I went to download Cura on my laptop as part of moving my printer (TAz 6) to a new location, and see that v2.6.66 is now the current version on the Lulzbot download page. Does that mean I should upgrade to that version? I see that the taz firmware needs to be updated to use the new Cura version. Does that generally go smoothly or do I risk making a brick out of my printer? It’s working fine on 21.08 so don’t want to mess with success if risky.
I don’t think I’ll have issues with previously sliced .stl files, since I always just load an .stl file into Cura and print from there – so if I upgrade to 2.6.66 and update the firmware, I shouldn’t have an compatibility issues, right?
(Bonus question: How/where/why is the version after 21.08 called 2.6.66??? Seems randomly non-sequential?)
There are some great new slicing features that can be taken advantage of in Cura LE 2.6.66. You can find our change log with features here: https://code.alephobjects.com/w/cura-lulzbot/
Updating firmware in Cura LE is the same process as Cura 21.08. You can select “install default firmware” and everything else will be taken care of for you. There is no limit on how many times you can flash your RAMBo board (practically.) If you do run into any issues, you can go back to 21.08 and flash the default firmware there to get you back up and running.
The compatibility issues occurs with previously generated gcode. If you are loading in an STL file each time, you will generate a new gcode file each time and won’t have any issues.
We pulled in upstream Cura from Ultimaker, and customize this for our printers and machines. Previously Ultimaker made some major, major changes when creating “Cura 2” and felt the changes were enough to warrant a new program. Thus began the 2.x.xx numbering line.
We hope this helps, and as always feel free to reach out to our 24/7 support team if you have any immediate concerns.
Thanks, I’ll give it a try. I must say how refreshing and great it is to have this forum. I started with a home-built printer with zero support, then moved to a Replicator, where they seem to resent questions and charge for answers. In comparison, both the printer itself and the support available for the Taz is so (sooooo) much better. Thank you!
Can you explain why the gcode would no longer be compatible? In looking at the change log for the firmware there did not seem to be anything major that would cause incompatibility.
The reason I ask is I jump around between slicers as some work better than others for specific jobs. If I update to the new 2.6.66 and firmware 1.1.5.70 on my Taz 6, would I have to change anything with my Simplified3D setting to be compatible with the 1.1.5.70 firmware?
You will be OK if you incorporate the new start gcode from Cura 2.6.66 into the S3D start gcode. The 1.1.5.xx firmware has some subtle new behavior related to endstops, where attempts to exceed the endstops will shift the coordinate origin and moving one axis while another is at an endstop will alter the leveling compensation matrix (this didn’t happen in earlier firmwares). The start gcodes for Taz6 and Mini have been altered to make sure these things don’t happen (i.e., mainly small moves after g28 to “untrigger” the endstops, and in general staying a couple millimeters away from endstops when moving to heatup position).
Additionally for the MINI, recent releases of the 1.1.5.xx firmware also changed the X_min and Y_max values slightly (by 3mm on X and 1mm on Y). Again, this mainly affects start gcode since sliced objects seldom come that close to the limits (but older slices have older start gcode embedded). The Mini also needed an extra XY homing operation after the probing sequence, as the probing points exceeded the X_Max endstop on some mini sub-model and extruder combinations (re-homing XY corrects the coordinate shift).