Installing the Extrusion Upgrade Kit

Installing the Extrusion Upgrade kit in you Ultimaker 2 or Ultimaker 2 Extended is fairly straightforward. The print head is already assembled for you, and the feeder motor and assembly just screw into place. You do, however, have to access the electronics. These instructions cover everything from removing the old pieces to accessing the electronics to installing the new pieces. 

To begin, let's look at what's included in the kit. 

 A 2mm hex allen key is contained in the kit. This fits all of the hex-screws you will need to work with during the installation. You will also need a small pair of pliers (to remove the electronics cover) and a small flat-tip screwdriver (to secure the heater wires).

The Olsson kit holds the additional nozzle tips, a small phillips screwdriver for the set screw in the heater block, and a wrench sized for the nozzles. Check out the instructions for changing a nozzle tip here.

When installing the upgrade, first either remove the material from the machine entirely OR cut the filament right below the black feeder assembly on the back. Apply a thin layer of the green grease (Magnalube) provided in the kit to the white, plastic gear on the new feeder motor.

1. Using the 2mm allen key, unscrew the left corner cover. There is one screw on the back panel and one screw on the side panel. For a diagram of screw placement, click here. Remove the cover while the bed is down to avoid damage. 
2. Hold the feeder motor in one hand, and undo the four screws holding the black feeder assembly. These screws also hold the motor. Once the screws are out, set the motor gently in the bottom of the printer. You cannot remove it at this time as it is still plugged in. You will need the four silver washers. The feeder assembly and long screws are not needed for the upgrade. 
3. Push/tilt the black plastic blocks that hold the printhead shafts in place to pop the printhead shafts out so that you can remove the hot end. Holding the print head AND both cross bars, rotate the assembly so the shafts are on the diagonal and lift them out of the printer. Although the photo shows the Bowden tube removed, there is no need to do so. Once free, remove the printhead shafts. New, clean printhead shafts are included in your upgrade kit. 
4. Raise the bed and lay your machine on its back. To avoid damage to the panel, you may want to set your printer on a clean piece of cardboard or a towel. 
5. Remove the two screws that hold the electronics cover. You will need to hold the two lock nuts (visible on the underside) with pliers or a nut driver. Take the cover off. 
6. We have to remove the electronics board in order to access some of the wires. Since the flat cables leading to EXP1 and EXP2 are so short, the best way to avoid damaging them is to unplug them. They look identical, but are not interchangeable, so you'll want to number them 1 and 2 so you know where to plug them in later.
7. There are four screws that hold the electronics board to the bottom panel. Remove those screws. Place them, and the black spacers (one on each screw), aside for now.
8. Unplug the following:
   -FAN PWM (green and yellow; left side)
   -TEMP1 (red and white or red and silver; left side)
   -FAN 5V (blue and orange; middle of board)
   -E1 (four colors; right side)
9. You will also need to remove the wires from HEATER1 in the green terminal blocks. If the top of the green terminal block is silver, it’s a screw connection; if it’s orange, it’s spring loaded. Unscrew the screws to release the hold on the wires (note: the screw will not come out of the block). To engage/disengage the spring, press down on the orange part with a flat screwdriver. Remove wires while the orange piece is depressed.
10. E1 connected your feeder motor to the board. Guide the wire through the hole in the bottom panel. Now you can completely remove the old feeder motor. 
11. All the other cords you unplugged originate in the black braid. Gently feed the braid (and all associated wires) through the hole in the bottom panel. Turn the printer onto one of its sides so that you may feed that braid through the hole in the back panel. Now the old print head is entirely free of the printer.
12. Before laying the printer on its back again, feed the black braid of the new print head through the hole in the back panel. Then lay the printer down. Feed the braid down through the bottom panel. 
13. Gently place the new feeder motor inside the printer and feed that cord down as well.
14. Now plug the new cords in. 
    -Start with the white heater wires. Since they come out on the left side, they have to cross the board to be plugged in. Do this so that the wires are UNDER the board. You will have to depress the spring by pressing the orange piece to insert the wires. Make sure the wires are secure but no insulation is caught in the terminal block. The metal wires need a good connection in order to heat.
    -Plug the blue/orange wire into FAN 5V in the middle of the board.
    -Plug the green/yellow wire into FAN PWM on the left side. 
    -Plug the white wires into TEMP1. 
    -Plug the multi-color wires into E1. 
15. Put the board back on the bottom panel using the four 25mm screws (longest). Put the bottom two screws in and get the black spacers on. Position the board so that the power switch and ports are properly in the cut-outs and no wires are pinched. Get those two screws started first. Then start the two top screws. Once all the screws are started, you can tighten them. The board should sit against the back panel. 
16. Once the board is on, plug EXP1 and EXP2 back in. The flat side of the connector goes toward the electronics board. 
17. Now put the electronics cover back on. Make sure the flat cables (EXP1 and EXP2)  the LED wire (red/black) exit through the opening on the top left of the cover. Do not pinch the wires. There is an opening on the bottom right for the x-motor wire, z-motor wire, and z-stop wire. Do not pinch the wires. There are tabs on the cover that go into each of the three adjacent panels. Secure the cover with the larger of the screws you have left (12mm) and two locknuts which you will need to hold with pliers.
18. Stand the printer up so you can put the hot end in place. Be careful with the hot end as even a short drop can damage the nozzle. Remember that the new feeder motor is sitting inside the printer. Carefully lower the bed, moving the feeder further into the corner if necessary.
19. To seat the hot end back inside the printer, the longer printhead shaft should go through the bearing running left to right, and the shorter one, front to back. 

    You can put them both in the printhead and turn the whole head diagonally to maneuver it into the machine. The shafts fit into the black blocks as a push fit and may require a little force. Make sure the left-to-right shaft is seated far enough to the left to trigger the red Y-endstop without scraping the wall.

    The front-to-back shaft should be even with the back of the rear block--putting it too far back will cause it to hit the Z-shafts. The bar will stick out past the front block. This is normal. Try to keep the black blocks straight when pushing them in.

20. Now it's time to put the feeder on. Take the four washers that were on the four screws that held the old feeder assembly. Put them on four of the 10mm screws that are in the bag with the glass clips. These will go through the metal plate. Line the plate up with the four screw holes that will hold the feeder motor. Put the feeder motor in place inside the printer with the cord coming out the bottom. Screw the plate down.
21. There are two plastic washers in the bag with the screws. You will need those and two more of the 10mm screws from the bag. The plastic washers will go between the screws and the white feeder assembly. Hold the feeder assembly so the lever is on the right. There is a gear on the back that will align with the gear on the motor. Screw the feeder assembly into place. The screws will go into the metal plate instead of the panel. Putting in the Bowden tube is the next step
22. You will have to remove the blue clip from the feeder assembly in order to insert the Bowden tube. Once the tube is down, you can replace the blue clip.
23. Installing the new glass clips is easy. They go on the front corners, so there's no need to remove the heated plate. Remove the glass from your bed. Put a finger between the heated plate and the thick base plate. When you tighten the screws back down at the end, you'll want to mimic that tightness. Using the allen key (or simply undoing the thumb screw from the bottom) remove the front left screw in the heated plate. 
24. Take out the old glass clip and replace it with the new one. Tighten the screw back down to approximately the same place it was before (measured with your finger).
25. Repeat this process on the right corner.

CONGRATULATIONS! You've now upgraded your Ultimaker2. You're almost ready to print, but first you have to update the firmware. If you do not update the firmware, you will not be able to load filament. You can find the instructions for updating firmware here.

Any time you adjust the relative height of the nozzle (which you did when you put in the new hot end) or the height of the heated plate (which you did when you put in the new glass clips) you need to re-level the bed. Go to MAINTENANCE->BUILD PLATE to go through the wizard. You can find alternate leveling instructions here. Skip down to the part where you begin the wizard. There is no need to manually adjust the back screw as it's position has not changed.

If you experience issues when you try out your upgraded printer, see our troubleshooting guide on how to correct common errors.