Ultimaker Maintenance

Ultimaker Maintenance

To be performed by Ultimaker Owners only

Weekly:

• Check filament feed tube is fully home (No visible ring around tube above white push fit fitting)
• Check blue feed tube latch is in place (replace if needed with printed one)
• Clean base of printer (under/around build plate)
• Clean desk (remove dust as this can cause blockages in the nozzle. Hoover then damp cloth)
• Remove old files from SD Card
• Check print removal tool available and in good condition
• Reboot PC
• Check filament stock
• Check spool holders not broken

Monthly:

• Remove nozzles and replace with clean ones.
  • Place old nozzle in Acetone bath (Keep ABS and PLA nozzles separate)
  • Use new nozzle or cleaned one from Acetone
  • Remove burnt on filament from outside of cleaned nozzle with a small wire brush
  • Remove old filament from inside cleaned nozzle with tweezers and a cotton bud
  • Perform test print
• Test print to check build plate is level
• Check Windows updates on PC

As Needed:

• Clean/Unblock Nozzle Atomic Method
• Replace PTFE Coupler PTFE Coupler
• Replace Nozzle Hot End
• PT1000 sensor is fragile and may break with Nozzle replacement. Change PT1000 Sensor
• Check Silica Gel / Humidity level for filament storage boxes. (Keep below 20%)
  • PLA Filament Box
  • ABS Filament box
  • Loose Filament Box
• Clean build plate
  • PLA Printer: Use a plastic tool to remove filament left on
  • ABS Printer: Wash the build plate with hot soapy water. Cleaning glass plate
• Update Cura.
  • Ensure the files to clean Cura are correct for updated
  • Remove unsupported materials from Cura materials (in the program folder)
• Update printer firmware if appropriate
  • Update materials listed for printer to remove ones not supported (e.g. ABS on PLA printer).
  • Edit ABS materials for printer to include the default ABS renamed to ABS_80C and copy/update for 110C bed temperature

Maintenance Log:

See log book with Ultimaker for details.

Additional maintenance performed:

• Replaced PTFE Coupler and nozzle, levelled build plate. Filament had not been feeding properly. PTFE coupler notably burnt (Stephen Harrison 2015-11-25). Print Time: 425H (484M)

Examples

Used PTFE coupler

The picture below shows the state of the PTFE coupler when initially replaced. The printer had been repeatedly jamming on initial filament feeding and not printing well. Both PTFE coupler and Nozzle were replaced. They had been used for 425 printing hours.