Installing the extrusion upgrade kit should be fairly straightforward since the components are already assembled, however, there are a couple of things that you may want to watch out for that are common mistakes. These instructions apply to the Ultimaker 2 with an Extrusion Upgrade Kit, or Ultimaker 2 Extended with an Extrusion Upgrade Kit. Click the title below to take you the error you're experiencing:
- My Feeder Is Spinning Backwards
- My Feeder Isn't Spinning At All
- My Printer Has a Z-switch Error
- My Printhead Isn't Homing Correctly
- Slanting Prints
- I Can't Move My Printhead Smoothly By Hand
- The Screen and Button Are Dark
- My Printer is Displaying a Heater Error/Temp Sensor Error/Bed Temp Sensor Error
- My Printer Doesn't Have a Fan Connector
My Feeder Is Spinning Backwards
If you're feeder is spinning backwards and you can't load filament after installing the extrusion upgrade kit, you'll need to go ahead and update the firmware. Make sure to install either the Ultimaker 2+ firmware, or the Ultimaker 2 Extended+ firmware, depending on which size machine you have. The Ultimaker 2+ and Ultimaker 2 Extended+ firmware runs the feeder motor in the opposite direction from the Ultimaker 2 and Ultimaker 2 Extended firmware. See here for instructions on updating the firmware.
My Feeder Isn't Spinning At All
If the feeder isn't spinning at all after you've installed the Extrusion Upgrade kit, you may want want to double check and make sure your feeder motor is plugged in to E1 on the board. If it's plugged into E2, your motor will not run. To check double check whether your electronics board assembly is correct, check out our electronics board installation instructions. Depending on the age of your Ultimaker you may or may not have: a red and brown wire which is a spare and should not be plugged into anything and/or a ferrite core to help reduce interference from other electronics.
If you can hear the motor turning, but the silver bearing on the outside of your white feeder box isn't moving, then it's possible that either your feeder housing or feeder motor is missing its plastic gear, or that the gear has shifted and the two gears are no longer meeting. To check, unscrew the 2 screws that hold your feeder housing onto the metal plate and visually inspect your feeder housing and motor.
My Printer Has A Z-switch Error
If you've received a Z-switch error after leveling your bed when you've installed the new firmware on your printer, there's a good chance that either the firmware is wrong, or the rear fan has been plugged into the wrong port.
If you have an Extended size machine, check your firmware in Maintenance --> Advanced --> Version, and make sure that Ultimaker 2+ firmware is not on your machine. If you put firmware for the shorter machine on your Ultimaker 2 Extended you will receive a Z-switch error because the printer is expecting to encounter the Z-switch about 4 inches sooner on the regular size than the Extended.
If your electronics board has a dedicated fan port (highlighted in green below), your blue and orange fan wires for the rear fan should be plugged in there. Depending on the age of your printer, you may or may not have the black relay next to the white connector; the relay is what determines whether your rear fan runs 100% of the time, or only when the nozzle is at 40 C or hotter.
If your electronics board has empty white space where the green highlighted connection is in the photo, then you will need to plug your blue and orange wires into the connection highlighted in blue on the photo below. These are the outward facing top pins on the J22 connection. The arrow shaped part of the white plastic connector on your fan wires should be facing toward the outside of the board when you plug it in.
If you plug your orange and blue fan wires into the 8/16 step connection highlighted in red, you're going to see a Z error when you try to home on the Z axis, because your Z-motor will only issue half as many steps per revolution as it should, resulting in a Z-switch error. Plugging the wires into the correct connection point on the board should resolve the error.
My Printhead Isn't Homing Correctly
There are a couple of things that could cause your printhead not to home correctly after installing the upgrade kit.
The printhead shaft might not be aligned with the Y-stop on the left panel. If the the printhead shaft is too far to the right when you pop it into the plastic blocks, the shaft will miss your Y-endstop and not trigger it. Ideally, you want about a fingernail's space between the left panel and the end of the printhead shaft, this way it will press fully on the lever, but not get caught on the panel.
Also, if the red Y-stop wire or blue X-stop wire gets pinched between your feeder motor and back panel during the installation process, you can end up with an X or Y stop error on the screen when you try to home it. The best way to check this is to remove your cable cover and check the wires. If they're pinched between the motor and panel and appear to be damaged, you may need to replace the endstop.
If your prints are coming out slanted after installing your upgrade kit, you probably have a loose pulley. If the set screw that holds the pulley to the rod is loose, you'll start to see your print drifting sideways. Tightening the pulleys as described here should solve the problem.
I can't Move the Printhead Smoothly By Hand
If your printhead isn't moving smoothly after you've installed the upgrade kit, there are 2 possibilities. The first is that the axes may need lubrication. The 4 perimeter rods for for the X and Y axes, the 2 printhead shafts, and the 2 Z-shafts should be lubricated regularly with sewing machine oil (or another light machine oil) as described here.
If your printer is well lubricated, but the printhead isn't moving easily when you try to move it by hand, you may want to check and make sure your axes are aligned. You can check the alignment by moving the printhead to the right hand side and checking to see if the space between the black plastic sliding block and pulley is the same at the front and the back. If there's a noticeable difference in that distance between the front and back, you'll want to realign the axis using the instructions here. You can check the alignment of the Y axis by moving the printhead to the front of the machine and checking the distance there between the sliding blocks and pulleys.
The Screen and Button Are Dark
If the screen and button are both dark and not working after you reinstall the electronics board, the EXP 1 and EXP 2 ribbon cables are in the opposite spots from where they should be. Switching these two wires should turn your display back on. For more information, see here.
My Printer is Displaying a Heater Error/Temp Sensor Error/Bed Temp Sensor Error
If your electronics board has empty white space where the installation instructions show to plug in your fan wires, then you will need to plug your blue and orange wires into the connection highlighted in blue on the photo below. These are the outward facing top pins on the J22 connection. The arrow shaped part of the white plastic connector on your fan wires should be facing toward the outside of the board when you plug it in. Do not plug anything into the red highlighted box.
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