For the past 18 months Ultimaker has been hard at work on a new generation of Cura. The user interface has been completely redesigned and a huge amount of work has been put into the slicing engine too. This post provides an overview of what has changed. For more details read the full release notes: https://ultimaker.com/en/blog/21263-cura-212-has-been-released Also included in this post is instructions on how to adopt this version of Cura so that it can be used with LulzBot 3D printers. This will help people start kicking the tires before official support is built/included by Aleph Objects.
New Features
Multiple object selection and grouping
Undo and Redo
Reorganized print settings management panel
Over 200 customizable settings
Cascading hierarchy
Easier to learn new settings
Can hide settings that you do not use or are irrelevant to your printer
New patterns for infill and support
Discrete object profile modifiers – vary slicing settings between multiple objects. Here is an example showing different infill patterns being used in the same job
Import models in 3MF format
‘Cut-Off Object Bottom’ is now a proper tool instead of profile setting
Challenges
Many of the below problems will be fixed over time, but they have not been taken care of yet.
Interoperability
On Linux, Cura 2.1 cannot be installed side by side with existing Cura Original
Cura 2.1 connects with printers when it is started up, so ongoing USB print jobs will be killed
Performance – model loading, gcode preview, slicing and similar features feel sluggish in comparison to Cura Original
Stability – Some crashes on Debian when rotating large/complex models
Regressions – these features were not deliberately removed, they just have not been re-implemented on the new code base yet
No support for multiple extrusion
Minimal print controller interface
No import gcode
No install custom firmware
No import several models at the same time
Experimentation – it is not possible to edit printer specifications through the user interface. Instead you must modify files to change things like build window dimensions or start/end gcode. Instructions on how to do this are described below.
Z-offsets are messed up, so adhesion will not be as good as you are used to
How to hack
Disclaimer: These instructions are written for Debian Jessie, while the majority of these instructions will work on different platforms you might have to change a step or two. Additionally this document will likely not be useful once Cura 2.2 is released.
’ lulzbot_mini.json’ then cut/paste file contents in
The current formatting of start/end gcode makes it quite difficult to read or modify. As a result, the wiping and probing temperatures are functionally locked. The numbers included in my .json file were taken from an ABS profile. One (extremely inconvenient) workaround to allow printing in a different material is to export gcode then manually manipulate the file to adjust wipe/probe temperatures.
Run Cura
Add the new printer configuration
Click on Printer → Add printer → Test → LulzBot Mini → Finish
Now is a good opportunity to marvel at the long list of settings you have to experiment with. You may also want to make them all visible by clicking:
Settings → Preferences → Settings
For each box that is not checked, click it. Yes it takes forever and no there is no “select all” option
Experiment and print cool stuff!
Edit: My mistake. The functionality to ‘load models with drag & drop’ as well as ‘import profile from gcode’ do already work \o/
Also clarified a few other items
Yes, # 14 WAS a pain when I made my Taz5 entry. Only printed one or two things with it when I did it though, but it came out a lot better than I thought it would for the rough hack ignorant me had done.
Thanks for the pointers to do this.
Addition:
I am using the Windows version so I think this applies to both Windows and Linux. The Machine files are just in a different location in Windows.
C:\Program Files\Cura 2.1\resources\machines - for all users
or
C:\Users> User_Name> \AppData\Local\cura\machines - for a single user
LouisR While I have not tested it, these instructions will be useful for Windows and OSX. A few steps will be slightly different.
(I edited my post to explain this a little)
I am trying to set this up for my Taz 5 on Windows 10 since none of the old Curas load for me. I am not seeing the option to load my new printer file–only the same list that was there before.
I think the issue is step #13: the word “Test” is not present. I then tried to use one of the existing profiles (rigidbotbig) and changed the filename and id to match the original but it doesn’t look like it is using my settings.
Tried putting the printer file in both the places @kmanley57 suggested… no nothin. Was 2.1.2 updated to remove that functionality?
I see mine when I go to the menu selections at the top of the Cura window? Currently running(AKA testing) 2.1.2 for a Taz 5 on Windows 10 and printed out about 20 test models so far with no problems.
I see the Test subgroup that Nick put his in and the Lulzbot one I created a few months ago when I made my trial json file for my Taz 5
Strange. Are you using 32 or 64 bit version? I downloaded it (64 bit–from the “download for free” link) from the same link in the first post yesterday (29 June, 2016). Is there a chance it was removed since you got your version? I tried 32 bit today. It is still labeled 2.1.2.
This is what I see (in both 64 and 32):
Is there a step I missed with installing? Downloaded file installs and runs fine without any additional hacks. Does Test mode need to be enabled in some way?
No, that functionality has not been removed. What is more likely is that there is that Cura is encountering an error when importing your file but not explicitly reporting an error message about it. Try opening the log file and searching for any references to the name of your .json file. Alternatively you could post your file here and I might be able to figure what is wrong.
Here is the locations of where log files are saved
Linux ~/.local/share/cura/cura.log
Windows should be C:\Users\User_Name\AppData\Local\cura\cura.log
Mac should be ~/.cura/cura.log
2016-06-30 11:22:00,459 - ERROR - An error occurred loading Machine Definition C:\Users\USERNAME/AppData/Local/cura\machines\taz5.json: File C:\Users\USERNAME/AppData/Local/cura\machines\taz5.json is an invalid settings file
2016-06-30 11:22:00,490 - ERROR - An error occurred loading Machine Definition C:\Program Files\Cura 2.1\resources\machines\taz5.json: File C:\Program Files\Cura 2.1\resources\machines\taz5.json is an invalid settings file
But I’ve tried to create it a few times a few ways. The current file was generated using the machine generator linked from github. I’ve also tried taking another machine and renaming it and its id and readable name in the file. Nothing shows up.
Both the machine settings file and cura.log logfile are attached. I trimmed the log to the last startup/shutdown period and obscured my username as above because of paranoia. cura_trimmed.log (3.3 KB) taz5.json.txt (2.17 KB)
How do you expect bridging moves to work? What behavior would be different? As far as I can tell there are no new settings specifically relating to bridging.
I bought S3D about a 1 1/2 years ago and just started using it last month. It is far superior to anything out there. Have built up a bunch of different profiles. I got tired of Slic3r crashing all the time and Cura has simply got to be one of the worst Slicers.
However, I have to disagree about S3D being good with bridging. It, actually, is the worst. You have full control over the actual bridging (flow rate, speed, etc), but it insists on creating perimeters across the bridge and you have no control over these. So, while you can get perfect control over the actual bridging, the perimeters will likely fail and droop. The S3D bug forum is full of complaints over this.
Also, unlike Slic3r, S3D doesn’t allow you to control the speed of small perimeters, so it generally does this too fast and they don’t come out all that great. Luckily, there is a Python script that can be used to fix this.
I did a Benchy using Slic3r, Cura, and S3D. Slic3r beat Cura hands down and S3D outdid Slic3r by a large margin.
Yes, I found that out almost instantly, it’s a complete disappointment. Particularly considering the part I really absolutely needed good bridging for was almost entirely perimiters (as the area that was bridging is sloped on the Z axis. Luckily it still worked as the few threads of ‘infill’ on each layer were enough for the layers on top to start building on. It was a total mess inside but that wasn’t important.
Regarding overall quality, I more or less agree. Cura is infinitely better for tiny/thin walled parts. I also get a much neater and smoother top layer with Cura for reasons I’m not really sure of. But the tool paths are far tidier and quicker and print generally come out looking much neater, except for the top.
But I think this is probably a discussion for a different thread.
