3DSolex upgrade parts

Talk about your experience with Ultimaker printers
Post Reply
MTVDNA
Reactions:
Posts: 138
Joined: August 7th, 2016, 10:29 pm
Location: Netherlands
3D Printer(s): Ultimaker 2

3DSolex upgrade parts

Post by MTVDNA »

Hey all,

I've been looking at some of the upgrades that 3DSolex offers, but I'm not sure whether I should get them. Does anyone have experience with:
  • I2K insulator
  • TFT 255C coupler
  • 35 Watt heater
Are these worth getting? I had a look at my coupler last week and as far as I could tell it still looks fine. Should I get the I2K to make sure it lasts longer? I'm not sure what heater is installed in my printer, but I suspect it's a 25W heater, I'll have to measure the resistance sometime. Should I make sure it's hot when I do so?
User avatar
Amedee
Reactions:
Posts: 599
Joined: February 15th, 2016, 11:10 am
Location: Brussels, Belgium
3D Printer(s): UMO / UMO+
Contact:

Re: 3DSolex upgrade parts

Post by Amedee »

If you just do PLA it does not matter too much, but if you want to print hotter you will see that the original coupler does not last long...
User avatar
Izzy
Reactions:
Posts: 604
Joined: February 12th, 2016, 2:29 am
Location: England
3D Printer(s): Ultimaker 2

Re: 3DSolex upgrade parts

Post by Izzy »

The PTFE coupler is less likely to suffer with heat damage with the I2K washer,
The 35 Watt heater is great no matter what you want to print, it is able to better react to temperature change from the fans etc, and the TFT255C coupler is probable only needed if printing ABS.
danilius
Reactions:
Posts: 122
Joined: April 21st, 2016, 5:29 pm
Location: Salford, United Kingdom
3D Printer(s): Ultimaker 2

Re: 3DSolex upgrade parts

Post by danilius »

I can heartily recommend the I2K washer and TFT 255C coupler. If you can stretch to a "pimp" 40 watt heater, go fo it. You will really notice the difference, especially if you want to print ABS or other high temp materials quickly.
MTVDNA
Reactions:
Posts: 138
Joined: August 7th, 2016, 10:29 pm
Location: Netherlands
3D Printer(s): Ultimaker 2

Re: 3DSolex upgrade parts

Post by MTVDNA »

Today I finally took the time to measure the resistance of my heater. It was about 26 ohms, so that is about 22 W. Since I will be replacing the feeder system with the Flex3Drive soon (should get a delivery this week), I figured I might as well do some other upgrades at the same time. So I will be getting the 35W heater and the I2K washer as well.

I don't expect to be printing higher temp filament any time soon, so for now I'm just gonna stick with the regular couple. When this one's worn out I'll probably get the upgrade since it's about the same price as the original anyways.

Are there any do's and don'ts for installing the heater / I2K washer I should know about?
User avatar
Neotko
Reactions:
Posts: 1142
Joined: February 7th, 2016, 7:02 pm
Location: Madrid
3D Printer(s): UMO+ x2.5
Contact:

Re: 3DSolex upgrade parts

Post by Neotko »

I don't know about the i2k. With the new tfm stuff I heard that Meduza has been printing pla for 1000h and I heard that other guy has wore out his at 2000h print time. I like the idea of i2k but in my experience it needs a tighter setup, enough to cause deformation on the tfm (again it just my personal experience) I love the i2k but only if you will be printing at 250C + for long periods of time. I seen that i2k increases slightly the force needed to extrude and I need 3-5C more to get the same gloss finish (using Faberdashery). Does it work? Indeed. IMO I had to drill the tfm/i2k after doing a good sandwich to make the extrusion work perfectly, but also since I use 1.75mm the gap it's smaller and more reluctant to suffer since 2.85mm filament works a coupler/nozzle with more room to play with (3.2mm) 0.35mm vs 0.25mm of room for the filament.

I think that with a fixed spacer and tfm aloneyou will do just superfine for a really long print time.

About the v3, unless you get the new nozzles I don't see any advantage on the design.

Also about the flexidrive. I heard very ugly stories about it and the many problems the small plastic gear give. On paper sounds fantastic but imo it's more a pain in the butt than a good printing sollution. I would just buy a pancake motor and a titan extruder and attach it to the hotend. That would be around 60€ of easy and reliable sollution. Ofc, it weighs quite some, that's why I'm waiting for Anders small and little weight sollution for the pancake drive. But for me with the cheap bontech + the FatIRobertI I designed it's more than enough for my needs (I been printing flexibles at 40mm/s with some retractions without oil) and willowflex I can print it at 60mm/s with hundreds of retractions.

Well that's my 5cents of opinion :D
MTVDNA
Reactions:
Posts: 138
Joined: August 7th, 2016, 10:29 pm
Location: Netherlands
3D Printer(s): Ultimaker 2

Re: 3DSolex upgrade parts

Post by MTVDNA »

I've been reading about the flex3drive as much as I could before I ordered it, but I haven't found any reports of people having trouble with the gears. If you could point me to them that would be appreciated, I'd like to read them so I know what to look for if I do have issues.
User avatar
Neotko
Reactions:
Posts: 1142
Joined: February 7th, 2016, 7:02 pm
Location: Madrid
3D Printer(s): UMO+ x2.5
Contact:

Re: 3DSolex upgrade parts

Post by Neotko »

Sorry it was from feedback talking with Eric (z unlimited guy) and some others... So no links, just from person yo person chats.
User avatar
Meduza
Reactions:
Posts: 289
Joined: February 10th, 2016, 8:08 pm
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
3D Printer(s): UM2+, UM3 (F2, UM2EX+ UM3EX, etc at work)
Contact:

Re: 3DSolex upgrade parts

Post by Meduza »

I have heard similar stories from people that have been doing testing of the Flex3drive, most problems were not in the gears tough, but in couplings and vibrations if i remember correctly...

When it is actually working, it is a beast tough, especially on retraction-heavy prints.
Post Reply

Return to “General Discussion”