Ultimaker 2

Ultimaker #2, also known as "Fawkes"

This page documents Ultimaker #2 (Fawkes) [A phoenix from the ashes]

Printer lives on the third shelf of the 3D printer tower, next to the Type A.

Status

Old/Brittle Filament ... do NOT leave this filament loaded when done printing!

"Canada 150" Red PLA (from Filaments.ca)

• Last known good settings: (05-Dec-2017, Pastel Yellow PLA) 220°, 138% flow, print @ 50mm/s, travel @ 150mm/s, 0.4 mm nozzle size, 2.85mm filament size.
  • note: the reason the flow is pumped-up is because the print-head is misaligned and causing drag on the filament. I suspect you could even up the flow and the speed and get decent (but still crappy) prints. If you want to print slower for higher precision you may need to reduce the flow (but <110% flow at any speed will cause under-extrusion)
• Operational ... it can be Problematic
  • Changing filaments has become a pain in the neck, see Known Issues section for details. Full printhead overhaul is probably due, but meh could get a couple more print-hours out of it lol
  • Using a Brim to hold parts to the Print Bed is strongly recommended.
  • Bed was leveled but Print Bed is NOT perfectly flat! (Back/Right corner worst.)
  • The Z axis Zero Stop is inconsistent/unreliable. It is set a bit low & user manually turns the Z-axis screw (clockwise) to bring head towards the bed just until 1st layer becomes flat.
  • If head too close & extruder starts clicking, that can cause filament feed problems.
• Set X-axis to about 102% of Y-axis Scale to get square/round prints. (Pink 20mm X/Y/Z cube beside printer.)
• Loaded with Black 2.85mm PLA/PHA filament (this works well @ the 30mm/60mm speeds.)
• PLA ONLY! (to prevent nozzle contamination)
• Cura 15 Settings here
• http://octopi2.hacklab.to/

Known Issues and Fixes

• IMPORTANT: OctoPrint will disconnect from Ultimaker 2 if Ultimaker 1 is powered on. If you want to print on both (or will want to eventually), power both on before starting to print on Ultimaker 2
• Filament Loading Problem: the printhead is all misaligned, specifically the PEEK peice (light brown in colour) to the teflon coupler (white in colour) above it. Trying to push filament through there to the nozzle is difficult. Try to make a long and sharp point on the end of the filament, the longer the better, so it gives plenty of space to wiggle around in when shoving it in. You can see through the tube going into the top of the teflon piece, so use that to judge how far down the filament has gone. It probably helps to have the nozzle hot, but don't keep the nozzle hot with no filament inside because it is likely to burn plastic/dust inside the nozzle and cause friction issues.
• Bed is really warped (higher up in the middle, lower down on the sides). Leveling the bed is unlikely to fix this.
  • Manually adjust the Z-axis for the first layer until the filament is being laid down flat (not rounded).
    • Turn the threaded rod clockwise to bring the head closer to the print bed, and counter-clockwise to move the head further away.
  • for larger parts use 0.2mm layer height (or larger) -- so that if the 2nd layer successfully prints, you get the expected flat surface to continue printing on.
• This printer is in fairly rough shape mechanically. This causes the most problems with prints that have thin filled walls.
  • Printing slower and at a higher flow rate can help with getting acceptable print quality.
    • 220°, 110% flow, print @ 30mm/s (1/2 speed), travel @ 60mm/s (also 1/2 speed), 0.4 mm nozzle size, 2.85mm filament size are the safe settings for this.
    • Excellent results have been reported using 220° & 135% flow. However, anything above 110% flow makes head jams very likely. (Some filament reels will work @ higher flow, while others constantly jam.) Thus reducing both print speeds is a better answer than increasing the % flow above 110%.

Features

• Ultimaker Original with extruder drive upgrade
• Built from an incomplete kit and a bunch of parts are 3D printed
• 210 x 210 x 205 mm print volume
• 2.85mm filament
• Absolute max temperature: 250 C
• It is managed and accessible from the web GUI: http://octopi2.hacklab.to/

Machine Log

Date	Notes	Entry By
October 19, 2017	Replaced broken (physically split) Power Jack.	atrain
October 12, 2017	On Thursday October 5th, Ultimaker 2 "just died" mid-print. (No front red power LED.) Tried the Power adapter for Ultimaker 1 -- which did nothing to help get Ultimaker 2 running again.	Allen
July 13, 2017	Use a 3D printed guide ( https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:81415 ) to put the X-axis rods back into the correct alignment. (When the X-axis home switch was failing, one side had been moved closer to that switch.)	Allen
June 23, 2017	Use Thermal Adhesive to put a re-purposed VGA Heatsink onto the end of the Extruder Stepper motor. (NO adhesive in the center, near the shaft end.) Head NOT moving smothly again! Use Silicone Fluid to lube/clean all X/Y shafts. Double-check that no end-cap screw is toooo thigh while doing this.	Allen
Jun 8-9, 2017	Extruder DIED! (Plate that the Tension Arm screws into is cracked/broken.) Totally rebuild this using new printed parts. Everything except the Bearing Cap and the Large Gear was reprinted (on Ultimaker 1) Printed with PLA using: 4 Perimeter lines (1.6mm); Top/Bottom 1.6mm; 100% Fill. Bowden Clip Holder printed at 105% (Thin washers as shims under screws.) Everything else was printed at 100% (Which means everything is a tight fit.) The old-style (ABS) Filament Compression Arm was labeled & put in the Printer Parts basket. The tension block is now almost too big. (Grove side up & only goes 1/2 block length in.) White Motor Gear moved down shaft towards Stepper Motor! (No longer meshed/engaged w/ large Extruder Gear.) Put Gorilla Glue (Super-Glue Gel?) on motor shaft under & behind White Gear. Move Stepper Motor over as put Large Gear back on. (Gears were toooo tight.)	Allen
Jun 7, 2017	Lubricate the Z screw using Superlube Synthetic Grease.	Allen
June 6, 2017	Replaced the brass nozzle with a brand new one. Still underextruding though... whole head needs disassembly and new parts I think. Got a decent print at 40 mm/s, 220 deg, 110% flow, and nozzle size at 0.3mm	rana
June 1, 2017	Suspected the Translucent Yellow filament was aggravating the problems w/ this printer ... so changed the filament to a Pastel Pink roll, which is like the other rolls that have worked well. Now printer works fine @ 220°C & 110% Flow.	Allen
May 24, 2017	Replace the X-axis zero-stop switch. (Used an M3 tap to thread holes in replacement switch Rana provided.) Re-positioned X-axis stepper motor, to get more tension on that belt.	Allen
April 28, 2017	Tightened all the frame screws. Unwittingly tightened the tensioner screw on the rails (the middle screw of those plastic pieces on the frame) and the head would not move. Loosened them and head moves well now. The plastic connector for the printhead fan was coming in between the head and the orange rail holder, preventing homing. Secured that wire using a zip tie.	Rana
April 26, 2017	Filament was not extruding, took out the Bowden tube in the printhead and put it back in, it went several mm further in. Extruding fine now.	Rana
April 19-20, 2017	Replacement of the print nozzle fan -- which had a broken blade. Clean Print Nozzle MacGyver Fix Extruder to keep pressure wheel against filament -- by using the head of a large (white) Tie Wrap to hold the top of the pivoting (black) section in position. Do what can to level print bed. Print bed itself is not perfectly flat -- so large prints can have some spots tooo close (clicking extruder), and other spots too far (not sticking.) Still getting Filament Jams. (Samples of plastic from head kept.) Others were hearing/seeing belt skip problems ... so some/all belts may need replacing.	Allen
April 5, 2017	Lubricate Y-Axis rods using NCR Silicone Fluid. Hardened/old lubricant on the Y-axis rods also removed by doing this. Using 30AWG wire to try cleaning print head. (Some dirt came out. Filament still curls towards head.)	Allen
March 9, 2017	The Print Head Fan Duct was touching the build plate before the front/right corner was down enough to be level. Used a fine file to trim the underside of this 3D printed part, so this now stays just slightly above the build plate at all times.	Allen
March 1, 2017	X axis just stopped working mid-print again. Re-seated x axis stepper board again, and this time used Kapton Tape to secure all the the stepper board DIPs in place.	Allen
February 28, 2017	Lubricate X-Axis rods using NCR Silicone Fluid. X-Axis now moves back & forth smoothly. (Left side of belt no longer bends sideways @ the stepper motor.) Hardened/old lubricant on the X-axis rods also removed by doing this.	Allen
February 21, 2017	Igor helped to locate & fix bad driver board (DIP socket) connections for the X axis stepper motor. Removed broken PLA from feeding tube (yet again). The working PLA reel from Ultimaker 1 was moved to this unit.	Allen
Mid-2016	Re-printed extruder drive tensioner in ABS on Ultimaker 1, replaced Bowden tube coupler springs. Snipped 1cm off the tube ends to give couplers fresh surface to hold on to.	Igor
September 26, 2015	Removed overly-brittle, broken PLA from the feeding tube. Machine back in working order with new PLA. PLA can become stale and brittle due to moisture absorption.	Justin
July 28, 2013	Found new Arduino mega and installed marlin firmware via CURA. Checked all axis movements, checked thermocouple via external temperature sensors and finalized hot-end. Installed build platform. Removed raspberry pi.	Norm
July 27, 2013	Cemented thermocouple into tube, fit tube into hot end. Attempted firmware uploads using Cura (failed) and Xloader (succeeded)	Norm
June 23, 2013	Machined remaining parts and assembled feeder, mounted and tested (dry run without power, tensioner only). Attached flying lead ends of thermocouple onto thermocouple amp. Wired in thermocouple amp, wired in feeder wiring.	Norm
June 22, 2013	Printed out and assembled most of the feeder, lubricated gantry.	Norm
June 18, 2013	Printed out parts for feeder	Norm
June 10, 2013	Stripped apart old filament feeder and began building new feeder which uses the hobbed pulley. Parts on order, machined other parts.	Norm
June 8, 2013	Rebuilt hot-end, rebuilt gantry components, mounted entire gantry, roughly aligned belts, verified general mechanical functions! Finished mounts for build platform (cutting build platform and mounting to be completed).	Norm
May 29, 2013	Boden tube, V2 hot end components, and belts arrived.	Norm
May 16, 2013	Ordered Boden tube and V2 hot end components (the feeder upgrade can be printed for cheap). Belts ordered for Ultimaker 1 (when they are needed for replacement). (~$138)	Norm
May 15, 2013	Printed Z home switch adjustment block and holder. Designed and printed parts for new build platform system. Disassembled Z axis, examined and attempted to straighten leadscrew (limited success), inserted main portion of the build platform innards.	Norm
April 29, 2013	Printed fourth X/Y bushing block and Raspberry Pi bracket	Norm
April 27, 2013	Assembled 3/4 X/Y bushing blocks, 4th print failed mid-print.	Norm
April 24, 2013	Unmounted dual extruder. Stripped out X/Y gantry parts for rebuild (X/Y blocks broken). Observed Z acme rod bent. Remounted Arduino Mega and driver board.	Norm
April 22, 2013	Reorganized shelf to accommodate the Ultimaker, organized materials and supplies.	Norm

Parts and Supplies Wish List

• www.aliexpress.com/item/A-Funssor-4pcs-Ultimaker-Original-UM2-Plus-Printhead-Corner-Thumbscrews-M3-60-70-m-Print-Head/32838283972.html
  • Strongly suggest shipped by ePacket (becomes XpressPost in Canada.)
  • Thumb Screw spec's: github.com/Ultimaker/Ultimaker-Original-Plus/tree/master/1680%20Print%20Head%20Thumb%20screw%2062mm