gr5

You need good CAD software. CAD software usually allows you to do a subtraction so you might for example (in the above case) start with a model of the head (the gray image above) them model a cube (the black part above and place the head inside the cube and do a *subtract*. Some cad programs call these boolean operations. Then cut the cube open in CAD to make two halves. Add keying, add places for the liquid material to get in and out - worry about how bubbles will escape, etc. What CAD software are you familiar with? Are you planning to mold something you designed yourself? Or something that someone else designed? The answer to these questions inform us here on the forum as to which CAD software would work best for you. But most of the time you want to use the CAD software that you already know (if you have been using CAD for years).

https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/49778-how-to-print-with-ultimaker-pp https://ultimaker.com/en/blog/51209-beginners-guide-to-3d-printing-with-pp I printed one large item in PP. I used the recommended adhesion sheets. What a pain in the neck to remove these afterwards. The sheets get torn up and they are a pain to remove. But they work! You can also get the same sheets from Avery but I forget the product name. It's not normal paper - it's kind of plasticy.

Instead of increasing flow and making the feeder push even harder (potentially turning the filament into powder) try 1X or even 0.8X nozzle diameter - just to see what happens.

Those are called "retractions" and are normal. If you look carefully you will see that even though the extruder goes backwards and forwards, it slowly proceeds forward. Your issue of "not printing at all" is something else. Please use some other forum where people who own your same printer can suggest what might be causing your "not printing at all" issue. If the company that makes your printer doesn't have a forum then try facebook. There's 100s of forums on facebook.

@dxp - all those and more are in that link I posted. And in a few seconds it narrows down your options to just 2 or 3. I went with DSM because I don't like to rely on web based programs (every web site I have relied seems to have gone out of business). And it takes hundreds of hours to get learn a CAD such that I don't think about what I'm doing - I just create.

If you haven't already spent hundreds of hours in an existing CAD then use this guide to pick your CAD: https://www.gliffy.com/go/publish/5271448 It's an amazing guide. Try to stay away from sketchup but if you already know it extremely well then there are tricks - I can send you a link. Yes you can basically use any cad program - they all output STL files. But again, sketchup has major issues. It lets you create non-solids. In fact it's difficult to create solids such that most people with bad STL files used sketchup. But it's possible.

Your pseudo code is good but you don't have to worry about step 1 and 7. You need to literally pick an existing plugin and locate where the file is physically located and open up that file and copy it so you can edit it. You only need to add maybe 4 lines of code and modify one or two lines. Plus alter the name of the plugin. Yes, it's python.

3dsolex sells bowden's and also the "super slip" teflon bowden which actually improves print quality a little (but is opaque) and I sell 3dsolex parts in my store for people in USA - thegr5store.com

You can either increase the size of the part *or* you can make the "line width" parameter thinner. For printing very fine detail like this it will come out better if the leaf is printed vertically. However I don't recommend that because you don't have a flat side and you definitely don't want to print on that stem (it will wobble and quality will suck and it might fall over).

You can control an Ultimaker printer remotely (if you have one then which type?). You can run cura from the command line or on a webserver to slice an STL file and get a GCODE file. Which of these 2 things are you asking about? They are mostly unrelated.

This is a known issue in cura starting at version 4.0 and not fixed yet as far as I know. It's a feature - sort of. the fix is to set z speed to 40 or something reasonable - more info here: https://community.ultimaker.com/topic/28173-cura-41-pausing-at-each-layer/?do=findComment&comment=240384

This is a known issue in cura starting at version 4.0 and not fixed yet as far as I know. It's a feature - sort of. the fix is to set z speed to 40 or something reasonable - more info here:

When walls aren't attaching it's always caused by underextrusion. This is one of the places that people notice it first (when it's only like 10 to 20% underextruding). Slow down your print. When you print a .72 line width through a .6 nozzle it takes MUCH more pressure to squeeze that filament into the small gaps. Assuming 20% underextrusion, try slowing it down by 40% (print at 60% speed). You can control the speed on most printers out there in the TUNE menu if you have a variant of Marlin firmware on your printer. That way you can tweak the speed live while it prints and see if it looks better or worse with feedback in a few seconds rather than waiting for an entire print to finish. Don't experiment on the bottom 2 layers which are affected more by leveling position and tend to run at lower speeds anyway. If it all possible, print at .6 line width. That way you might not have to slow down the print. There are lots of causes for underextrusion - hundreds - here's a random one: A single CF filament print long ago wears down the feeder spline and now the feeder slips too much as the splines aren't sharp. The causes are different for each printer so contact an expert who knows your printer very well. Other causes could be bad teflon, overheating stepper driver, print too cold (bad sensor), printing too fast, printing layer heights too thick, and I swear there's dozen's more. My list for the UM2 and UM3 is about 20 things to check.

Actually it's hard to go backwards in gcode (edit a previous line once you find a fan speed change). and you don't want to delay a whole half second as it will create a blob at the fan change spot. So instead I would replace the fan speed to 100% but remember the value, then after 15 more G1 codes have occurred I would insert the original fan gcode back in. In other words no delay/sleep/wait gcode (whatever it's called). G1 codes are extruding moves and each move will take a little time.

This would be a good plugin. It's pretty simple. Each time there is a fan speed change already in the gcode, if it's less than X% then go to 100% for 1/2 second then to that goal speed. This feature is ALREADY IN MARLIN except it only does this when going from off to on. It should do it for every speed change. The problem is that by default cura does 0% fan for the first layer then increases the fan (typically 1/5) for each layer until at "full" speed. If "full" speed is 15% then it will do 3% for second layer, 6% for third and so on. So it never triggers the built in "kick start" feature in Marlin. Well it triggers it for the 3% speed but then the fan typically stops anyway and doesn't trigger it for the remaining. Ideally this should be fixed in Marlin. Now for the UM3 and S5 the fans have built in tachometers and they don't need any kickstarting. So UM Cura programmers may put this feature request as a low priority. But it's not hard to write yourself. Look at the example cura plugins - it's really very simple to modify one. You want the simplest type of plugin: "post processing plugins".

That's not gcode. I'm not sure what it is but gcode is a text file. You can open it with notepad. That file has binary data in it. Like a gcode file with viruses. Normally you start with an STL file (a model to be printed) and cura turns that into a gcode file which your printer prints. I know nothing about the tronxy but 90% of the printers out there have marlin and are compatible with any reprap printer with tiny differences like whether or not it has a heated bed.

Actually for software issues the best way is to report it in github. But the UM3 and S5 firmware, although you can get the source code easily enough, is not on github (at least publicly) so there is no place to report firmware issues on github. Lots of cura software guys are on this forum but I haven't noticed any firmware people. It used to be that this kind of thing was fixed in the next release. Now it can take years. I guess I recommend you just don't bump the print head. It's easy to change the filament without ever touching the print head. Also be aware that *typically* the servos turn off automatically after a certain amount of time (30 seconds? 60 seconds?) so maybe if you bump the head in the first 30 seconds it's fine but then they power down. Not sure. Or maybe you have to bump the head really hard (assuming servo power is still on). Now that I think about it more, the Z stepper must be powered during this time or the S5 platform would fall down. So that implies the X and Y servos are also engaged. So you must have hit the print head really hard to cause this problem. I suspect.

It's called the home position. That's crazy that it doesn't re-home. Please report this as a bug to your reseller who will report it to their distributor who will report it back to Ultimaker (sigh).

Also try changing the core - your printer should have come with two AA 0.4 cores.

You have random severe underextrusion. Below is a list of underextrusion causes but many of them only cause partial underextrusion. Here are some ones to pay the most attention to: #1 - it speeds up as it goes higher levels so maybe you are printing too fast. Seems unlikely #19 - remove spool from printer and test the filament by trying to break it. It should not snap before bending 90 degrees #16 - your symptoms completely fit this one! #8 - a common problem for cheap filament - get a micrometer if you don't have one - $10 on ebay #21 - that's the first thing I thought of #14 - have you ever printed glowfill or CF or GF filament? #20 is worth looking into #18 - it's definitely not this one CAUSES FOR UNDEREXTRUSION ON UM3 AND HOW TO TEST FOR THEM AND REMEDY THEM As far as underextrusion causes - there's just so damn many. none of the issues seem to cause more than 20% of problems so you need to know the top 5 issues to cover 75% of the possibilities and 1/4 people still won't have the right issue. Some of the top issues: 1) Print slower and hotter! Here are top recommended speeds for .2mm layers (twice as fast for .1mm layers) and .4mm nozzle: 20mm/sec at 200C 30mm/sec at 210C 40mm/sec at 225C 50mm/sec at 240C The printer can do double these speeds but with huge difficulty and usually with a loss in part quality due to underextrusion. Different colors print best at quite different temperatures and due to imperfect temp sensors, some printers print 10C cool so use these values as an initial starting guideline and if you are still underextruding try raising the temp. But don't go over 240C with PLA. Note that your "print speed" may be 40mm/sec but it may be printing infill at 80mm/sec so CHECK ALL SPEEDS. 2) Line Width larger than nozzle. In cura 3.X search in settings for all line widths. If any of them are larger than the nozzle diameter this can cause underextrusion. There are 8 of these in cura 3.2.1. 3) Curved filament at end of spool - if you are past half way on spool, try a fresh spool as a test. 4) curved angle feeding into feeder - put the filament on the floor -makes a MASSIVE difference. 5) Bad core. Try a different core. It could be clogged, or something more complex like the temp sensor in the core. 5a) clogged nozzle - the number one most suspected problem of course. Sometimes a grain of sand gets in there but that's more obvious (it just won't print). Atomic method (cold pull) is the cure - from the menu do a few cold pulls. The result should be filament that is the exact shape of the interior of the nozzle including the tiny passage to the tip of the nozzle. If it doesn't look like that you need to pull at a colder temperature. You can do it manually instead of through the menu if it's not working right but learn through the menu initially. 95C is roughly the correct "cold" temperature for PLA. Higher temps for other filaments. Simpler cold pull (3dsolex cores only - doesn't work on ultimaker cores because you can't remove the nozzle): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u07m3HTNyEg 5b) Temp Sensor bad - even the good ones vary by +/- 5C and bad ones can be any amount off - they usually read high and a working sensor can (rarely) fail high slowly over time. Meaning the sensor thinks you are at 220C but actually you are at 170C. At 170C the plastic is so viscous it can barely get out of the nozzle. You can verify your temp sensor using this simple video at youtube - on you tube search for this: mrZbX-SfftU 6) feeder spring issues - too tight, too loose. You want the tension such that you can clearly see the diamond pattern biting into the filament. You want to see at least 2 columns of diamonds. 4 columns is too much. You usually want the tension in the center. 7) Other feeder issues, one of the nuts holding UM2 and UM3 together often interferes with the feeder motor tilting it enough so that it still works but not very well. Other things that tilt the feeder motor, sleeve misaligned so it doesn't get a good grip. Gunk clogging the mechanism in there. 😎 Filament diameter too big - 3mm is too much. 3mm filament is usually 2.85mm nominal or sometimes 2.9mm +/- .05. But some manufacturers (especially in china) make true 3.0mm filament with a tolerance of .1mm which is useless in an Ultimaker. It will print for a few meters and then clog so tight in the bowden you will have to remove the bowden from both ends to get the filament out. Throw that filament in the trash! It will save you weeks of pain 8b) Something wedged in with the filament. I was setting up 5 printers at once and ran filament change on all of them. One was slowly moving the filament through the tube and was almost to the head when I pushed the button and it sped up and ground the filament badly. I didn't think it was a problem and went ahead and printed something but there was a ground up spot followed by a flap of filament that got jammed in the bowden tube. Having the wedgebot (link below) helps you feel this with your hand by sliding the filament through the bowden a bit to see if it is stuck. https://www.youmagine.com/designs/wedgebot-for-ultimaker2 9) Extruder mis calibrated. Maybe you changed equipment or a wire fell off. Try commanding the filament to move exactly 100mm and then measureing with a ruler that it moved 100mm within 10% accuracy. If not adjust the steps/mm (this is done by editing a json file on the UM3). 10) Z axis steps/mm. it's easier than you might think to double or half the Z axis movement as there is a jumper on the circuit board that can be added or removed. If the Z axis is moving 2X you will get 50% underextrusion. Your parts will also be 2X as tall. 11) Crimped bowden. At least one person had an issue where the bowden was crimped a bit too much at the feeder end although the printer worked fine when new it eventually got worse and had underextrusion on random layers. it's easy to pull the bowden out of the feeder end and examine it. Similar to 8b above - use the wedgebot to feel how much friction there is in the bowden. 12) Worn Bowden. After a lot of printing (or a little printing with abrasive filaments) the bowden resistance can be significant. It's easy to test by removing it completely from the machine and inserting some filament through it while one person holds it in the U shape. Preferably insert filament that has the pattern from the feeder and fight the movement by applying 2kg force on both ends at the same time and then seeing how much harder you have to push it on top of 1kg force. UM2 feeders can push with 5kg force. UM3 can push quite a bit more. 5kg is plenty. 13) Small nozzle. Rumor has it some of the .4mm nozzles are closer to .35mm. Not sure if this is actually true. I'm a bit skeptical but try a .6mm nozzle maybe. This shouldn't be a problem on the UM3 which has very good quality control but try a different core. 14) CF filament. The knurled sleeve in the extruder can get ground down smooth - particularly from carbon fill. 4 spools of CF will destroy not just nozzles but the knurled sleeve also. Look at it visually where the filament touches the "pyramids". Make sure the pyramids are sharp. 15) Hot feeder driver. I've seen a more recent problem in the forums (>=2015) where people's stepper drivers get too hot - this is mostly a problem with the Z axis but also with the feeder. The high temps means the driver appears to shut down for a well under a second - there is a temp sensor built into the driver chip. The solution from Ultimaker for the um2 is that they lowered all the currents to their stepper drivers in the newer firmware. Another solution is to remove the cover and use desk fan to get a tiny bit of air movement under there. This doesn't seem to be a problem on UM3 even though it's the exact same circuitry but they lowered the current in the firmware. But it's worth considering if air temp is 30C or hotter. It would probably happen only after printing for a while (air heats up slowly under the printer). 16) third fan broken. This tends to cause complete non-extrusion part way through a print. In the door of the head. You can hear it come on when cores get above 40C. Without this fan several things can go wrong. It can take a while as usually you also need several retractions to carry the heat upwards. There are a few failure mechanisms and I don't understand them all. One of them is probably that the molten PLA spreads out above the teflon and sticks to the metal in a core or fills the gap at the base of the bowden in UM2. Later it cools enough to keep the filament from moving up or down. 17) Spiralize/vase mode. This is a rarely used feature of Cura but you might have left it on by accident? In this mode the wall of your part is printed in a single pass. So if you have a .4mm core and the wall is .8mm thick it will try to over extrude by 2X. This is difficult to do and may instead lead to underextrusion. 18) too many retractions (this causes complete failure) - if you have too many retractions on the same piece of filament you can grind it to dust. 10 is usually safe. 20 is in the danger zone. 50 should guarantee failure. You can tell cura to limit retractions to 10 per a given spot of filament. Do this by setting "maximum retration count" to 10 and "minimum extrusion distance" to your retraction distance (4.5mm for UM2 and 6.5 for UM3). 19) Brittle filament. Espciallty with older PLA but even brand new pla can do this. If you unspool some (for example if it's in the bowden) for many hours (e.g. 10 hours) it can get extremely brittle and it can snap off into multiple pieces in the bowden. It's not obvious if you don't look for this. Then it starts printing just fine and at some point one of those pieces reaches the print head and gets hung up somewhere and the printer suddenly stops extruding for now apparent reason. This usually happens within the first meter of filament - once you get to printing the filament that was recently on the spool it should be fine from then on. 20) The "plus" feeder can have an issue where the filament doesn't sit properly for one print and it permanently damages the arm inside the feeder as shown by this photo - the hole is ground down asymetrically: http://gr5.org/plus_feeder_issue.jpg 21) Filament tangle - the end of the filament can get tucked under a loop on the spool and this tangle can propagate from then forever to the end of the spool until you fix it. It will cause many many jam ups and slow then halt extrusion. Repeatedly. The fix is to remove the filament from the printer, unroll a few meters and respool and put back on the printer. Never let go of the end of the filament spool until it's in the bowden. =======

I don't think there is a way to do this. You could add a feature request to github: https://github.com/Ultimaker/Cura/issues bugs and feature requests are paid more attention to over on github versus here in the forum. Did you know you can hold down the Shift key and get down to 1 degree rotations? Also if you are printing the same part often then it's probably worth it to rotate it in CAD before creating the STL. Occasionally I do this for parts that I print dozens of. Also if you are rotating the same part the same rotation 10 times, you can rotate it once and then do multiply *after* the rotation and cura remembers the rotation. Probably none of these tricks help you but maybe/hopefully one will.

Are you trying to cut your model into two models so you can print them separately? If so then I recommend you do this in CAD. Meshmixer is a good free program that can do this for you and there are tutorials on youtube for how to do this.

You can print with thinner layer height but I wouldn't go below 0.06mm layer height. What is your current layer height? Or you could print this part on it's side such that layer height doesn't matter. But it might fall over without some kind of bracing support as it's very skinny. Or at least it would likely wobble a lot without some bracing as you get high off the print bed.

I can think of 2 things for you to try. The second thing will definitely work but is hard to do unless you are very good with cad. 1) One trick is to not have the holes go all the way through. You have cylindrical holes. Place those holes *below* the surface. Then on the top layer cura will do the infill you want and after the print is done use a drill to open the holes out. 2) You can add invisibly thin gaps into your print. Too small to print. Say 0.01mm wide gaps. In your diagram #1 above, I see "white" lines between your yellow lines. Each of those white lines can be a "hole" through your part. An "air wall". Think of each white line as an "air wall" or a "wall of air". Make the wall very very thin. 0.01mm or even 0.001mm. When your printer avoids the "air walls" the wall will be so thin that plastic will flow across the boundary. You have to make the walls between the "air walls" the perfect width - same as nozzle width or slightly larger. You also have to set "minimum wall flow" to 50. I think. Maybe.

If none of this helps then please show a 10 second video of what you describe. Put the video on youtube or similar and provide a link to the video.