Hi all,
I have an Ultimaker Original with heated bed and it’s already running fine for almost 3 years.
But now I have a problem I can’t find the cause.
I have already spend a few days trying out a lot of things, but now I runned out of ideas to try.
I seem to have an uneven extrusion leading to underextruded stripes in the printed layers. The first 2 layers are ok, but after that it gets worse every layer.
I am printing PLA.
The photos show 2 prints with this problem.
I hope someone can help.
Thanks!
Something rubbing in your extruder perhaps? I would check the filament path, check if there is anything that would cause inconsistent feed rates. Possibly also a partial blockage in the nozzle.
I can manually push filament through the nozzle quite easily, so I don’t think it is the nozzle being clogged. I also cleaned the feeder and it knurled bolt. It is not grinding. I also replaced the bowden tube.
Have you tried lubricating your extruder? In-line oilers are simple and effective - I made a small container with a bit of foam in it, and thread my filament through it. I put in a drop of oil every time I change filament. Makes a huge difference for me, printing in PLA.
I could try that, but I have never done that in the last 3 years. It did ran fine without oiling the filament. I think something else causes this problem.
Possibly. But it’s also possible that your extruder tip is now slightly abraded. All I can say is, it worked wonders for my print quality.
Try extruding in air. Anything this drastic should be apparent in the extruded filament, listen for popping sounds. The extruded filament would look irregular or inconsistent. Also look for steam.
As an owner of an original for 5 years, I’d try recalibrating your bed, perhaps bad filament which doenst have a consistent diameter? Looks like it’s scraping the nozzle at some spot.
Try cleaning the nozzle while it’s warm with some paper.
sounds like it might be the extruder motor or motor driver- maybe needs firmware update? Sounds like any motor is having problem? maybe skipping?
try a different filament too
Changing spools was the first thing I tried. I know that older spools can give problems, because they absopted too much water, that is why I store all spools in plastic containers with silicagel boxes in them. I also have blue silicagel that turns pink so I know when to dry them out again. The pink spool I used printed just 3 weeks ago still fine, so that is why I test with this spool, but I also tried 2 other spools.
@Ted_Huntington , I am a mechanical engineer and I don’t know that much of electronics and software. But I also suspect the stepper motor or driver, I have dual extrusion, the second extruder I don’t use much, so I already switched the stepper motors. That didn’t help. So than the stepper drivers are left, but I don’t know what can be done with them?
And you think maybe the firmware should be updated, why is that?
The machine was running just fine 3 weeks ago, why could it be that the firmware causes this?
We have several UMO at the Fablab Munich. Underextrusion happens often when they get a bit older. Check the PTFE isolator. It might have been deformed over time. Another possibility: the wood next to the feeder drive might have torn. We replace it with POM
Hi @Andreas_Kahler ,
The isolator I have replaced last november, so this is still quite new.
But there is some ware at the wood just under the knurled bolt, maybe I should switch the complete second feeder to the first, since I rarely use my second extruder, just to rule if the ware of the wood causes this.
You can also switch the left and right wooden part, so that you can use the still good other side. But trying another extruder is a good idea to track down the issue
@Sandra_Dermisek Yes, if the machine was ok with the current firmware- probably no need to update firmware. I’m not familiar with the ultimaker, but on RAMPS you can change the “step stick” motor drivers very easily. I am just throwing out ideas, and you have to determine if they are relevant to your situation. It could be mechanical too, like something on your Z axis- is it always the same height that the problem starts? possibly the hot end heater is bad, or the thermistor. Hot end temp is tough to check, but you can use a cheap laser pointer IR meter. Could be the belt is catching on something. Make sure the bed is level. Those are just some ideas.
I would check how much of a grip the extruder has and tighten it if need be. and check how many amps are going to the extruder stepper, and last of all it could be if you upgraded your firmware recently usually you have to adjust your steps per mm.
I think I am getting close to a good running machine again. I disassembled both my feeders and made out of the best looking parts the first feeder. I also found that one of the plastic injection molded parts was broken. See photo.
But I also did find that with adjusting the stepper driver by giving it a little more power, the extrusion is improving. Maybe I have to adjust this still a little, but I think I am getting there.
Thanks all for the help!
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Moist filament or a clog or inconsistent filament size would be my guess. Do you hear any popping noises when printing? How about yoir extruder skipping a little?
I know that bad filament or filament with too much moist can cause all sorts of problems, but I don’t think it’s the case now. I don’t hear any sisling or popping noises, I also check the filament diameters of several spools I tested with and the diameter is quite consistend.
The last few days I have tested a lot again and it seems that I probably had multiple problems. With tuning the stepper drivers I didn’t get to a satisfying result.
But after reading a lot at the Ultimaker forum I read something about the rods not being aligned. So that was one thing I hadn’t checked. I found out that the rods in the Y-direction weren’t parallel. Now I have adjusted that and at the moment I am printing a test print again and now it is so much improved at least at the first few layers. Going to test some more, hopefully now it only gets better.