaker-2

you can attach it to your UM2 with this addon.

I also added the raspberry cam and am in the process of adding the touch screen.

you basically go to your PC, just upload the gcode, and you can easily print. you can use the cam to make timelapses and watch progress.

some small things such as a very small amount of material gets extruded in the beginnen and no Z bed homing after the print, making you editting the gcode by hand and fixing that.

in short, those are the add-ons you need in my opinion.. they will make a good printer great..

 

[LePaul 326]

You've listed things for the Ultimaker 2. I created this post to highlight items for the Ultimaker Original

 

[korneel 176]

ah, that is because i did not read the topic title!

 

[printerfan 5]

Are any of the above listed items compatible with the UMO?

 

[tommyph1208 55]

Are any of the above listed items compatible with the UMO?

 

There is a UMO version of the cable chain, if you have a heated bed of sorts...

[Titus 170]

I believe there was a topic regarding this somewhere already.

I must say the handle is SO USEFUL! Furthermore I have a fan shroud, a tool holder, a business card holder and a z level screw.

 

[jameshs 42]

side clips to hold draft panels and a wedge to hold in the extruder to the back wall - that is it! - everything else just seems to work

Oh - and iRoberti's dust filter - amazed how dirty the sponge gets.

I have 2 umos and they are working hard for the last 12 months on items as small as earrings and large as architectural models - they just seem bulletproof (I do regular maintenance, tightening, and oiling.)

 

[printerfan 5]

Jamesshs

Do you have a link to a guide for UMO maintenance? I've only had mine about a month and would like to make sure I am taking proper care of it.

 

[chrisr 18]

just did a thread in the Dutch portion, let me translate;

...

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/ultimaker2-cable-chain

fan mounts; i tried 2

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/ultimaker-2-fan-mount-dual--2

changed to this mount;

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/fan-base-um2

rail system: must have;

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/ultimaker2-rail-system-u2rs

cable clip for the railsystem

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/cableclip-for-ultimaker2-rails-system-u2rs

Roberts Feeder with UltiArjan improvements.

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/feeder-for-ultimaker-2-rail-system

you need this spool holder to add your spools to the rail system. you need two of these. printed in PLA and XT, worked perfect.

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/compact-low-friction-spool-holder

OctoPrint:

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/raspberry-and-raspicam-mount-for-ultimaker-2

in short, those are the add-ons you need in my opinion.. they will make a good printer great..

 

That's a fine list, I'd also add:

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/loose-filament-holder-v3

Which I'm finding really useful for loose filaments. I've made a mount for this. It positions the holder off to one side away from the Bowden cable. (I have the extra long arms fitted for faberdashery filament)

 

Maybe we could have a separate thread for UM2 improvements? Mods please feel free to delete/move this if that's the case - or OP if you wish it :smile:

 

[LePaul 326]

Jamesshs

Do you have a link to a guide for UMO maintenance? I've only had mine about a month and would like to make sure I am taking proper care of it.

 

I have had mine for over a year. I let it sit for a few months without use. When I did use it, the print head was having a tough time moving around.

Be sure to get some light oil/sewing machine oil (I bought what is pictured below from WalMart in the fabric section)

Be sure to power on the Ultimaker, then disable the stepper motors, and then lubricate the rods. A few drops on a paper towel does wonders. With the paper towel edge (and a few drops of oil on it), moving the print head spins those X and Y rods.

But the print head moves around much better than before.

Check out the Ultimaker User Manual, section E covers maintenance.

 

[printerfan 5]

Le Paul

Maybe moving this topic to the "Mods and Hacks" area would get more responses?

 

[jameshs 42]

Jamesshs

Do you have a link to a guide for UMO maintenance? I've only had mine about a month and would like to make sure I am taking proper care of it.

 

No guide sorry

new bearing in feeder.

regular tightening of nuts

regular cleaning of print area

regular clearing out of nozzles and filament path

regular oiling of all rods and bushes

regular check of level seating on the bench

regular checking of filament and temp profiles

yearly take apart the hot end assembly and check everything is ok

periodic checking the cables are all well-seated

periodic tightening motor mount belts etc

periodic print calibration pieces

periodic taking apart the feeder - recently repaired some fo the flaking off bits of ply with 2 part epoxy and feed went much better.

let me know if there is anything I am missing!

James