Tips and hits when using the CURA slicer.

[Filemon]

Very interesting experiment this is

[Cornwallis]

Amazingly Cura does have a temperature controls like Pronterface! They are just hidden under file, preferences, select interface “Pronterface” see attached picture.

[Shron]

I do not agree with your last point. When you’re saving a model in Cura it will be saved as a STL file when you put .stl at the end. If you don’t add .stl it will be saved as an AMF file.

Now you can delete the last point from your “Annoy List”

[elmuchacho]

Thx that’s true I should have try that but wrongly assumed the proprietary extension was associated with a propriatory encoding. But why not offering the options in the user interface instead of hiding it for the end user to find it by chance or by try and error.

I should also says that Slic3r do have this functionality as Export STL button on the GUI. Sorry if you felt offended but this is not an “Annoy list” The comment clearly stated few missing feature and not things that a re missing that I’m bothered by. Unfortunately comment are not editable otherwise I will have amended the list.

[Cristian_13]

Cura3D can export gcode for use it in a SD card directly on the printer, I have not found this option in MatterControl?

[Cristian_13]

point: Ability to set different temperature between first layer
yes there is, Plugins tab -> Tweak at Z

and you can add more plugin like Skip infill that print external layer to hires anhd infill to 250

[Shron]

Don’t get me wrong, i’m not offended at all! It is because you said “I must miss some things that annoy me” why i chose to put it that way

[elmuchacho]

Nice thx Christian for pointing this out. I’ve used “Pause at height” before but never investigated the other plugin.

[elmuchacho]

Yes true, I rarely use the feature though as all my printer are networked with OctoPI and usually save the gcode in a specific location to be loaded onto the printer through the network.

I will not says MatterControl is the way to go instead of cura not at all but found it convenient to be able to switch between slicer engine with the added consistency of the same GUI independently of the slicer engine used. But that doesn’t change the facts that you have to learn what each slicer engine support to set accurately.

[Cristian_13]

thank you

[Cristian_13]

you’re welcome

[elmuchacho]

In a previous post I’ve mentioned a few missing features and been pointed to some actually existing by other members (thx guys) but no tips. Than here they are in no specific order.

- Stringing Increase retraction length. From all the slicer I’ve used Cura out of the box as this settings a bit low and object sliced with Cura suffer more from stringing than with other. I than looked in both slicer for the value on this setting and Cura was much lower increasing the retraction length do reduce stringing. I do have reprap machine but all the Ultimaker 1 & 2 from the makerspace suffer the same nag

- Enable z-hop on retraction in expert setting. When printing the edge of printed surface especially near overhang curl up slightly if cooling is low or if you over extrude enabling hop really, set it 0.5mm at least the 0.075 recommended is way to small.

- Remember to save your profile especially if you add start gcode and gcode or you’ll loose those when you apply update

- Personal Pref: As object slicing occur on each change or automatically when importing a file. I try to remember to preset the value before importing the file avoid waiting on large object. Even if the processing is much faster with Cura than other slicer it can help saving time.

- On reprap machine you’ll often will need to reduce infill overlap to improve print surface quality. e.g jagged edge on cylinder drop overlap to 5%

Correct me if I’m wrong feedback welcome.

[Alex3DHubs]

Keep us updated! That would be great.

[Cornwallis]

Thanks for the tips elmuchacho, I will definitely try this out!

[HiQuality_Hub]

A possibly little known aspect of Cura is it’s ability to produce 3D models from 2D . jpeg and .bmp files. You can see how this works by reading my blog on the Ultimaker CREATE Education website :

http://blog.createeducation.co.uk/education/imagine-it-in-2d-make-it-in-3d-making-3d-models-from-jpegs-by-steve-cox/

[Ali_Deniz]

i have also been using cura for some time now for my UM1 and also tried other stuff now and then.

cura i believe is the single tool which can cover a sufficient number of home-enthusiast. two reasons to work on others :

1) detailed and customized supports. i ended up using b9creator’s slicing software to create thin stick supports

2) variable layer height. great tool for optimizing print time. slic3r has it but i do not think it is a must-have if you are in the first 3-6 months of your 3d printing journey.

if i have time i will also take a look into creating plug-ins but i do not believe the main structure of cura will allow multiple layer heights.

[Jeroen_35]

I use Cura and Simplify3d but still can’t get used to Simplify3D. Cura is so much more intuitive.

When I print many small parts in one run I put on the fan for the first layer on my UM2. Otherwise the nozzle’s temperature is going up and down resulting in blurry melted pla or non-sticking pla to the glass.

What I love about Simplify3D is the fact that you can set up different settings for different parts in the same run.

[MD3DDelta]

good pionts , this helps me ,

thanks

[Lauren_Pinshape]

The optimal settings for faster/better prints will depend on what you are printing and the material you use. I recommend playing around with the recommended settings, making sure to change one setting at a time and document this so you can go back to it and see how each adjustment affects your print. An article on the Pinshape Blog also recommends printing 20mm cubes to get the hang of it. It’s boring but it will make sure your printer is well calibrated & gives you a chance to play with settings without wasting a ton of filament.

[Jim_12]

I tought it only happened to me but Cura indeed has it’s weird moments. It is rare but still, when you’re in the middle of a print and suddenly you hear the z-motors accelerating to full speed. The extruder goes up and then it goes down and plunges into the print to go up again and ruin the print. It angers me enough to return to Slic3r a couple of weeks until I have forgotten about the incident. But overall it does happen only rarely and Cura does it job very well.