Tiertime's UP! 3D printers offer great value and high quality. That is, unless something / someone accidentally breaks part of it. Wish I had taken more (and better) photos, but hopefully some of this will be useful. If you find yourself disassembling an UP! Mini 2 and need some pointers, I’m here and happy to help - simply as in the comments below.
The image above shows the injection molded plastic build plate. The bag contains the broke grey plastic part which held down the timing pulley (shown in black with a bearing on either end), as well as four springs. One evident option would be to superglue / epoxy the plastic back in place, though there was no guarantee that would last. Fortunately Tiertime offers amazing support and offered to send a replacement Z-axis assembly (not just the part with the broken plastic).
This proved to be a great opportunity to see the inner workings of an UP! Mini 2. Before getting started, I set aside many small bins in order to separate screws and related items for when it was reassembled.
The UP! Mini 2 actually has an inner (black plastic and aluminum) frame which is covered by the white injection-molded plastic. The white plastic serves to regulate temperature as well as prevent ABS fumes from escaping.
Remove all non-essential parts like the two top parts to the case (held in by magnets), the print bed and the heated plate (carefully remove the ribbon cable from the heated plate).
Remove the print head assembly: remove any filament, let it cool, then remove the connector at the top. The extruder assembly is clipped into place - push it upwards to unclip it, then pull it towards the front of the machine.
Flip the printer over and unscrew the 8x outermost screws (these hold the bottom of the white case). Unscrew the Phillips head screws, but leave the screws with the hex head.
Open the doors and unscrew the 6x smaller screws (three on either side), and leave the larger ones surrounded by metal / magnet?
On the inside of the frame, there are 6x screws holding the white plastic to the metal frame. Manually move the print head to access them, and remove them from either side.
Raise the handle and look inside at the corner where the handle connects to the plastic case - there will be a piece of metal which acts as a retainer. There are two screws to unscrew, and the metal can be removed vertically. The handle is now free to come off.
The front panel with the LCD display is actually hinged. There are two piece of molded plastic on either side which are purely aesthetic and easily removed (tab fit).
There are four clips holding the two Z-axis rods in place, which are covered in a 3D printed shell to prevent dust. The shells can be removed by hand, and each of the clips have a screw.
At this point, your printer won’t have much structural integrity, but everything is accessible. Note that the side panel with the button / RGB LED has a circuit board with a wire connecting it to the main frame. There is also a very small wire with an SMA connector which needs to be removed.
The Z-axis traveller (light grey plastic) has a slot into which the timing pulley fits (be sure to reinstall it at the right location!), as well as the cable connecting the stepper motor and switch to the main board.
The main board has the connectors color coded.
Be very careful with the 3D printed parts.
In retrospect:
The cover to the electronics can be removed easily without disassembling the case - there are three Phillips screws. Remove the clip holding down the black ribbon cable (for the heated bed) and take special care of the small black cable (with SMA connector).
The Z-axis can be removed without disassembling the entire case, but space is limited
Are you at the point where you can remove the Z-axis threaded rods? You remove the covers, then unscrew the rod supports. Once these are out, you can remove the rods, unscrew them and remove the bed. Hope this helps, If not, can you post some photos?
@bearer Sorry to hear that. Broke the same way as the one in the image above? Reach out to [email protected] and suggest providing a clear image of what is broken and where.
Local vendor claims they sent a replacement printer 2 months ago, Tiertime themselves are not responding or telling me to fix things myself… The below is an actual response from Tiertime when showing them my printer homes 10mm wrong, which causes it to print on the z-height switch…
For the shifted printing area, you can try modify the printhead.
There is a plastic plate on the back of the print head, which used to lock the print head on the socket of Y axis.
Remove the plate and put something between the plate the print head (eg print a spacer) so the extruder position could balance the shifting.
So I did fix it, but moved the limit switch, suggesting to print a spacer for the extruder on a brand new printer, with the lacking rigidity the machine already; well, suffice to say I think there has been changes in support staff or policy.
Happened to have a GT2 belt tensioner parts in the bin, drilled it out to 10mm and pressed the bearings in, sturdy enough to print a custom part and its all good again. I’d say better without the spring.
That’s really creative! I would assume you used another 3D printer to print the part? I wonder if you were to create a modified 3D printable part which does not require holes to be drilled (perhaps uses other parts around it to be placed perfectly) if it would become a popular download.
Happened to have the part for a GT2 belt project, so I got lucky and just drilled out the bore to 10mm; then printed a new custom part.
I suppose it could be made to attach to the screws that secure the lid, but with the two holes you can tension the belt without the included spring which only adds ringing to the axis. But that would require modifying the lid to make room for the part so the holes are easier imo; might add a drill template to print and help locate the holes and add to the thingiverse part one day.
Hey @bearer would you be able to share your model. I’ve got the same issue and Tiertime want me to buy the whole Y axis again, motor and all to fix a mechanical fault. I’d like you much rather fix the problem. If you can share the model on thingiverse or here I’d be greatly appreciative. It’ll save time, otherwise I’ll be making my own from scratch.
I spent about 3 weeks and 999999 emails with tiertime to get a new x (or y as they call it) axis as a warranty replacement - as you need a new belt and the linear rod busings may be worn as well
