Trouble printing brim and feeder skipping and bad quality print

[small 2]

Hi,

I recently updated the firmware on my Ultimaker 2 on 20th Feb 2015. After I did that, the brim did not print properly. There is spacing and under-extrusion in some lines of the brim. Please see attached picture.

The finish of the print from where the brim is broken off is of very poor quality. See attached image. (the uneven part is the bottom in the picture from where I broke off the brim)

The filament feeder is also skipping and making a clicking noise at regular intervals.

I have cleaned the extruder head using the atomic method, as well as poking the extruder with a 0.3mm wire to remove debris.

I opened and re-assembled the feeder box to clean and remove any filament debris.

The bed is leveled and the filament I use is reliable colorfabb which printed fine in the past.

Please help. I need to start printing soon to complete an assignment.

Small

 

[gr5 2,224]

1) It's hard to see in the first picture but in the second picture is the part upside-down? Because in the second picture it looks like only the bottom layer is bad. Maybe you just need to re-level. You need the nozzle maybe closer to the glass. I could be completely wrong but that's what it looks like in the photos.

2) What layer height, print speed, and temperature did you print this with? And what is the highest temperature you have used lately? I ask for a few reasons - one reason is that high temperatures make the isolator fail faster. The more important reason is that you might need to print either slower, thinner, or hotter.

3) Have you used more than half your filament? Often the tighter curvature of filement in the last 1/3 doesn't pass through the teflon isolator very well and causes this skipping.

4) In the video was that skipping on the first layer or a different layer?

Typical max recommended print speeds at .2mm layer (print twice as fast for .1mm layers)

20mm/sec at 200C

30mm/sec at 210C

40mm/sec at 225C

50mm/sec at 240C

On a perfect machine you can print *almost* twice as fast as those speeds but you will get occasional skips. At the above speeds you shouldn't get any skips.

 

[small 2]

Thanks for the prompt reply gr5!

1) Am attaching an other picture to show how the brim prints. Some lines of the brim are missing due to under-extrusion.

The second picture was printed upside down where the bottom layer came out really bad. I relieved the bed, which helped improve the smoothness but there were still some rugged parts.

2) I use Cura default settings, that is bottom thickness: 0.6 mm ;Bottom Layer speed: 20mm/sec ;Layer height: 0.1mm ;Shell Thickness: 0.8mm; Normal print speed: 50mm/sec; Temperature: PLA 210C.

Highest I have used lately is 210C because I have been print PLA for the past few days.

3) Yes I have used almost used more than half of the filament. What should I do cause it would be a waste to discontinue using the filament after using half of the spool?

4) Skipping happened while printing the brim and the first few layers. Not after that.

Thanks for responding.

Small

 

[mainakae 0]

Hello small.

I've been experiencing the same problems as you since I installed the latest version of the firmware. Eat old sold by Re-levelling the plate.definitely try that if you haven't already.

Hope that solves your problem.

Regards

Pedro

[gr5 2,224]

Change the bottom layer to .3mm. Realize that printing .6mm bottom layer at 20mm/sec is 2.4X more volume extruded per second than 50mm/sec at .1mm layers.

Or maybe you had a typo and you already are at .3mm for bottom layer? In that case you are only printing 1.2X more volume - not a huge difference.

 

[gr5 2,224]

I'm having trouble telling if you are too close or too far from the bed on that first layer. After much indecision I guess it's probably about right - but really not certain.

There are gaps as it printed which indicates the extruder skipped backwards - but I suppose it's possible the nozzle was too far from the bed and the pla never stuck at all. I really can't tell. If you heard the extruder skip backwards then I would raise the temp to 225C. If you didn't hear it skip backwards then I would move the bed closer to the nozzle by about 1/8 turn on the back screw (problem seems worse towards the back).

210C is a reasonable print temp but you have to print a bit slower. Your printing speeds (20mm/sec with .3mm layer (or is it .6??) and 50mm/sec with .1mm layer) all seem reasonable for 210C but your filament might be slightly more viscous than typical and might require a bit more heat. I almost always print at 220C and sometimes up to 240C for PLA.

Have you ever printed ABS? If so that could be part of the problem - that stuff pretty much never completely leaves the nozzle. You could try some cold pulls.

If changing to .3mm bottom layer doesn't help and changing to 225C doesn't help you should print this test at 230C (the test is meant for 230C so never print it at any other temperature or no one can help you):

http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/4586-can-your-um2-printer-achieve-10mm3s-test-it-here/

This test is only valid if your extruder skips backwards - it isn't valid for UMO or UM2's that are adjust such that the extruder doesn't skip backwards under high pressure. If you can get the cylinder up to 5mm^3/sec you are probably okay. If not then we can talk about fixes.

 

[small 2]

Gr5,

Here is the result of printing the test file at 230C

When I first read your comment, I failed to notice you asked to print at 230C. So I went ahead and printed it at 210C first and below are the results.

The images of blue test print were printed later and at 230C.

What do you think is wrong with the print or the machine?

I rained very heavily today (Non-seasonal). Do you think the filament has retained moisture?

-Small

 

[janet-t 3]

Hi I've the same issue, brim is printed uneven more filament on the right side of the print and have some extrusions issues, tom much retraction with the new firmware update from Feb. the 2nd. Any solutions yet? Or perhaps back to the old firmware?

 

[small 2]

I went back to the old firmware. Helped me fix the issue for most part. Changed the Temperature to a higher figure, Layer height 0.2; Speed 60 mm/sec.

 

[gr5 2,224]

@small - your printer is kind of typical - it looks like you made it to 5mm^3/sec and I usually tell people if it makes it to 6mm^3/sec it's probably fine. It might be you were near the end of the spool for that color PLA? I found that I have to print at about half speed for the last 1/3 spool because of the strong curvature as it passes through the final (unmelted) section inside the head - both for UMO and UM2. There are many many causes for underextrusion - I would start by putting the filament on the floor instead of on the back of the machine.

Anyway here are my recommended max printing speeds - these are about half of what the UM can do so this gives you a safe margin. You are going over these values I think. This is for .2mm layers - for .1mm layers you can print twice as fast:

20mm/sec at 200C

30mm/sec at 210C

40mm/sec at 225C

50mm/sec at 240C