UM2 non-rectangular prints

[mbef 0]

Hi,

I have an Ultimaker 2 which has been working well for over a year.

I printed an object with a rectangular base the other day, and a casing to hold it, and when I put them together (one inverted), to my surprise they didn't fit. The corners are no longer rectangular, and squares are coming out rhombic in the X-Y plane. By the looks of it, the print-head rails are no longer lined up with the frame or each other.

I suspect the belts have slipped a tooth - oddly, in each axis. Or perhaps the toothed pullies that hold the belts are slipping on their rods. Of course, I'm now measuring everything I've printed recently to see what's out of true. I have no recollection of any great disturbance or event that might have caused this, so it's all a bit of a mystery!

Is there a correct procedure for aligning the belts or whatever so that it runs true, please?

I measured the position of the head's Y-axis rail - the one running front-to-back - and I found that it's about two millimetres closer to the left side of the frame at the front than at the back. Does that tally with the possibility that it has slipped a tooth?

Thanks!

Mbef

 

[illuminarti 18]

You can quite easily adjust the alignment of the rods, by loosening some of the pulleys, positioning the rods correctly, and then re-tightening the pulleys. For instance if you want to adjust the left-right cross rod that goes through the print head, relative to the other one...

 

The movement and orientation of that rod is controlled by the two long belts that run along the left and right sides of the printer. Therefore you need to adjust those belts. To do that, loosen two of the pulleys that those belts go around by using the supplied Allen Key to loosen the set screw in the pulleys. You need to loosen just two of the four pulleys that those belts go around, and they need to be diagonally opposite one another. I recommend you loosen the front pulley for the left long belt, and the back pulley for the right one.

 

Once they are loose, the sliding blocks at each end of the left-right cross rod can now be moved independently. A good way to adjust them is to move the head all the way forward and/or back, and measure the distance from the sliding blocks to the pulleys on those axes. With the head all the way forward, and properly squared up, you can tighten the rear right pulley. Then move the head towards the back, and tighten the front left one again.

 

You may need to move the head slightly to orient the pulley set screws down into the body of the printer at about 45 degrees, so you can get at them easily.

 

When you tighten the pulleys, tighten the screws hard, and make sure that the main axis rods that the pulley sits on are correctly positioned, and the pulleys (and spacer, if it has one) are tight up against the wall of the printer, so that the axis itself cannot slide back and forth. (It is the pulleys at each end of the rods that keep the axis rods themselves in place).

 

[mbef 0]

Marvellous - thanks for the detailed instructions, despite my inability to spell "rectangular" in the title

It's actually quite difficult to get the pulleys into a position where they can be adjusted - on one of the diagonals, I could only get at one pulley or the other. But once I knew that I had to loosen pulleys, it was easy to follow your instructions and improvise.

I have re-calibrated once, and it's better, but still not quite right. I am printing some little spacing parts that will fit into the gaps between the sliding blocks and the pulleys to make it easier to get the distances exactly the same on both sides. They should make it easier to tighten the pulley screws without nudging things - I'll report back how I got on.

Thanks again.

 

[gr5 2,167]

despite my inability to spell "rectangular" in the tit

 

Fixed title.

 

They should make it easier to tighten the pulley screws without nudging things

 

It also helps to use a screwdriver like hex wrench instead of one that is bent at 90 degree angle.

 

[IRobertI 520]

I like ball nose hex drivers, they give a bit more leeway.

 

[illuminarti 18]

Yes - these are what we use for assembly:

http://www.amazon.com/Wiha-Metric-Screwdriver-Precision-Handle/dp/B000T9XPQI